Mr President, the principles of integrated coastal zone management are accepted worldwide as a mechanism to enable sustainable management of coastal areas. Europe is currently well behind other developed nations in implementing them. For instance, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have all implemented major legislation to progress integrated management of coastal and marine areas. Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 commits coastal signatories to integrated management and sustainable development of coastal areas. The EU’s demonstration programme on integrated management of coastal zones, funded by LIFE, has proved that implementation of integrated coastal zone management results in both economic and environmental benefits. The EU should be taking advantage of these benefits. The coastal zone requires special management. There is an urgent need to integrate planning and management and promote collaborative working of marine and terrestrial assistance at local, regional and national levels. Through good practices of coastal zone management, we should work towards sustainable management of the coastal zone. Europe should provide specific leadership to ensure good management of the coast. This will only be possible if the integrated coastal zone management process is backed up with appropriate legislation. The EU must establish a legal framework to enable action at other levels. This recommendation should be seen as a first stage in the development of that framework. I am astonished at some of the opposition to the idea of binding legislation because it is essential to secure adequate funding for integrated coastal zone management initiatives across Europe. Integrated coastal zone management initiatives usually focus on a central coordinating mechanism which requires comparatively low levels of core funding. Yet the integrated coastal zone initiatives already in existence are floundering, due mainly to lack of financial support. For instance, the EU-funded integrated coastal zone management projects such as the Atlantic Living Coastline in the UK and others have since ceased. The UK initiative and the Severn Estuary strategy, involving 12 local authorities, have only secured funding for the next six months. Member States should adopt binding measures to ensure good coastal zone management. This should happen not later than three years after the adoption of the current recommendation on integrated coastal zone management. This would be preceded by a national stock-taking to analyse which actors, laws and institutions influence the planning and management of the coastal zone in order to ensure convergence of public bodies and local initiatives, to be completed by the end of December 2002. In my own country, the Bantry Bay coastal zone chart is the only agreed integrated coastal zone management plan in the whole of the country at the present time. Even in countries such as the UK, where the EU programmes have funded some of the most important coastal zone management and regeneration projects, local authorities are unable to give priority to funding integrated coastal zone management actions because of the absence of a national policy framework, statutory duties, responsibilities or adequate funding. For this reason local authorities strongly support EU leadership to ensure cross-European commitment by national governments to give funding and legislative support in this field. Some people have criticised me for saying that I want to give the EU more power in this area. My colleague, Mr Davies – who is not here tonight – has criticised me in committee. I was beginning to wonder if I was the Euro-sceptic or was he? In relation to environmental protection, it is extremely important that the EU is given some sort of control. In my own country the government failed to take recommendations and even directives seriously and implement them in a way that actually achieves their original aim. A recommendation is basically non-binding. So you will have the situation where Member States do not take seriously the management of a coast. We cannot say that if we manage our own coasts, that is sufficient. It has a knock-on effect in other areas, especially where there are shared coastlines. It is completely unacceptable that some Member States have a very good integrated coastal zone management strategy and plans, whereas other countries do not. That is completely unfair. When it comes to environmental issues we need an international approach. There is no point in trying to tackle it at only a national level. As everyone knows, environmental issues cross all boundaries. There is no such thing as national borders. In this area we are not saying that we want to hand over total control to Europe but we need binding legislation. Otherwise governments just ignore it. Recommendations are just something that they comply with if it suits them, but not if they do not. In relation to coastal zones it is extremely important. Europe has experienced a great increase in pressures on coastal resources. From 1960 to 1990 it has been estimated that one kilometre of unspoilt coastline has been developed every day and 30 hectares of dune habitat have disappeared every day. Coastal populations have also further increased and, at present, about 50% of the EU’s population lives within 50 kilometres of the coast. So there really is an urgent need to tackle coastal zone management. The draft recommendation leaves out a very important issue in that it fails to identify the threatened biodiversity of our coastal zones. The coastal zone is one of the most dynamic areas of the earth’s surface with an abundance of unique flora and fauna which need to be protected. This has to be addressed. Another issue is climate change. We can no longer ignore threats from climate change on coastal erosion. This has to be taken into account. Everyone, at this stage, will recognise that climate change is having a major impact on our coastal areas. In the interests of all industries that rely on the coast we have to take action, and take it now. We can see the quick destruction of our coasts. This involves the destruction of industries that rely on our coasts such as tourism, fishing industries and others. It is important that something happens as a result of this recommendation, that there is some sort of legal framework. Member States who are reluctant to do this do not want to face up to the fact that our coasts have to be protected. They want to 'cop-out' of their responsibilities. This should not be allowed.

Political group: Verts-ALE