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Policies ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
                 
Environmental problems are increasingly taking on a world-wide dimension and will continue to worsen if they are not dealt with decisively. In the European Union it is now recognised that environmental and economic problems are inextricably linked. Therefore, one of the European Union's fundamental tasks is to promote sustained, environmentally-friendly growth. The Treaty establishing the European Community lays down the Community's objectives in the area of environmental policy:
The EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament has always backed this principle. We consider it our duty to protect and safeguard our natural environment in Europe and throughout the world. In our view, human freedom also embraces the recognition of our responsibility towards the natural world. The EPP-ED Group ... is protecting the environment by ensuring a practicable, manageable and insurable environmental damage legislation The EPP-ED Group is convinced that sustained and ecologically sound development must consistently be the concept at the heart of European environmental policy. Instead of fighting the symptoms, environmental policy should attack the causes. We underline that business should operate in a framework where it is held responsible for environmental damage for which it is responsible. Liability has to be well defined and a liability regime must be based on clear definitions, practicalities and consequences. Therefore operators have firstly to take preventive action if there is an imminent threat of damage and secondly remedial action at their own expense - when damage already occurred. The EPP-ED Group believes that those responsible for environmental damage have to pay the overall macroeconomic costs and are given incentives to avoid producing harmful emissions. Only if we take this into account all operators will then take their responsibilities in this field equally seriously. ... has committed itself to creating jobs and economic growth through waste management For the EPP-ED Group a high level of environmental protection through waste management is not only an ethical and political end in itself, but also an indispensable prerequisite for industrial growth in this sector. Whereas in the past industry viewed environmental protection as a barrier to competition, today waste requirements are felt to be a genuine competitive advantage. The significance of the European waste industry as a rapidly expanding industrial market can no longer be underestimated: environmental protection through waste management creates jobs. Furthermore, modern life-cycle management can only work if waste producers bear the responsibility and costs for waste disposal. But before creating waste, we have to decide how to avoid generating waste, how to reduce the use of resources and which waste has to be recycled. The EPP-ED Group underlines its commitment and focus on waste prevention and recycling. Therefore we support new targets and measures, based on the best available knowledge. We call for a "waste production diet" to move towards a recycling economy and a waste strategy introducing the principle of life-cycle management and product liability for manufacturers and distributors. ... is leading the way to protect the marine environment The EPP-ED has always been committed to achieving a high level of protection through the Community's environmental policy. Already in adopting the 6th Environmental Action Programme the EPP-ED Group supported a reference for an integrated policy to protect and conserve the marine environment. Therefore the EPP-ED Group has welcomed the Commission Communication "Towards a strategy to protect and conserve the marine environment". We are convinced that we have to play an essential role in protecting and conserving the marine environment in Europe for future generations, since the marine environment knows no frontiers, nor exclusive zones. The consequences of climate change for the oceans will involve not only a rise in sea levels, but will also effect ecosystems. Furthermore sea fishing and inshore aquaculture are carried out in the marine environment. For the EPP-ED Group only an ecosystem-based approach to fishing would make it possible to maintain or restore fish stocks and safeguard marine biodiversity. Finally for the EPP-ED Group it is vital that marine policy is workable long-term, and that it makes sense economically. Aquatic fauna and flora must be protected, but without disregarding economic, social, cultural and regional requirements. Climate change and implementing the Kyoto Protocol Climate change is an extremely significant environmental problem, which has serious consequences at world level. In order to fight against this phenomenon that is threatening the entire planet, the international community began to discuss the problem in 1991, during the negotiations on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. At the fourth Conference of the Parties, which took place in Berlin in March 1995, the Parties to the Convention, including the European Community, decided to negotiate a protocol containing measures for reducing emissions after 2000 for industrialised countries. After a long period of work, the Kyoto protocol was adopted on 11 December 1997 in Kyoto, and was ratified by the European Union on 31 May 2002. The objective of the Kyoto Protocol is to combat climate change through international action to reduce emissions of certain greenhouse gases responsible for global warming (carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)). Overall, the Parties to the framework convention undertake to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5% compared with 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. The Member States of the Union must collectively reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 8% between 2008 and 2012. The protocol proposes a series of means for achieving these objectives, such as strengthening national policies for reducing emissions (increasing energy efficiency, promoting sustainable forms of agriculture, development of renewable energy sources, etc.) and cooperation with the other contracting parties (exchanging experience and information, coordinating national policies for the purpose of efficiency through cooperation mechanisms, i.e. trading of emission rights). The EPP-ED Group has always been a driving force throughout the process leading up to the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and its implementation and it continues to reaffirm its political commitment to combating climate change and encouraging other countries to join it in that fight. The group is aware of the seriousness of the problem threatening the earth, its people and future generations, and it considers the problem of climate change to be one of the clearest examples of the need to integrate environmental issues into other Community policies. The reduction of CO2 emissions requires that measures be adopted regarding energy, transport, agriculture and industry, etc. The Kyoto Protocol is therefore a fundamental element on a global scale in terms of sustainable development in the years to come. Amarylli Gersony Voluntary environmental agreements Regulating and imposing legislative constraints is not the only way to advance respect for the environment. In some cases, companies voluntarily decide to comply with such rules. They are called voluntary environmental agreements by which companies undertake, on their own initiative and before the European institutions, to respect regulations that have not yet been written into Community legislation. The EPP-ED Group encourages these types of initiatives, which show how responsible some sectors of industry can be in dealing with important issues such as protecting the environment and improving safety and living conditions. As long as they are transparent, are recognised by the European institutions, can be clearly monitored and their results evaluated, these agreements are a good and flexible tool generating real environmental benefits. They can thus avoid creating a long and restrictive legislative process and enable results to be achieved more quickly. The EPP-ED Group believes that it is important to provide a proper framework for these types of agreements in order to extend their use. Each time an industry sector decides to use a voluntary agreement the environment benefits. Géraldine Philibert Pharmaceutical products Environmental and consumer protection and ensuring a high standard of health in Europe are among the EPP-ED Group's priorities. New Community procedures have come into force regarding the authorisation and supervision of medicinal products, replacing various procedures based on voluntary cooperation between the national competent authorities. The creation of a Community code relating to medicinal products for human use and to veterinary medicinal products and the establishment of a European agency for the evaluation of medicinal products have thus become essential. The new pharmaceutical legislation has four main objectives: ensuring a high level of health protection for the people of Europe, completing the internal market in pharmaceutical products, responding to the challenges of the future enlargement of the European Union and rationalising and simplifying the existing system as much as possible. The EPP-ED Group stresses the importance of establishing a centralised authorisation system for marketing medicinal products in the Community so that every European citizen can access new treatments, and it encourages the establishment of essential measures associated with pharmacovigilance, i.e. continuous monitoring of a medicinal product. The Group wants every possible measure to be taken to promote European research, which is the safeguard of our health, while developing access to the market for generic medicinal products, which are essential for the proper functioning of our health systems. Finally, with regard to the specific provisions for the veterinary sector concerning marketing authorisations, the majority of the considerations set out regarding medicinal products for human use apply, subject to modifications of particular technical or scientific aspects. The EPP-ED Group sees the elimination of obstacles to free trade, the opportunity for all European citizens to access all available medicinal products in complete safety and the competitiveness of the pharmaceutical industry as essential objectives in the formulation of Community legislation in this field. Amarylli Gersony The urban environment 80% of the population of Europe now lives in an urban environment. There is a great deal of pollution associated with city life and it can be very significant in terms of public health. Noise, pollution from excess traffic and industry, the risks from unhealthy accommodation (lead poisoning from lead in old paintwork, carbon monoxide poisoning, etc.) are all everyday dangers. There are many illnesses linked to pollution and environmental noise, such as asthma and other chronic respiratory diseases, allergies, disturbed sleep patterns, dermatological conditions and stress. Those who are most exposed - children, the elderly and pregnant women - are also the weakest. This is why the EPP-ED advocates establishing an energetic strategy aimed at making the urban environment a priority. These problems are now no longer inevitable, because we have the technology to solve them. Quality of life in European towns and cities needs to be improved. This is one of the challenges to be dealt with in terms of public health. We should no longer passively put up with what is in reality intolerable. Géraldine Philibert See also leaflets on Sustainable Development and Consumer Protection. |
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