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Press release
(Brussels, July 13, 2005) One week before a crucial debate in the College of European Commissioners, ten leading environmental organisations have called upon all Commissioners not to backtrack on environmental policies. On July 20, the College will discuss what to do with seven thematic strategies on the environment, some of which are ready for publication, while others are in the final stages of preparations. After the referenda in France and the Netherlands, and after the lobbying activities of employers organisation UNICE, President Barroso is said to have called for halting environmental policy proposals. The 10 organisations insist that the Thematic Strategies come out without delay, starting with the ones on air quality and on marine environment this month. The seven strategies form part of the implementation of the EU's 10 year Environmental Action Programme, agreed three years ago. In a letter sent to the Commissioners, the environmental NGOs urge the Commission to present the strategies by the end of the year, pointing out that lower environmental standards will not help Europe to compete more effectively with the newly industrialising countries. A race to the bottom is the wrong response to the challenges posed by globalisation, says the letter. "The Commission is making a big mistake if it thinks that the public expects the EU to slow down with its environmental policies. The public debates in France and the Netherlands did not give any such indication. On the contrary, recent opinion polls show that environmental policies are an area where the European public has high expectations from the EU, even when they could conflict with competitiveness," said John Hontelez, Secretary General of the European Environmental Bureau. The organisations underline that, despite 30 years of environmental policies, there are huge challenges still ahead which need to be addressed without delay. New policies are necessary to protect public health and quality of life, as well as the natural resource base on which growth, jobs and competitiveness ultimately rest. The EU faces a number of urgent challenges in this area. Biodiversity loss continues at alarming rates, despite the EU objective to halt its decline by 2010, and limiting greenhouse gas emissions is a global challenge of enormous proportions. The EU is also under pressure to control air and water pollution to improve public health and the natural environment. "The three-year row about the REACH Impact Assessment has proven that it is easy to spread scare stories about the economic costs of new policies and new legislation, whereas there is no evidence that high environmental and public health standards have had substantial negative impacts on prosperity in Europe," the organisations add. For further information: John Hontelez, Secretary General of European Environmental Bureau, phone: +32-2-2891090, email hontelez@eeb.org Tony Long, Director of WWF European Policy Office, phone +32-2-7438805, email tlong@wwfepo.org Notes to editors:
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