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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(81)98
Vol.1981/0028

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM (81)98final
Brussels .5th March 1981
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PARTICIPATION BYTHE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY
INTHEACTION PLAN FORTHEMEDITERRANEAN
" , ■■■ ■■■■11 '■
(Communication from the Commission tothe Council )
r'!
COM (81)98final

Cow \y2
PARTICIPATION BYTHE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY
INTHE ACTION PLAN FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN
Anintergovernmental meeting oftheMediterranean States will beheld in
Cannes from 2-7March 1981 toreview the state ofaffairs with regard tothe
Action Plan fortheMediterranean ;:asecond meeting oftheContracting
Parties totheConvention ontheProtection oftheMediterranean against
Pollution (the Barcelona Convention )will also beheld atthe same time .
"' - . . " * -
Asthese dates will affect the implementation ofthe Action Plan for the
Mediterranean ,itis appropriate toreview theCommunity 's
participation inthis Plan andcontemplate the role which theCommunity
should play hertunder inthenext fewyears .
1.TheAction Plan wasadopted inBarcelona inFebruary 1975 byan
intergovernmental meeting ofthecountries bordering theMediterranean ,
.convened bytheDirector oftheUnited Nations Programme onthe
Environment (UNEP ). .
There arethree parts tothePLan :
a)Theframework convention ontheprotection oftheMediterranean and .
the special protocols (Barcelona Convention )
-On16February 1976 ,inBarcelona ,aconference ofplenipoten­
tiaries from theStates bordering theMediterranean adopted the
first legal instruments forming thebasis ofinternational coopera­
tion intheMediterranean area .These instruments are asfollows s
.theframework Convention ontheprotection oftheMediterranean
Seaagainst pollution
sionaladdrest:RuadelaLoi200,8-1049Bru»els-Téléphoné7350040/7358040–Télégraphieeddress:"COMEURBrussels–
, Telex:"21877COMEUB"

2.
■j ■ ■
.thefirst protocol ontheprevention ofthepollution ofthe
Mediterranean Seabydumping from ships andaircraft
.thesecond protocol concerning cooperation indealing with emergency
cases ofpollution oftheMediterranean byoil andother harmful
substances
.the third protocol for theprotection oftheMediterranean Sea
against pollution from land-based sources /signed inAthens on
17May 1980 . .
.adraft fourth protocol concerning special protected areas ofthe
Mediterranean wasreviewed atanintergovernmental meeting in
Athens from 13-17 October 1980 . '
Bythe Council Decision of25July 1977 ,theCommunity ratified the
Convention andthedumping protocol on16March 1978 .Asregards the
cooperation protocol ,theCouncil recorded itsagreement inprinciple
toaccession thereto atthe Council ofEnvironment Ministers on
10December 1978 .AsoneMember State was rather reluctant ,however ,
ithas not yetbeen possible toadopt theproposed accession decision .
The framework convention and thedumping and cooperation protocols
came into force on12February 1978 .
Theprocedure for ratifying theprotocol onland-based pollution isunder
discussion atthe Council . •
b)The integrated planning ofdevelopment and resource management inthe
Mediterranean basin
Two important initiatives have been taken inthis context sofar ::
ι·
-TheBlue Plan whose purpose istomake information available tothe
authorities anddevelopment planners intheMediterranean countries
toenable them todraw upnational plans which will promote optimum
socio-economic development and the improvement oftheenvironment
forpresent andfuture generations .
Acoordination andanalysis group manages thestudies andresearch
carried out under the first phase ofthe Plan .
Studies arecarried out with regard toeach ofthefollowing systems
orsub-systems :land-sea ,water resources ,industrial growth ,old and
new forms ofenergy ,health ,population andpopulation movements ,
land utilization ,tourism ,economic relations between Mediterranean
■

countries ,transport andcommunications ,thecultural heritage
-andtherelations between thevarious cultures ,environmental
Awareness andnon-Mediterranean influences ontheMediterranean
basin .
TheMediterranean environmental development activity centre inCannes
(MEDEAS )hasbeen chosen astheregional activity centre forthe
Blue Plan . '
-ThePriority Action Programme (PAP) ? !
whose purpose istopromote permanent cooperation between the j
Mediterranean states inlocal activities andprojects .Several
projects arebeing drawn up„covering :
I
.renewable enery sources , , \
.thebiological resources ofthesea (aquaculture ), j
.human settlements , ' ' ;!
; '~ ■ s
.themanagement ofwater resources , i
-.soil protection *
i i
.tourism . ;j
The .regional activity centre forthePriority Action Programme is
inSplit .
c)Thecoordinated programme ofcontinuous monitoring and research
relating topollution intheMediterranean (Med.Pol.) i
_ • *
-.Thirteen pilot projects have been agreed ,covering thefollowing
1»' •
four areas ofresearch :
' >
.sources ofpollution ,
.coastal waters ,
.thehigh seas ,
.theatmosphere . •
., N
Inall,83laboratories in17countries aretaking part inthe
programme covering thepollution oftheMediterranean
> . .
(involving atotal of158 research contracts ). i
- i
Further totheCounciL 'sDecision of13March 1980 toincorporate !
marine protection Inthe1980-83 research programme oftheJoint j
Research Centre atIspra ,thelatter ispreparing aspecial project |

4.
(Archimedes ),which isdesigned tostudy thevarious types of
pollution incertain zones oftheMediterranean andtofurther our
understanding ofthemechanisms ofspreading ofthemost important
kinds ofpollutants . ,
2.All thestates bordering theMediterranean (Albania excepted )and the
European Economic Community attended theAction Plan meetings .
Apart from theCommunity itself ,fifteen states have already ratified
theConvention and atleast one ofthe three protocols .
The Action Plan for the Mediterranean isamultilateral framework
which offers many interesting opportunities for cooperation between the
Mediterranean countries .
From theoutset ,theCommunity ha&taken part inconstructing and
developing this framework ;inaddition toitsexperience ofthese
matters ithascontributed financially ,butonly toanominal extent
which innowaymatches theeconomic andpolitical importance of
cooperation with the'Medi terranean countries ,especially with the
developing ones \
)
Thebudget fortheAction Plan amounted toUS26400000 forthe
period 1979-80 .Twenty-five per cent ofthis was me ;tbyUNEP ,which
initiated theproject .The UNitself provided another 25%through its
special agencies .
The remaining US23200000 were divided among thecontracting
parties :US21570000 (48.88% )waspaid byFrance ,US2744000
(23.27% )byItaly and US290000 (2.94% )byGreece .
TheCommunity 'sshare amounted toUS280000,or2.4% (i.e. approximately
30.000 ECUS ayear ).
From 1981 ,however ,-UNEP 'sshare ofanestimated budget ofabout
US25million will bereduced toroughly US,2300000 .
Although itwasannounced along time ago,thereduction byUNEP of
itsfinancial commitment threatens toaffect theAction Plan adversely
;ustwhen thevarious programmes artbecoming operational .Itwould be
politically regrettable Ifcooperation ,which hashitherto been an
undeniable success ,should beimpeded byfinancial problems .
S
rI

5.
Accordingly,weshouldaskourselveswhethertheCommunitycannot
seizetheopportunity affordedby$hereductionoftheUNEPcommit­
mentandplayamoresizeableroleinasensitiveareainrespectof
b.othpolitical andenvironmental mattersbypartlytakingover
fromUNEPwherefinance'andtechnology areconcerned.
3.ItisintheCommunity'sinteresttoshowthatitismindfulofthe
problemsoftheMediterranean .
Foronething,whenGreecejoins,itsMediterranean shoresrepresent
about22000km,out(ofatotalCommunitycoastlineof41000km.
WiththeaccessionofSpain,theMediterranean portionoftotalcoast-
lengthwillbegreaterstill.
Inaddition,theacquisition bysomesouthernMediterranean countries „
ofoilaridgasresourcesincreasestheimportanceoftheMediterranean
areafortheCommunity. . ^
TheCommunitymaintains goodrelationswithalmostalltheMediterranean
«'«'- '
countrieswithwhichitisassociated bybilateralagreements,
includingthosewhichincludecooperation inenvironmental matters.
Greatercommitment bytheCommunityundertheActionPlanforthe
Mediterranean wouldbewelcomedbythecountriesconcerned and
couldhaveapositiveeffectonallitsrelationswiththe
countriesoftheMediterranean basin.*
Anincreasedfinancial ;contribution fromtheCommunity,whichwould
stillbeverysmallinanycase,wouldalsoemphasizetheinterest
ofthenon-Mediterranean MemberStatesinpreserving theMediterranean ,
aseawhichforpolitical,economic^culturalandtouristicreasonsis
partoftheheritageofEuropeasawhole.
TheCommunitycouldthusplayamoreactiverolewithintheMediterranean ,
without,however,itsfinancialcontribution addedtothatofCommunity
membersdirectlyinvolved(France:48,83%,Italy:23,27%)beingper--
ceivedbyothermediterranean countriesasbeinginappropriately large.
■m
4.Thereismoreatstake,moreover,intheMediterranean thanjust
.ecological matters.Startingfromtheveryrealneedtocontrol
pollutionandpreservetheMediterranean,anddespiteexistingtensions,
relativelyclosecooperationisemerginginthisregionbetween
/ '

6.
countries wi\h different political structures andeconomic
situations .Onehas /,only toremember that ,atthese meetings ,
Israel sits atthe same table asall the Arab countries .
Environmental developments intheMediterranean havenot escaped the
attention oftheSoviet Union which hastried onseveral occasions ,
unsuccessfully ,tosecure observer status atAction Plan meetings .
Theenvironment aspect oftheMediterranean isalso treated in
various chapters ofthe Final Act ofHelsinki ,and will bediscussed
attheMadrid Conference onSecurity andCooperation inEurope .
The meeting atCannes from 2to7March 1981 ,will review the
implementation oftheAction Plan andexamine thedraft budget for
1981 ,. .
Itisappropriate that theCommission officials representing the
/
Community atthis meeting should have guidelines before them
which will enable them totake anactive part .
Therefore the Commission considers itessentiel that the
Community should commit itself from now ontomaking acontribution
tothefulfilment oftheobjectives intheAction Plan which is
adequate from thescientific ,,structural andfinancial points of
view and reflects itsinterests intheMediterranean region .
-Onthescientific level ,,theCommission intends tocontribute tothe
research andcontinuous monitoring programme (Med .Pol.)set up
under theBarcelona Convention ,through theactive participation of
theJoint Research Centre .This will ,beparticularly useful
with regard toremote sensing .N
-Structurally ,theCommission intends topromote andintensify coopera
tionbetween itsdepartments andtheAction Plan Secretariat .The
research andeontinyous monitoring programme (Med .Pol.)andthe
projects ,being finalized under thePriority Action Programme (PAP)
cover such sectors asresearch ,energy andthebiological resources
'ofthesea,and thecompetent departments ofthe
Commission would usefully cooperate here .

Severaloftheseprojects,moreover,aresetincountries-bothin
thenorthernandsouthernMediterranean »withwhichcooperation •~
agreementsexistandwhichcouldbenefitfromthecooperationofthe
servicesoftheCommission.Aspractisedatthemoment,theseforms
ofcooperation arepragmaticofcourse;nevertheless,weshouldem­
phasizethattheywouldbewellsuitedtotheActionPlanforthe
Mediterranean#
Financially,asalreadynoted,therearegoodargumentsfortheCom­
munitytoincreaseitscontribution totheActionPlan'sbudget,
withaviewtofillingsomeofthegapcreatedbythevirtuallycom-*
pletewithdrawalofUNEP.Itisaccordingly proposed,subjecttoavaila­
bilityoffunds,andtotheCommission'sprioritiesasdeterminedat^the
timeofdrawingupthepreliminarydraftbudget,thatasfrom1982
asignificantincreasebecontemplated intheannualfixedsumcontri­
butedbytheCommunitytotheActionPlanbudget(assessedbyMr.Narjes
atanorder-ofmagnitudeof500.000EUA)'.Theamountofthegrantand
theappropriate budgetheadingwouldbefinallyfixedthroughthebudgetary
procedure.