Agenda: overstromingen, luchtkwaliteit, LIFE+, thematische strategie voor afval en het stedelijk milieu, biomassa en -brandstoffen (en)

The final Environment Council under the Austrian Presidency will take place on 27 June in Luxembourg.

• 1. 

  The Council is due to reach a political agreement on a new Directive to combat floods.
• 2. 

  The Council will seek an informal agreement on a new Air Quality Directive.
• 3. 

  A common position on the new financial instrument for the environment, LIFE+, will also be adopted.
• 4. 

  Council Conclusions are expected on the Thematic Strategy on waste prevention and recycling, as well as on
• 5. 

  the Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment.
• 6. 

  The Council will discuss GMO policy as well as
• 7. 

  the potential of biomass and biofuels.

Over lunch, Commissioner Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas i will report to ministers on the implementation of the Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP) and inform ministers of the possibilities of using the cohesion fund for the implementation of environmental policy. A joint press conference will be held by Austrian Environment Minister Josef Pröll and Commissioner Dimas at the end of the morning.

Floods Directive (political agreement)

The Presidency aims to reach a political agreement at this Council, following discussions at the March Council. Member States generally welcomed the Commission's proposed Floods Directive from January (IP/06/50). The Directive seeks to help Member States prevent and limit floods, and their damaging effects on human health, the environment, infrastructure and property. It will require Member States to carry out preliminary assessments to identify the river basins and associated coastal areas at risk of flooding. Such zones then will be subject to flood risk maps and flood risk management plans to improve prevention, protection and preparedness.

Main outstanding points for the Council are the timetable and other links with the Water Framework Directive, including the conditions for the use of existing maps and plans. Questions also remain regarding the scope of the Directive and the way in which climate change aspects are taken into account in the Directive.

LIFE+

The Council will adopt as an A-point its common position on the new financial instrument for the environment for the period 2007-2013, LIFE+. The December Council reached a partial political agreement on the Commission's proposal from last year (IP/04/1152). The Commission made a revised proposal in May after agreement on the financial perspectives package was reached.

LIFE+ would replace existing programmes such as Forest Focus, NGO's support, Urban and LIFE. Other financial instruments such as the structural funds and the competitiveness and innovation programme (CIP) shall provide for complementary funding. A new programming approach will be applied: overall multi-annual strategic programmes will be drawn up - and member states would appoint national agencies to implement national annual work programmes.

Proposed Directive on air quality (general approach)

In September 2005, the Commission presented a Thematic Strategy on air pollution to achieve, by 2020, further improvements of the air quality and thus human health and the health of ecosystems (IP/05/1170 and MEMO/05/334). This strategy is accompanied by a proposal for a Directive which would merge existing air quality directives and introduce, for the first time, limits on airborne concentrations of the dangerous very fine particulate matter (PM2.5). If fully implemented, the strategy will cut the number of premature deaths from diseases related to air pollution by particulate matter and ground-level ozone from 350,000 a year in 2000 to 230,000 in 2020. The Commission therefore wants to ensure an ambitious approach - putting the health of citizens first, through binding standards for PM2.5 and limited transition period to achieve these standards

Following debate at the Environment Council last December and Council conclusions welcoming the strategy adopted at the March Council, the June Council will seek an informal agreement on the proposed Directive on Air Quality and Cleaner Air for Europe. The Council cannot yet adopt a formal political agreement as the European Parliament's first reading of the proposed Directive is due only in September.

The Presidency has prepared a compromise package which will be discussed by ministers. Key outstanding points include time extensions for existing limit values for PM10 particulate matter, and the new limit value for PM2.5.

Thematic strategy on waste prevention and recycling (conclusions)

In December 2005, the Commission presented its Thematic Strategy on waste prevention and recycling (IP/05/1673 and MEMO/05/496). This long-term strategy aims to help Europe become a recycling society that seeks to avoid waste and uses waste as a resource. As a first step, it proposes a revision of the Waste Framework Directive to set recycling standards and to oblige Member States to develop national waste prevention programmes. The revision will also merge, streamline and clarify legislation, contributing to better regulation.

At the Council in March, ministers held an orientation debate on the strategy. Based on this, the Presidency has drafted Council Conclusions for adoption at this Council. The conclusions welcome the strategy and endorse much of the Commission's approach, such as basing waste policies on the two complementary concepts that are the "waste hierarchy" and "lifecycle thinking". They also endorse the vision of a European Recycling Society that seeks to avoid waste and uses waste as a resource.

The Presidency will also briefly report on progress on the revision of the Waste Framework Directive.

Thematic Strategy on Urban Environment (conclusions)

On the basis of the Presidency conclusions from the informal meeting of environment ministers in May, Council conclusions should be adopted on the Commission's proposed Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment IP/06/34

This Strategy aims to help Member States and regional and local authorities improve the environmental performance of Europe's cities. Its goal is to facilitate better implementation of EU environmental policies and legislation at the local level through exchange of experience and good practice between Europe's local authorities. Four out of five European citizens now live in towns and cities and their quality of life is directly influenced by the state of the urban environment. The draft conclusions support the key messages of the Commission's proposed Strategy.

GMOs (policy debate)

The Presidency aims to continue discussions of the EU GMO policy (MEMO/06/58).). On the basis of Presidency questions to Ministers, an exchange of views will focus on GMO-related activities undertaken after the March Environment Council debate and the debate in the Agriculture Council, the recent Presidency conferences on co-existence and the precautionary principle, the report on implementation of Regulation 1830/2003 on labelling and traceability of GM products, Commission proposals on authorisation and risk assessment. Commissioner Dimas will inform Ministers about the Commission debate on GMOs in April IP/06/498

Biomass and biofuels (exchange of views)

The Council will have an exchange of views that would allow environment ministers to make an input to the prioritised Action Plan on Energy, to be adopted by the European Council in spring 2007. An important part of this Action Plan is expected to be a new `Roadmap for renewables'. The Commission recently presented a Biomass Action Plan (IP/05/1546) and an EU Strategy on Biofuels (IP/06/135).

Other business

The Presidency will present a progress report on the `Euro 5' standard. In December 2005 the Commission brought forward a proposal, commonly referred to as the `Euro 5' standards, which will significantly contribute to a further improvement of air quality in Europe (IP/05/1660). The objective is to reduce the emissions of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. Particulate emissions from diesel cars would be cut by 80% and nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 20%. The tougher standards proposed would lead to the introduction of particulate filters for diesel cars. For petrol cars, the Commission proposes to cut NOx emissions and hydrocarbons by 25%. The new Euro 5 limits will enter into force by mid 2008 at the earliest. Commission Vice-President Günther Verheugen will take this point at the Council.

The Presidency will update ministers on recent conferences it held on REACH (30/31 March, Vienna), European Sustainable Development Network (1/2 June, Salzburg), and Green Public Procurement (3/4 April, Graz). The Presidency and the Commission will jointly report on the outcome of the third meeting of the parties to the Cartagena Protocol (13-17 March, Curitiba, Brazil) and the eights Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 20-31 March, Curitiba, Brazil). The Presidency will debrief ministers on the outcome of the 2nd Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants,

Following requests by some Member states at the March Council, the Commission will inform member states on European action against water scarcity and droughts.

Member states also asked for discussion on the outcome of the North Sea Conference held by Sweden in May, the import of wild birds, biowaste, and the outcome of a recent conference on waste prevention, re-use and recycling held by the Belgian authorities in Brussels.