Michael McDowell
Question:46 Mr. M. McDowell asked the Minister for the Environment the environmental priorities which were advanced during Ireland's Presidency of the EU; and the extent to which the greening of Maastricht was achieved. [1528/97]
Written Answers. - EU Presidency.
The Irish Presidency set itself the overall objective of both actively and efficiently promoting the internal agenda of the Environment Council and co-ordinating a leading EU role in wider international business affecting the environment and sustainable development. Business finalised by the Environment Council under the Irish Presidency included:
—political agreement on a common position on the review of the Community's Fifth Environment Action Programme;
—a Council resolution on a strategy for waste management to guide Community waste policy over the coming years;
—agreement on the proposal for amending Council Directive 90/219/EEC on the contained use of genetically modified microorganisms;
—political agreement on the amendment of Regulation 259/93 to provide for a ban on the exports of hazardous waste to develop countries for recovery;
—major Council conclusions relating to the development of an EU position in preparation for the Special Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGASS) to be held in June 1997, which will review the implementation of Agenda 21 and related outcomes of UNCED.
In addition, the Environment Council began and advanced work on important proposals concerning quality of petrol and diesel fuels; measures to be taken against air pollution by emissions from motor vehicles; the establishment of common rules and procedures to be applied to certain, i.e. green, shipments of waste to certain non-OECD countries; quality of water for human consumption — drinking water; and a Community action programme to support non-governmental organisations working in the environmental protection area.
The Irish Presidency also led and co-ordinated a strong EU input to a number of important international activities concerned with global environmental issues. These included the following major conferences at which I led the EU delegation: the second conference of the parties to the framework convention on climate change, in July 1996; the third conference of the parties to the biodiversity convention, in November 1996; and the eighth meeting of the parties to the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, in November 1996.
Overall, the Irish Presidency endeavoured to ensure that the role of the European Union is maintained as a leading force for progress at international level in dealing with global environmental problems and the promotion of sustainable development.
In the Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC), environmental issues were discussed on the basis of papers prepared by the Irish Presidency. The general outline for a draft revision of the treaties prepared by the Presidency and welcomed by the European Council on 13 and 14 December 1996, enhances the environmental provisions of the Treaty in two main ways: first, by including in the Treaty an explicit formulation of the Union's commitment to sustainable development, and, secondly, by including a strengthened horizontal provision to ensure that environmental considerations are integrated in the sectoral policies of the Community.
The Irish national delegation also tabled a discussion document on the possibility of strengthening the nuclear safety provisions of the Euratom Treaty in the context of the further enlargement of the European Union.