Agenda milieuraad: Reach, klimaatverandering, betere regelgeving (en)
The Environment Council will meet in Luxembourg on 17 October under the Presidency of Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the United Kingdom. Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas will represent the Commission.
The agenda features a policy debate on the proposed REACH reform of chemicals legislation, the adoption of council conclusions on Climate Change in view of the Montreal conference following the entry into force of the Kyoto protocol, and a discussion on Better Regulation. Commissioner Dimas will present the new communication on aviation and climate change, and give an update on the review of the EU's Sustainable Development Strategy. A joint press conference by Ms Beckett and Commissioner Dimas is foreseen after the Council.
REACH
On 29 October 2003, the European Commission adopted its proposal for a new EU regulatory framework for chemicals (IP/03/1477). Under the proposed new system known as REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals), companies that manufacture or import more than one ton of a chemical substance per year would be required to register it in a central database. The aims of the proposed new Regulation are to improve the protection of human health and the environment while maintaining the competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry.
The Council will hold a policy debate on the general approach taken by the Presidency in its compromise proposal of 6 September, and on the issue of substances in articles. The Presidency aims at making progress in view of reaching a political agreement in the November Competitiveness Council. The Commission supports the Presidency's efforts in reaching a balanced compromise which will secure a marked improvement of health and environmental protection without harming the competitiveness of the chemicals industry.
Climate change
The Council will discuss Council conclusions on the Preparation of the eleventh Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the first meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP 1), which will take place in Montreal from 28 November to 9 December.
The core of the discussion will be on the EU's strategy for Montreal. The Commission invites ministers to agree on a strong text which paves the way for establishing a process for the post-2012 multilateral climate change regime. The Commission set out its ideas for the post-2012 strategy in a communication adopted in February (IP/05/155).
Better Regulation
The Presidency has organised a policy debate on Better Regulation. The discussion will be held in two parts: over lunch, where EP environment committee president Karl-Heinz Florenz will be present, and during a public debate in Council.
Commissioner Dimas will show how Better Regulation is applied in the environmental domain and call for similar efforts in other policy areas. He will underline the point that the seven Thematic Strategies to be adopted in the coming months are examples of Better Regulation in the environment field.
Any other business
Commissioner Dimas will present to ministers the new communication on aviation and climate change. It aims to reduce air travel's growing contribution to climate change. Airplanes are an important and increasing source of greenhouse gas emissions that are causing global warming. In its Communication, the Commission says the most promising way to tackle aviation emissions is to bring aircraft operators into the EU's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (IP/05/1192).
The Commissioner will also update ministers of state of play on the review of the EU's Sustainable Development Strategy. The Commission plans to adopt a Communication by the end of November. This will be discussed by different Council formations with the aim of adopting the revised Strategy at next June's European Council (IP/05/604).
The agenda of the meeting is available at
http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/envir/86496.pdf