§ Mr. HoodTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the outcome of the Environment Council held in Brussels on 30 March; and if he will make a statement. [117691]
§ Mr. MeacherI represented the UK at the Environment Council in Brussels on 30 March 2000. Three sets of Council Conclusions were agreed, and proposals to tackle acidification, and on environmental liability, were debated.
Through Council Conclusions, a strategy for addressing threats to the environment from endocrine disrupting chemicals was endorsed, as outlined in a recent Commission Communication. The strategy will involve the establishment of a priority list of substances for evaluation and to prioritise testing. The need for quick and effective risk management measures where preliminary scientific evaluation reveals grounds for concern was also identified.
Council Conclusions were also agreed in response to the Commission Communication on a review of the fifth Environment Action Programme. These will assist the Commission in preparing a proposal for the sixth Environment Action Programme, due by the end of this year. The Council called for this to be a strategic document, setting clear priorities for the next 10 years and promoting a range of instruments to break the link between economic growth and environmental pressures. Climate change, waste management, resource use, biodiversity, soil degradation, desertification and reducing the environmental and health risks caused by chemicals and GMOs were identified as priorities for the programme. The need for better analysis of environmental issues and the costs and advantages of measures was also noted as was the need to improve implementation and enforcement of Community environmental legislation.
In advance of the Fifth Meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to be held in Nairobi next month, Council Conclusions set out the EU position on the main issues on the agenda. Ministers were also updated on the successful conclusion of the negotiations on the Biosafety Protocol in January.
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£ million 1997–981 1998–991 1999–20002 2000–013 2001–023 (a) Cash terms Housing and other 3,186 3,385 3,726 4,360 4,981 Regeneration (including New Deal for Comunities) 1,405 1,183 1,452 1,542 1,832 Transport 2,940 2,680 3,193 3,599 3,843 London Underground, Rail Franchise Payments4 and CTRL5 2,075 1,751 1,935 1,338 1,225 Total DETR 9,606 8,998 10,307 10,838 11,881 of which: Current Budget 4,109 4,021 4,581 4,736 4,940 Capital Budget 5,498 4,977 5,726 6,103 6,941 There was also some discussion on the Community position for the next Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), taking place in April.
Ministers debated, for the second time, two related proposals to improve air quality. The first would set national emission ceilings on emissions of air pollutants that cause acidification, eutrophication and ground level ozone formation, and the second, target values for ozone in ambient air. Agreement had not been possible on a related proposal controlling emissions from large combustion plants, considered at the last Environment Council in December. Further negotiations on these measures are expected in the remainder of the Portuguese Presidency.
A first Ministerial discussion was held on the White Paper on Environmental Liability, adopted by the Commission in February. The Commission presented two recently published policy documents on climate change, one concerned with an EU wide emissions trading scheme and the other on common and co-ordinated policies and measures. Climate change was further discussed over lunch when Ministers considered preparations for the Sixth Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change taking place in November.
Presentations to Council were also given by the Commission on its Communication outlining the application of the Precautionary Principle, and on environmental indicators. The Presidency reported on the progress of two dossiers subject to conciliation with the European Parliament, the draft Water Framework Directive and draft End of Life Vehicles Directive. In response to a Swedish point under Any Other Business, I explained that I hoped shortly to forward to the Commission a completed environmental risk assessment and risk reduction strategy for the brominated flame retardant penta-BDE, and encouraged other member states to agree prompt action.