New Impetus for EU environmental policy

(Source : REC : The Bulletin 8/3 : EU environmental policy forecast )

Green Horizon Magazine

EU environmental policy forecast

By Jernej Stritih

Seven years have passed since the EU Commission approved the 5th Environmental Action Programme (EAP) entitled Towards Sustainability - an environmental strategy for 1993-2000.

1992 was also the year of the Rio Summit and Agenda 21 along with great enthusiasm for the integration of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries into the European family.

Since then, tough negotiations on how to implement Rio commitments culminated at Kyoto, five applicant countries started EU membership negotiations and the EU itself is developing with the introduction of the Euro and the Amsterdam Treaty.

The 5th EAP was a programme of visions for environmentalists both inside and outside the EU. But these visions have met reality checks since 1992 and a fresh look at the EU’s environmental and sustainable development policy framework for the next decade is now required.

The 5th EAP presented strategies with targets and objectives for seven environmental priority issues : climate change, acidification, biodiversity, water, urban environment, coastal zones and waste and the management of risks and accidents.

In late 1998, the EC’s environment directorate, DG XI, began the Global Assessment of the 5th EAP with the aim of developing the terms of reference for the next generation of EU environmental and sustainable development programs. This February, the REC (the only CEE representative) participated in a global assessment consultation between DG XI and a broad range of stakeholders.

One key issue was whether the follow-up to the 5th EAP should be an environmental programme, setting out the scope of work for DG XI and the Environment Council, or a comprehensive sustainable development strategy for the EU as a whole, crossing many sectors. The 5th EAP identified five target sectors into which environmental concerns should be integrated : industry, energy, transport, agriculture and tourism. It is clear, however, that integration was not very successful because of the sector-oriented management of policies in both the EU and member states.

The Amsterdam Treaty gives new impetus to integration, requiring environmental and sustainability considerations to be integrated in all community policies. Following this lead, EU Heads of State recently requested that six sectoral Councils of Ministers present new environmental and sustainability strategies to them.

For the next generation of programmes, it will make sense to focus more on sustainable development policy than environmental policy with narrow goals. Sustainable development affects and has to be implemented by all sectors of society and must therefore be dealt with in a comprehensive manner to avoid being seen as just an "environmentalists’ hobby horse." Environmental policy, in comparison, is a policy area in its own right and could benefit from a programme with clear implementable targets.

Another concern is that EU programmes are now subject to co-decision by the EU’s Parliament and Council. Now part of EU law, they are not just visionary policy papers without legal consequences as before.

During the February consultation, Jean-Francois Verstrynge, DGXI’s Deputy Director General, said that in the next 10 years : "Policy should be brought closer to reality on the ground." This signals the shift from visionary thinking during the Rio Summit to practical implementation of policies. Many EU Directives are not yet adequately implemented. What is needed is a deepening of the implementation of existing legislation while incorporating ideas already contained in the 5th EAP which continue to be relevant such as strategic environmental assessment and environmental tax reform.

Another strong reason for focusing on implementation is the expected entry of new member countries before 2010. Enlargement of the EU with six to eleven countries before 2010 will be the single most important factor influencing EU environmental policy in the coming years. Some believe it will be much more difficult to negotiate new EU legislation with more countries as new members will have long implementation periods for some existing EU laws (i.e. implementing the Urban Waste Water Directive before 2010). Others believe new member countries, which have been leap-frogging implementation of some 5th EAP ideas (i.e. framework legislation, strategic environmental assessment) may reinvigorate the EU policy debate. In any case, enlargement is putting a sense of urgency on sectoral integration, especially in the field of agriculture and transport to avoid major negative impacts on sustainable development in CEE.

When asked how and when future member countries will be able to participate in the development of new EU policies and legislation, Commission officials answer that they cannot participate now as this would pre-empt the outcome of accession negotiations. At the same time, they realise the need to take the situation in the future member countries into account. With an invitation from the Commission not forthcoming, it is up to the applicant countries to take the initiative in providing their input into future EU policies. With the experience gained from the EAP for CEE, agreed in Lucerne in 1993, and the subsequent National Environmental Action Plans, it would seem that they do have something to contribute.

Jernej Stritih REC Executive Director