Survey on environmental opinions among politicians in the new EU countries

The political parties in the new member states will get 162 out of 732 seats in the European Parliament (EP). NOAH – FoE Denmark has made a survey on how that can influence the environmental policy of the EP. The survey is made in cooperation with FoE partners in each of the countries. The survey was made in March and April of 2004. In the survey we had answers from 42 parties expected to get approximately 104 out of the 162 seats in the EP. Questionnaires were sent to 76 parties running for the election for the EP. The number of questionnaires and answers from each country is listed here.

Country	Response
Czech Republic	8 out of 8 parties
Cyprus	1 out of 4 parties
Estonia	4 out of 12 parties
Hungary	3 out of 4 parties
Latvia	7 out of 8 parties
Lithuania	1 out of 8 parties
Malta	3 out of 3 parties
Poland	5 out of 9 parties
Slovakia	the big 4 out of 10 parties
Slovenia	6 out of 10 parties

In the analysis NOAH has estimated the number of seats for each party based on the party’s representation in the national parliaments and the number of representatives each country will get in the EP. This method of course includes some uncertainty. Since the parties’ support among voters can change for a number of reasons.

Conclusion on the survey

In spite of this uncertainty the survey shows that the representatives of the new EU countries are not going to become an obstruction for a more progressive environmental policy in the EP. In total there is a majority among the answers, which support that improvements in the environmental policy are necessary. However there are big variations depending on which environmental issue is involved.

In the survey we asked 20 questions covering 9 areas: Energy, climate, transport, chemicals, GMO, agriculture, consumption of resources, trade and environment, corporate accountability. In 6 of these areas the representatives of the new EU-states can be expected to support improvements in the EU environmental policy. In the areas transport and GMO they will however support the present unsatisfactory policy. In the area of energy politics there is a large support for increasing renewable energy production. But with many of new countries already relying on nuclear power it will be even more difficult than today to abandon the EU support for nuclear power.

In the following you can read the conclusions for each area.

Energy

In the area of energy we asked questions about the parties’ opinion on nuclear power, renewable energy, energy consumption and energy market. Below you can read the conclusion for each topic.

Nuclear power
The Parliament has influence on the future of nuclear power (NP) in the EU and in five new EU countries there are nuclear power plants in operation. We asked, whether the parties will support phasing out nuclear power or rather support the expansion of NP. The survey shows that 40 representatives can be expected to support phasing out NP, but at least 16 of these want to continue the operation of the existing NP plants in their own country. 26 representatives support the continuation of building new NP plants. The latter view is primarily expressed by parties from Czech Rep., Slovakia, Lithuania and Latvia. In Slovenia and Hungary a majority support phasing out NP, but will allow existing national plants to continue operating. We also asked the parties if they support a revision of the Euratom treaty. That has the support of 40 representatives. In total it must be expected that the new members in the EP will make it more difficult to end the EU’s support for nuclear power.
Renewable energy
Replacing the use of nuclear and fossil energy with renewable energy (RE) is important for making the energy supply in the EU sustainable. We asked the parties if they would support RE to become the main energy source or if they just want it to be a supplement to fossil fuels and NP. A large majority of about 9/10 support the expansion of RE. That should have a positive influence on the European Parliament’s policy.
Energy consumption
Energy consumption must be reduced significantly in order to achieve a sustainable development. We asked the parties if they support that. A majority of about 4/5 of the representatives say they will support a reduction through increased efficiency. So on this topic the new members can be expected to contribute positively to the EP’s policy.
Energy market
The survey shows large support for a regulation of the energy market in the EU, i.e. renewable energy could get priority.

Transport

Transport of persons and goods creates large environmental problems. We asked if the parties support a reduction of transport in order to reduce the amount of pollution or if the parties support that transport should be allowed to increase.
A majority support that transport should be reduced or at least not increase, but a part of those are doubtful, that it is realistic. 58 representatives can be expected to support measures to stop the increase of transport. 16 representatives from 7 countries do not want to stop the growth in transport. Furthermore 30 representatives have not expressed a clear opinion. Among these are 22 from Poland’s biggest party that did not answer this question.

The EU gives financial support to all types of infrastructure (including highways and airports).
We asked the parties if they support that funding should only be given to the types of transport infrastructures, which have less environmental impact (railways etc.)
This could only get the support of 41 representatives and 40 representatives were against it. Some of the representatives, who support limitations, want their country’s infrastructure upgraded to EU level before changing the financial support from the EU. Furthermore 23 representatives have not expressed a clear opinion. Among these are 22 from Poland’s biggest party, which did not answer this question.
The total picture is that the majority is in favour of financial support for all types of infrastructure.
They think that their countries need more highways etc. But a majority also support changes for transport with less environmental impact.

Altogether the new representatives cannot be expected to give highest priority to environment in the transport policy. They will probably make it more difficult to get support in the EP for limiting the transport.

Climate

Under the Kyoto-protocol, the EU has committed itself to approximately an 8% reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions before 2012. The European Parliament (EP) is one of the institutions that will discuss a course of action after 2012.
We asked the parties if they support that the EU should push for much more ambitious targets for the period after 2012. Or does the party support that the current reduction levels are high enough?
The survey shows that a majority of the representatives support higher demands for reductions after 2012. 75 representatives can be expected to support that.
25 representatives do not support further reductions. 22 of these are from Poland’s biggest party.
In the climate policy the picture is that representatives from Czech Rep., Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia can support further reductions in the CO2 emissions. But the representatives from the biggest of the new member countries Poland cannot be expected to do so.

Chemicals

A new chemical policy is being prepared in the EU, on which the EP is going to make decisions.
This area will be one of the first tests on how the representatives from the new member states will influence the environmental policy of the European Parliament.
We asked the parties if they support that the legislation on chemicals would need to be stronger in order to protect the environment and human health. A majority of the representatives support that. 68 representatives are in favour of stronger legislation. Only 9 representatives support that the legislation is too restrictive for the industry.
We also asked the parties if they support that the burden of proof for the safety of chemicals should lie with the companies who introduce the chemical on the market. A clear majority also supported that.
In total the new representatives seem to support an increased control on chemicals. It is primarily representatives from Czech Rep. and Hungary that recognize this demand. The opinion of politicians from Poland is an unknown factor.

GMOs

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are already in our food and GM crops are growing in fields throughout Europe - yet we do not know if they are safe. The EP plays an important role in regulating GMOs in Europe. We asked the parties if they support that the use of genetically modified crops in the EU should: 1) be allowed without conditions, 2) be banned totally or 3) be allowed on some conditions regarding a) proof of safety for the environment and human health, b) producing corporations accountability for damages and c) a clear labelling, so that consumers can choose between GM and non-GM food.

The result of the survey is that 71 representatives support the use of GM crops on some conditions. No party wants free use of GMOs. Only 11 representatives support a total ban of GMOs.
That means a clear majority for regulating the use, which is also the present policy in the EU.

Agriculture

The EP has a limited influence on the general agricultural policy in the EU now, but it can make decisions on for instance the use of pesticides. And the EP influence can be bigger with the new EU constitution. We asked the parties where the policy on EU agriculture should be headed in the future?
Towards further increases of productivity and agricultural trade or towards environmentally friendly and localized agriculture (lower inputs of artificial fertilizers and pesticides and shorter transport distances).
The survey shows that 63 representatives support environmentally friendly and localized agriculture. Only 6 are against and as many as 35 have given no clear opinion. Poland’s biggest party (22 representatives) has not answered this question and answers from Czech and Polish parties are unclear.

A new EU pesticide policy framework is being developed in 2004 (Thematic Strategy on Sustainable Use of Pesticides).
We asked the parties if they support a reduction of pesticide-use through legally binding EU measures with concrete targets and timetables or more voluntary measures leaving concrete commitments on pesticide-use reduction to the member states
55 representatives support a reduction by EU measures. 7 are against that and as many as 42 have not answered this question. Among those are the biggest parties from Poland and Hungary.

In total the survey shows a small majority for a more environmentally friendly production with a reduction in the use of pesticides. But the rest of the 162 new representatives could change that picture totally.

Resource consumption

In 2005, the EU needs to agree on two thematic strategies: one on resource efficiency, the other on waste prevention and recycling.
We asked the parties if they support targets and timetables for a reduction of the input of natural resources/raw materials to the economy or if they want that the input of natural resources/raw materials does not need to be limited.
The survey shows that 92 representatives support a reduction of the input. Only 10 representatives from Czech Rep. and Malta do not support that.

We also asked if the parties support targets and timetables for increasing recycling or that recycling should be left to free market mechanisms.
A big majority of about 9/10 support measures for increasing recycling.

In total there is a large support from the representatives of the new EU countries for reducing the consumption of natural resources. That will have a positive impact on the policy of the European Parliament.

Trade and environment

The EU is a major player in global trade negotiations. The European Commission regularly consults the EP on the EU’s position in these negotiations.
We asked the parties if they support that the EU should push for sustainable development and international environmental treaties to take precedence over trade rules or that the EU should push for full trade liberalisation worldwide, without specific attention given to environmental issues.
The survey shows that 79 representatives support that environmental rules should have precedence. Only 2 representatives support giving free trade the highest priority.
Some answers although emphasize that trade liberalisation is important.

In total the representatives of the new EU countries support that environmental concerns should be included in the trade rules. This suggests a positive input to the EP policy.

Corporate accountability

Large corporations have a major impact on peoples’ lives and on the environment. The EP has been supportive of a regulatory framework for dealing with this, and it will play an important role in the EU’s decisions to that regard.
We asked the parties if they support that the EU should develop new laws to ensure that large corporations are held accountable and liable for any environmental and social impact they cause in Europe and the world.
The survey shows that 72 representatives support legislation on accountability. Only one representative is directly against that. 31 representatives have not expressed a clear opinion.

In total the representatives of the new EU countries can be expected to support better legislation for corporate accountability in the EP.