Agenda Raad: scheepsafval, kyoto, chemicaliën en biodiversiteit (en)

The first meeting of environment ministers under Irish Presidency will take place on 2 March 2004 in Brussels. Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström will represent the Commission at the meeting. A number of interesting policy debates and progress reports are on the agenda, but no decisions or adoptions are expected at this Council. A joint press conference by the Presidency and Commissioner Wallström is foreseen during the Council, timing to be confirmed.

Spring European Council

The Council will adopt conclusions on the input of the Environment Council to the Spring European Council. The conclusions will be based on a number of recent Commission documents: the Annual Environment Policy Review (IP/03/1648) the Communication "Towards a Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use and Management of Resources", and the Environment Technologies Action Plan (IP/04/117).

The conclusions highlight the following areas: Sustainable Development Strategy review, transport, climate change, energy, and biological diversity.

Shipments of waste

The Commission proposed to amend the EU's 1993 Waste Shipment Regulation in July 2003 (IP/03/925). This Regulation transposes the Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous waste into EU law. The proposal aims to update and streamline the Regulation and bring it in line with the Basel Convention. A policy debate is foreseen based on three questions relating to the possibility to object to a proposed shipment, to so-called non-hazardous green waste and to take-back requirements of the Regulation.

New Chemicals Policy - REACH

The Commission and the Presidency will present a Progress report on the new EU regulatory framework for chemicals, which it proposed on 29 October 2003 (IP/03/1477) Under the proposed new system called REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals), enterprises that manufacture or import more than one tonne 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 and enhancing the innovative capability of the EU chemicals industry.

At the Council, the Commission expects the discussion to remain general insofar as there has been no detailed examination yet of the legislative proposal itself.

Kyoto Protocol's flexible mechanisms

The Commission proposal to link the Kyoto Protocol's flexible mechanisms (Joint Implementation/Clean Development Mechanism) to the EU greenhouse gas emission trading system was adopted in July 2003 (IP/03/931). It aims to increase the diversity of compliance options with the EU scheme and reduce compliance costs for companies.

At the Council, a progress report will be presented by the Presidency. The aim is to reach a first reading agreement at the next Council, and the Commission is working with the European Parliament and the Council to facilitate this.

A number of points remain outstanding, including: whether CDM credits should be recognised right from the start of emission trading in 2005 (the Commission proposed 2008); and whether there should be a limit to the number of credits generated by project activities that can be introduced into the emissions trading scheme? Here the Commission proposed to review whether or not to introduce a limit when 6% of credits entering the emissions trading system are reached through JI and CDM.

Forthcoming international conferences

Over lunch ministers will exchange views on the EU position for two upcoming conferences:

the Fifth Global Ministerial Environment Forum of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Korea, 29-31 March, and

the 12^th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), New York, 19-30 April.

They will both focus on the review of progress to meet the targets set at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), which took place in Johannesburg in 2002.

Discussions at the Council will be based on a recent Commission Communication on the EU's ongoing actions to follow up to the WSSD commitments (MEMO/04/6). The Presidency has invited Klaus Töpfer (UNEP) and Norvegian Environment Minister Brende (Chair CSD) to participate in the discussions.

Biological Diversity/Biosafety

The Presidency will report on the recent meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 7) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the meeting of the Parties (MOP 1) to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which both took place in Kuala Lumpur in February.

No detailed discussion is expected at the Council.

Any other business

Short interventions are currently foreseen on GMES, Marine biodiversity, Maritime safety, Environment & health. Commissioner Wallström will notably report on ongoing work on the Commission's Strategy on Health and Environment.