Ireland Plans Environmental Advances for Enlarged EU

BRUSSELS, Belgium, January 12, 2004 (ENS) - The new Irish Presidency of the EU is hoping to seal rapid agreement on a number of important environmental policy laws, an Irish official said today. Ireland will hold the Presidency of the European Union from January 1 until June 30, 2004, the country's sixth turn at the rotating Presidency.

This Irish Presidency will be dominated by the historic enlargement of the European Union to include 10 new member states on May 1, 2004, bringing the EU membership to 25 countries.

Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia are joining the original 15 EU countries. This event marks an historic ending of the post-war division of Europe, and the Presidency says it is important to take this opportunity to bring all Europeans together to build a better Europe for all.

At the same time, the Dublin plans significant activity on the environmental policy front.

Ireland hopes to secure a quick deal with the European Parliament on the climate emissions trading law that will link credits under the Kyoto Protocol with projects to reduce greenhouse gases. Another deal on a regulation translating international agreements on persistant organic pollutants into EU law could also happen quickly, a Presidency official told reporters. The Presidency also wants to wrap up agreement on the EU environmental liability regime.

The Presidency has a mandate from the European Council of Ministers to negotiate a first reading agreement with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on the emissions linking directive, which will provide a direct mechanism for EU firms to buy Kyoto Protocol emission credits. A first ministerial policy debate was held last month. The "signals are good" for a deal by the end of March, the official said.

Dublin is aiming for the same first reading outcome from talks to settle the regulation on persistant organic pollutants, though these are "more delicate." The council seems to back the European Parliament's rejection of a dual legal basis for the legislation, but member states are not yet united over what scope they should have to go beyond minimum controls.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament's decision to propose only limited amendments to the council's first-reading position on an environmental quality law means that an agreement can probably be tied up "in the early stages" of the Presidency.

The environmental work of the European Union will be piloted during the Irish Presidency by Irish Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Martin Cullen.

Irish Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Martin Cullen (Photo courtesy Government of Ireland)

Parliament's proposal would give national authorities more control over crossborder waste movements than the Commission's proposal.

The ministers will also debate a new air quality law on heavy metal pollution aimed at controlling nickel, cadmium and arsenic. Much heavy metal pollution is caused by facilities such as coal-fired power plants, and the MEPs want to set mandatory maximum limits on these three contaminants.

The March environment council should also pass a resolution to EU leaders' spring summit that will include ministers' response to a draft action plan on environmental technologies due from the Commission later this month. The basic thrust of the action plan will be to identify promising technologies, barriers holding them back, and "appropriate measures" to overcome these barriers.

In March 2003, the Commission issued a communication proposing four groups of actions that could be used to boost environmental technology. Technical measures include initiatives to target research on particular technologies. Second come regulatory measures, such as the removal of laws impeding penetration of new technologies.

Third are economic measures, such as action to price the environment into markets. Last come measures to improve diffusion of new technologies, such as support to translate pilot projects into large-scale applications.

The upcoming environment council meeting in March is expected to produce a report summarizing deliberations on the new comprehensive system of chemicals regulation - REACH, for Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals.

The Irish Presidency is not formally excluding the possibility of agreement before the summer, but the official told reporters this would be "quite an achievement." It would "more likely take several presidencies" to reach a common position, he said.

He confirmed the competitiveness council will continue to handle the file, but with "very strong" involvement of environment ministers.

Looking ahead to the June Council of Ministers meeting, Ireland hopes for political agreement on limiting sulfur in marine fuels, as well as agreement on the waste trade and heavy metal air pollution issues.

Greenhouse gases rise from 1,000 burning tires in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The fluorinated gases used to fight fires also damage the climate. (Photo courtesy FreeFoto)

The fluorinated greenhouse gases covered - hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride - are used in refrigeration, air conditioning, firefighting equipment and industry processes. Their emissions are forecast to increase rapidly in the future if no action is taken.

In August 2003, the Commission adopted a draft law that would improve the containment of these gases, require better reporting, and impose specific restrictions on marketing and use of the fluorinated gases in certain applications. It also would require a phase-out of HFC-134a in car air conditioning systems.

The Commission's proposal is expected to reduce by almost a quarter the projected emissions of these gases by 2010.

The June council of environment ministers is also expected to debate a draft law on the management of mining waste, designed to minimize operating emissions and prevent accidents.

The measure was outlined two years ago to improve mine waste safety in the aftermath of serious pollution incidents in the late 1990s, such as the one at the Baia Mare gold recovery plant that spilled cyanide-laden wastewater down rivers in Romania and Hungary and through the Danube River to the Black Sea.

A key element is a requirement for mine operators to draft waste management plans. For high risk waste facilities, a safety manager would be appointed, and plans to prevent major accidents drawn up. A classification system for waste facilities would be drawn up after the law is adopted.

Ribeira de S. Cristovão, a Natura 2000 site in Cabrela, Portugal (Photo courtesy NaturLink)

The Irish Presidency also has plans to write a thematic strategy on recycling and waste prevention.

If all that were not enough, the Presidency will consider a Commission report on climate change due in March.

Less certain is the future of the Bathing Water Directive revision. The Presidency has pledged only to "reflect on a way of taking forward" the bathing water issue after environment council talks collapsed in December.

Europe’s largest federation of citizens’ environmental organisations, the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), has issued its list of environmental targets to be met by the new Presidency of the European Union.

"Ireland has been asked to clear up the mess of the Constitution, left by the failed Italian Presidency, and to focus on integrating the concept of sustainable development into all areas of European legislation," said John Hontelez, the EEB’s secretary general.

The EEB is urging the Irish Presidency to "bring Russia in from the cold to ratify the Kyoto Protocol as soon as possible." The citizens organization supports new funding for the Natura 2000 network of conservation sites, the limitation of air pollution from ships, and a strong strategy on recycling and waste prevention.

The Irish Presidency should provide a broader right of access to justice for citizens, and insist on legally binding rights for citizens to be consulted by the Commission in preparation of decisions with a potential environmental impact, the EEB said.

{Published in cooperation with ENDS Environment Daily, Europe's choice for environmental news. Environmental Data Services Ltd, London. Email: envdaily@ends.co.uk}