NoC 160/2 Official Journal of the European Communities 1. 7. 85 
Opinion on the Commission communication to the Council on the protection of the environment in 
the Mediterranean basin (J) 
(85/C 160/02) 
On 8 May 1984, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 
198 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the Commission 
communication to the Council on the protection of the environment in the Mediterranean basin. 
The Section for Protection of the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Affairs, which was 
responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 5 March 1985 
in the light of the report by Mr de Grave. 
At its 225th plenary session (meeting of 27 March 1985), the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following opinion unanimously: 
I. General comments 
1. The Committee approves the Commission's initiative 
in proposing that at least a start be made on a strategy and 
plan of action for the protection of the environment in the 
Mediterranean region. 
This region has acute special problems which cannot always 
be solved by national, or even Community, action. In this 
respect the Committee wonders whether the countries 
currently applying for EEC membership should not be 
involved in some way in the research recommended by the 
Commission. The Mediterranean basin embraces certain 
regions of these countries and consequently we should 
acquaint ourselves now with the ecological problems of our 
future partners. 
2. Several international organizations, to which countries 
and cities on both sides of the Mediterranean belong, have 
also drawn up various environmental measures. The 
Committee urges the Commission to work as closely as 
possible with these organizations. It is important to benefit 
from their experience, to support their efforts and to find a 
wider geographical framework which will ensure that the 
three Mediterranean Member States do not act in isolation, 
doomed to only partial success. 
In addition, future agreements between the Community and 
non-member Mediterranean States should contain a section 
on cooperation in environmental matters. This aspect offers 
opportunities which have yet to be adequately exploited. 
In the Adriatic, for example, the joint actions with 
Yugoslavia under the EEC/Yugoslavia Cooperation 
Agreement should lay more emphasis on the protection of the 
environment. 
3. The Committee also calls on the Commission to 
collaborate as closely as possible with the private 
organizations, laboratories, foundations, etc., concerned 
with the environment in the Mediterranean basin. 
I1) OJ No C 133, 21. 5. 1984, p. 12. 4. The Committee further notes some discrepancy 
between the title of the document ('the protection of the 
environment in the Mediterranean basin') and the content of 
the Annexes on the action programme, in particular the 
specific measures. The Committee would like to see these 
Annexes concern themselves with a strategy and an overall 
plan of action rather than a series of disparate projects; in any 
case these projects seem to be no more than examples and are 
already out-of-date. 
The Commission considers it 'important that the measures 
proposed should contribute not only to the protection but 
also to the improvement of the environment'. Yet the rest of 
the document contains little on the improvement of the 
environment. 
The Committee deplores the total absence of plans to resolve 
the environmental problems of the Mediterranean basin. 
The Committee sometimes has the impression that certain 
governments, while endorsing programmes to protect the 
environment, continue to approve the construction of plants 
which are a source of pollution. 
5. The Committee would point out that several existing 
legal instruments could help right now to improve the 
environment in the Mediterranean basin. Others have been 
proposed by the Commission and should be adopted by the 
Council. 
Firstly there are specific conventions on the 
Mediterranean: 
— the Convention on the protection of the Mediterranean 
against pollution and the Protocol on the prevention of 
pollution by dumping from ships and aircraft, 
— the Protocol on cooperation in action to prevent 
pollution of the Mediterranean by hydrocarbons and 
other harmful substances in critical situations, 
— the Protocol on protection of the Mediterranean against 
land-based pollution, 
1. 7. 85 Official Journal of the European Communities NoC 160/3 
— the Protocol on Mediterranean specially protected 
areas. 
Secondly, certain general Directives (or proposals) may have 
specific relevance to the Mediterranean, e.g. in the following 
fields: 
— hill farming, 
— fisheries policy (management of resources and, for 
example, minimum size of fish caught), 
— agricultural research (choice of Mediterranean varieties, 
diseases of certain species), 
— bathing water, 
— support for pilot projects to preserve the architectural 
heritage, 
— Community policy on tourism, 
— protection of migratory birds, 
— integrated Mediterranean programmes, 
— mutual assistance in the event of oil pollution and in 
combating forest fires, 
— dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic 
environment (heavy metals, organochlorines, 
hydrocarbons, . . .), 
— ecological mapping, 
— enforcement of safety standards/shipping using 
Community ports, 
— UN codes of conduct concerning liner conferences, 
— convention on the safety of maritime transport. 
As regards ecological mapping, the Committee would refer 
to its opinion of 28 March 1984 in which it called on the 
Commission 'to extend the information system at a later 
stage to cover the seas surrounding the Community'. The 
Committee also emphasized the need to make an immediate 
start 'on cooperation with international organizations which 
already have experience in this field' (!). 
The communication should refer explicitly to all or some of 
the instruments mentioned above, and the various 
Directorates-General concerned should collaborate more 
closely in this respect. 
Many projects could be implemented by using the 'local 
employment initiatives' scheme. 
Similarly, several suggestions contained in the ESC's 
own-initiative opinion on the implementation of 
environmental job-creating measures (2) could help to 
achieve the objectives of the Commission's proposal. 
(») OJ No C 140, 28. 5. 1984: opinion on the proposal for a 
Council Decision on the adoption of a work programme for the 
first phase of the implementation of an information system on 
the state of the environment and the natural resources in the 
Community (1984 to 1987). 
(2) OJ No C 341, 19. 12.1983, p. 43. 6. Financing 
6.1. The Committee considers that in all cases the 
Member States should help to finance the projects which 
concern them. Consequently, Community funding of specific 
measures concentrated in one Member State should never be 
100%. 
7. Points which could be given greater prominence 
7.1. The Committee is surprized that no concern is voiced 
about the preservation of sensitive terrestrial and marine 
biotopes in the Mediterranean Sea or in the Mediterranean 
basin. Threatened plant and animal species (monk seal, 
Pyrenean bear, etc.) deserve greater attention. 
It is essential to carry out a census of these species and to 
create reserves to protect certain valuable biotopes on the 
Mediterranean coast. 
For instance, the Mediterranean is poor in plankton and only 
a narrow littoral strip is covered by vegetation, not extending 
beyond 20 or 30 metres on the seabed. This vegetation is 
essential for stabilizing the seabed, breaking the force of the 
swell, preventing beach erosion, oxygenating the sea-water, 
sheltering and feeding marine fauna. 
In order to preserve this seabed, it must be studied more 
closely. 
A specific measure could take in certain plant species (large 
collections of marine plants), e.g. through the setting-up of 
gene banks. 
7.2. Mooring systems for pleasure-craft must be designed 
to avoid the damage caused by anchors. Pleasure-craft 
owners and those responsible for amenities should first be 
given adequate information, so that mooring systems can be 
provided which reduce the damage to the seabed. 
Other problems connected with the presence of 
pleasure-craft must also be studied. 
7.2. (a) The concentration of tourists at certain times of 
the year raises special problems as regards water supply and 
waste disposal. 
7.3. Community research policy could play a part, e.g. by 
studying ways of combating chemical pollution of the sea by 
heavy metals and organochloride compounds, and the effects 
of such pollution on ecosystems, marine and human food 
chains (e.g. mercury content of tuna fished in the 
Mediterranean). 
No C 160/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 1. 7. 85 
7.4. Pollution from harmful liquids transported in bulk 
or in containers damages ecosystems and marine food chains. 
The rules set out in the 1973-78 Marpol Convention, 
Annexes II and III in particular, should be applied forthwith. 
These Annexes stipulate that residues may only be 
discharged to reception facilities, unless various conditions 
are met. 
7.5. Generally speaking, this document pays too little 
attention to pollution from dumping. The Protocol on the 
prevention of pollution of the Mediterranean by dumping 
from ships and aircraft came into force on 12 February 1978. 
Once it has been effectively implemented, this instrument 
will have a very considerable effect on the protection of the 
environment in the Mediterranean, since it will limit the 
amount of waste dumped and specify those substances which 
may be dumped. 
7.6. Rehabilitation must be an integral part of the 
protection of the marine environment. 
The working environment of those earning their livelihood 
from the sea must not only be protected against 
environmental disasters, but must be rapidly rehabilitated 
after on oil slick or other form of pollution. 
This could involve measures to safeguard species not affected 
by the disaster or restocking measures. 
Generally speaking, the measures will have to focus on the 
preservation of marine flora and fauna and the distinctive 
character of the region affected. 
7.7. Agricultural and environment/climatology research 
programmes could develop measures in connection with the 
climatology of drought (implications for agriculture and 
forestry). Meteorological satellites (Nimbus, Meteosat, etc.) 
could provide valuable help.in this work. The steady advance 
of the desert in North Africa is highly worrying and the 
Community could play a very active role in this field. 
Following the conference on desertification held in Dakar on 
24 July 1984, 22 African countries have proposed setting up 
a committee to coordinate the fight against the advance of the 
desert. 
Experts have suggested drawing up a regional cooperation 
programme based on the preservation of water, soil and 
vegetation. The Community could provide scientific assistance as part 
of its cooperation policy, also because this phenomenon 
could have repercussions for the ecoclimatology of its 
Mediterranean regions. 
7.8. The Committee has already expressed its wish to 
see improved coordination between various policies and 
therefore between the different Directorates-General. 
This collaboration could usefully take the form of financing 
for the research and development of prototypes for new 
European technologies in such fields as: 
— multi-purpose aircraft to combat disasters (forest fires, 
oil pollution at sea, air-sea rescue, fires in tower blocks, 
etc.), 
— brushwood clearance machinery, 
— beach-cleaning equipment which does not harm the 
environment, 
— energy recovery from waste (the dissemination of the 
knowledge already available would in itself be of very 
great benefit), 
— equipment for round-the-clock surveillance of the sea 
(discharges of hydrocarbons), 
— etc. 
8. In the Committee's view, the Advisory Committee on 
Environmental Measures in the Mediterranean can play a 
valuable part in working out the projects. 
This Committee should include environmental as well as 
budgetary experts. 
Besides government representatives, the Committee would 
like to see representatives of the economic and social interest 
groups invited to sit on this committee on a permanent 
basis. 
II. Specific comments on the communication 
7.2. Key field in which environmental action is clearly 
necessary 
In this connection the Committee would refer to its general 
comments (point 7). 
7.2. (i) 
This point to read as follows: 
'Increase in the availability and protection of water 
resources for specific uses'. 
1. 7. 85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 160/5 
HI. Comments on the Annexes to the communication 
1. Water quality and supply 
1.1. The Committee notes that the influx of tourists at 
certain times of the year means that adequate water 
treatment and management facilities have to be provided by 
property developers and hotels or by the local authorities. By 
applying the 'polluter pays' principle, these facilities could be 
financed at least partially by the visitors' tax paid by tourists 
to the local authorities. 
It must also be ensured that existing installations are used 
efficiently. These comments also apply to regions other than 
the Mediterranean basin (Atlantic and North Sea beaches, 
Lake Geneva, Lake Constance, Lake Lugano, etc.). 
1.2. There is also an urgent need for shore reception 
facilities for hydrocarbon waste from ships, something that 
has not been given proper emphasis. Action is urgently 
needed as a considerable amount of oil is discharged into the 
Mediterranean. 
As a solution to this problem, which calls for heavy 
investment plus time of construction, the Commission could 
consider using laid-up tankers adequately equipped to meet 
local waste loads. 
The ships' equipment should comprise oily water separators, 
sewage treatment plants and incinerators. 
This scheme could be funded by the EEC with the 
participation of the country concerned, in line with point 6 
above. 
A Regulation would have to make it mandatory for the 
Member States to provide adequate facilities. 
The Commission should examine this question with the 
relevant international organizations: UNEP (United Nations 
Environment Programme), IMO (International Maritime 
Organization). 
1.3. The Committee calls for an improvement in the 
application of the Directive on bathing water and other 
existing Directives. 
1.4. In point 3.3 ('Management training') the word 
'management' is too restrictive. These training schemes must 
be open to staff at various levels. 
2. Waste management 
Action must be concentrated on waste management, 
especially in the Mediterranean which has to contend with pollution and waste in many forms and from many 
sources. 
As regards urban and industrial waste, major sources of 
land-based pollution, the Committee would point out the 
importance of the Athens Protocol to the 1976 Barcelona 
Convention on the protection of the Mediterranean against 
pollution from land-based sources. 
Even if the Community has already committed itself to 
practical measures to implement many of the Protocol's 
provisions, the Committee would emphasize the seriousness 
of illegal dumping of urban and industrial waste. These 
measures must be backed up by infrastructure for the 
treatment of such waste. 
In the case of pollution from shipping, the Committee 
stresses the need to recover the waste resulting from 
accidents. 
It does not wish to see a repetition of the situation where 
waste ends up on the dunes or public areas of the seaboard in 
general. 
In short, the management of urban and industrial waste and 
waste from shipping accidents must be accorded equal 
priority with other aspects of environmental protection. 
Hence the Committee approves the provisions contained in 
Annex II to the Commission's communication to the 
Council. 
Waste management is an integral part of any policy to protect 
the environment. It is linked to the idea of rehabilitating the 
marine environment or zones affected by pollution. 
3. Rational use of land 
The information system on the state of the environment and 
natural resources (ecological mapping) must be put into 
operation as quickly as possible. 
The idea is to analyze, for the first time at Community level, 
the economic and financial implications - not only for 
tourism, as is mentioned in the document, but also for fishery 
and biological resources in general - of rehabilitating the 
environment through a series of measures. 
In specific oceanic regions heavily polluted by oil spills for 
example, it has been possible to put this idea partially into 
practice, though not at Community level. The idea of 
rehabilitating the environment has, moreover, been taken 
into account for some time in the new compensation 
No C 160/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 1. 7. 85 
instruments adopted by IMO (Protocol to the 1969 CLC, 
Protocol to the 1971 Fund). Although these instruments have 
still not come into force, they give some idea of legal 
developments as regards the concept of reparable damage. 
Besides encouraging the ratification of these instruments, the 
Community can adopt a certain number of working 
guidelines for putting the environment rehabilitation plans 
into operation. 
The following procedure could be employed: 
— biological, ecological, socio-economic analysis of the 
damage caused by pollution, 
— inventory of the damage (monitoring) and measures for 
rehabilitating the environment (technical, infrastructure, 
financial, . . .), 
— finalization of plans for rehabilitating the environment 
(there are not that many examples at present, though 
specific cases do exist of (partial) rehabilitation following 
major pollution: e.g. Brittany, Brest roads). 
The aim of rehabilitating the environment is to mitigate the 
adverse effects of the accident on the local and regional 
communities, the tourist trade and, naturally, those making 
their living from the sea. Often only the tourist trade is cited 
as suffering from pollution. The region may suffer a loss of 
tax revenue, those who derive their livelihood from the sea 
(fishermen, oyster farmers, . . .) are among the first potential 
victims of pollution - either directly through damage to the 
tools of their trade (e.g., their boats) or loss of earnings 
resulting from laying-up, or indirectly through adverse 
commercial repercussions. 
Thus short- and long-term formulas must be found for 
rehabilitating the environment even before the international 
instruments come into force: 
— short term: 
for identified pollution; 
— longer term: 
for unidentified pollution. 
At Community level this would have a dual effect: 
— economically: uniformity rule in the application of 
standards and repercussions for the principle of 
non-distortion of competition, 
— on environmental policy: it could provide a fillip for 
action not only on the uniform implementation of this 
convention, but also on harmful and dangerous 
substances. The joint adoption of the rules of the HNS 
Convention would facilitate the application of Directives 
such as Council Directive 76 7464/EEC of 4 May 1976 on pollution caused by the discharge of dangerous 
substances into the aquatic environment of the 
Community (OJ No L 129, 18. 5. 1976), the Annex to 
which contains two lists of dangerous substances, some 
which fall within the scope of the future international 
HNS Convention. 
As far as this very important point is concerned, the 
Community can no longer separate its policy on the marine 
environment from the rules governing the principle of fair 
competition and the elimination of distortions of trade. 
An economic activity (e.g navigation) which entails 
ecological damage for a Member State and prejudices the 
common good of the EEC must be liable to compensate the 
victims and eliminate the pollution from the environment. 
It is time to reopen the discussions on the problems of 
compensation for pollution damage. 
4. International action 
The Community can provide a major impetus, but an 
important question arises: 
Community action to protect the Mediterranean must be 
extended to the whole of the region through the intermediary 
of the international organizations working in this field and 
the Community's cooperation agreemnts with the countries 
of the southern Mediterranean. 
4.1. APM (action plan for the Mediterranean) 
(a) Barcelona Convention, the Protocols; 
(b) integrated planning of development and resource 
management in the Mediterranean basin (the blue plan 
and the priority action programme (PAP)); 
(c) a coordinated programme of continuous monitoring 
and research relating to pollution in the Mediterranean 
(MED-POL). 
4.2. Bilateral cooperation agreements which the 
Community has concluded since 1972 as part of its global 
environment policy. 
Thes agreements include provisions for joint efforts to 
protect the environment. 
The Committee wonders how the Community can use its 
powers to encourage and implement international 
1. 7. 85 Official Journal of the European Communities NoC 160/7 
instruments such as the 1976 Barcelona Convention and its 
Protocols. 
The Community cannot protect the environment and combat 
pollution on its own. Spain, as an applicant country, and 
the southern Mediterranean countries must be part of the 
Community action. 
There are numerous technical (as well as political and legal) 
obstacles to the effective implementation of these 
agreements. 
The Regional Oil-Combating Centre (Malta) is experiencing 
technical difficulties, with telecommunications for instance. 
The meeting of the contracting parties have revealed 'a 
deterioration in telecommunications facilities: it now takes 
longer to establish a link-up with the Centre. This 
deterioration could seriously limit the assistance which the 
Centre could provide in an emergency. New measures should 
be considered to improve telecommunications . . .'. 
Besides these technical shortcoming, it is clear that the Centre 
cannot fulfil its role properly if the States party to the 
Convention and more especially its Protocols do not supply it 
with the necessary information and reports. 
The Community could encourage the Member States to set 
up multi-purpose centres to combat fire and marine 
pollution, like the one in France at Valabre near Marseilles. 
Such centres would facilitate cooperation between the 
Member States in the event of a major accident. A start could 
be made now on training staff and exchanging information 
between the Member States. 
4.3. 1980 Athens Protocol on pollution from land-based 
sources 
The Committee entirely endorses the idea (Annex IV, point 
2.3.2 of the communication) of promoting detailed research 
into pollution from land-based sources and the mechanisms 
controlling the spread of pollution, particularly in estuaries 
and in the adjacent coastal waters. 
Here, as in the case of the prevention of pollution by 
shipping, measures to facilitate technical cooperation and the 
transfer of technology are important for an effective 
application of this Protocol. 
The shortcomings of the Protocol, in its application phase, lie 
in the weakness of the programmes for the permanent 
monitoring and control of discharges of pollutants. The 
Committee is also in favour of encouraging any Community measure - both financial and technical - for the effective 
implementation of the provisions of the Protocol on 
pollution from land-based sources. 
Furthermore, Annex IV makes no reference to the Protocol 
on dumping although this source of pollution accounts for a 
sizeable and dangerous proportion of overall pollution in the 
Mediterranean. 
Hence the Committee supports the meeting scheduled for 
1984 on a coordinated environmental strategy for the 
Mediterranean basin. 
5. Specific measures 
5.1. The Committee would point out that the proposed 
specific measures are in fact only examples which are largely 
out-of-date already or require coordination. For example, 
the scheme involving eutrophication along the coast 
(Abruzzi) should be linked to the measures being carried out 
in Emilia Romagna and Languedoc and, after Spanish 
accession, to those in Catalonia. 
It notes that some of the examples proposed involve only one 
very limited area affected by problems which occur on a 
wider scale, for instance: 
— eutrophication along the coast (Abruzzi), 
— water supply on islands (Sicily), 
— soil erosion (islands of the Aegean Sea). 
Even allowing for the fact that not all of the research and 
measures are applicable to more than one region, if these are 
pilot studies they must not duplicate studies already carried 
out or repeat pilot projects already in existence in other 
regions. Sometimes it will be necessary to go on to the next 
stage. 
At the same time, all the relevant regions must be involved as 
soon as the specific measures get underway so that they can 
learn as much as possible from them. 
The Committee would have liked to see these pilot studies 
more closely integrated into a general strategy for tackling 
eutrophication, the ecoclimatology of all regions with a 
water deficiency, desertification and soil erosion, etc. . . . 
5.2. The Committee also suggests a pilot study for an 
environmental park in the Venetian lagoon. 
It also suggests a preliminary study, to be followed by a 
specific measure, on the damage caused by pleasure-boats. 
5.3. The Committee notes that some specific measures 
are not peculiar to the Mediterranean basin, e.g., the study 
No C 160/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 1. 7. 85 
on the waste from pig-rearing. This problem has already 
been the subject of numerous pilot projects and studies in 
other regions. The Commission should circulate the results 
widely to all interested parties (Mediterranean basin and 
other regions) and consider collaborating with them on 
further measures, taking into account each specific situation, 
such as that of the Bay of Arta. 
The Committee passes no opinion on Community financing 
for a study on waste from nickel-bearing ore. This measure 
might be regarded as gravely prejudicing the 'polluter pays' principle and therefore setting a precedent for all other firms 
experiencing difficulties in the disposal of waste from 
non-ferrous metals. In the absence of further details on the 
precise nature of the proposed measure, the Committee 
reserves judgement. 
Specific measure No 10 
The Committee considers that the funds earmarked for this 
measure are inadequate. 
Done at Brussels, 27 March 1985. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Gerd MUHR 
Opinion on 'The regions of Europe' - Second periodic report on the social and economic situation 
and development of the regions of the Community 
(85/C 160/03) 
On 10 April 1984, acting under Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Communities, the 
Commission asked the Economic and Social Committee for an opinion on the abovementioned 
text. 
The Section for Regional Development was instructed to draw up an opinion on the subject, with Mr 
Fuller as rapporteur. The Section opinion was adopted on 15 February 1985. 
The Economic and Social Committee adopted the opinion unanimously during its 225th plenary 
session (meeting of 27 March 1985). 
I. Introduction 
1. The first periodic report was published by the 
Commission in February 1981, and the Committee produced 
its opinion on 30 June 1982 (*). 
2. In pursuit of the macro-economic objective of 
convergence in economic and living standards between the 
regions of the Community, and bearing in mind the changes 
then being proposed and subsequently implemented in the 
Regulation of the European Regional Development Fund 
(ERDF), the Committee at that time felt that a commendable 
effort had been made in a highly complex and difficult 
assignment. A start had at least been made in attempting to 
discover a means for evaluating the situation in the various 
regions from approximately comparable statistics. 
(>) OJ No C 252, 27. 9. 1982, p. 20. 3. The Committee is now requested to give an opinion on 
the second periodic report, dated 4 April 1984. 
A number of improvements in the formulation of the 
previous report have been included. The Commission 
responded, in several respects, to the criticisms levelled at the 
earlier report. 
II. Purpose of the second periodical report 
1. The Commission in adopting the second periodic 
report on the social and economic situation and development 
of the regions of the Community, covering the situation of 
the regions in the early 1980s and developments since 1973, 
date of the first oil crisis, looks to the future, considers the 
prospects for labour markets in the 1980s, and attempts a