I will be glad to submit a report to the Joint Committee on the Environment and Local Government on the preparations for the fourth ministerial conference in the Environment for Europe process which will take place in Aarhus, Denmark, from 23 to 25 June.
The main issues on the agenda of the conference will be implementation of the environmental action programme for Central and Eastern Europe; the report, commonly known as the Dobris+3 Assessment, of the European Environment Agency on the state of the European environment; a draft convention on access to information and public participation in environmental decision making; draft protocols on control of emissions of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants; implementation of pan-European biodiversity and landscape strategy; European energy conservation initiative, and the programme for the phase-out of leaded petrol.
A report on the issues arising at the conference will be submitted to the joint committee in mid-April following a preparatory meeting for the conference which will be held in Geneva on 19 and 20 March.