Council conclusions

of 27 October 2003

on a European environment and health strategy

(2003/C 268/02)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

I. RECALLING THAT:

1. The Treaty in Articles 152 and 174 requires that a high level of human health protection should be ensured in the definition and implementation of all Community policies and actions, that Community policy on the environment shall contribute to, inter alia, the protection of human health and the promotion of measures at international level to deal with regional or global environmental problems, and that the Community policy on the environment shall be based on the precautionary principle.

2. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines "environment and health" as including "both the direct pathological effects of chemicals, radiation and some biological agents, and the effects (often indirect) on health and well-being of the broad physical, psychological, social and aesthetic environment, which includes housing, urban development, land use and transport"(1).

3. The Sixth Environmental Action Programme has the goal of contributing to a high level of quality of life and social well-being for citizens by providing an environment where the level of pollution does not give rise to harmful effects on human health and the environment.

4. The Programme of Community action in the field of Public Health (2003-2008) lists among its range of actions and support measures that of promoting health and preventing disease through action on health determinants across all Community policies and activities.

5. The multi-annual Framework Programmes of the European Community for Research and Technological Development have included specific actions in the field of environment and health, an area which continues to be a key subject of research.

6. The Community's sustainable development strategy can provide a tool for the promotion of the integration of environmental and health aspects into sectoral policies.

7. An important international process was launched in Frankfurt in 1989 when Environment and Health Ministers of the European region of the World Health Organisation adopted the European Charter on Environment and Health; and the Helsinki (1994) and London (1999) declarations identified further action, in particular the National Environmental Health Action Plans (NEHAPs) developed by most Member States and Acceding Countries. The forthcoming pan-European Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health to be held in Budapest in June 2004 with the theme "The future for our children" will be the next milestone in the process.

8. Environment and health is also high on the global agenda and a number of the goals set by the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) as well as the United Nations Millennium Development Goals deal with human health issues related to environmental degradation.

II. CONSIDERING THAT:

9. There is a growing need to formulate an overall Community-wide and multi-disciplinary framework approach to co-ordinate the various Community action programmes, with a view to identifying and exploiting all potential synergies while avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort and identifying potential gaps and issues which should be developed further.

10. Environmental assessments and policy actions have to date achieved significant progress by focusing on single pollutants in single environmental compartments. Whilst further efforts in this direction should be continued, there is now growing awareness of the need to address the effects of the combination of harmful environmental factors, of the transfer of pollutants from one environmental compartment to another, and of long-term exposure thereto.

11. When investigating the relationship between environment and health, high volume chemicals on which very little information is available at the present, but for which a significant exposure is expected, should also be considered. In this respect, the new chemical policy with the REACH system will therefore be elaborated with a view to making it an essential tool to improve knowledge and prevent future threats to human health.

12. Furthermore, our societies have proved to be vulnerable to extreme climatic events, leading to serious consequences for public health. As such events are expected to become more frequent and severe, our societies should improve their capacities to assess these impacts better and to prepare for these effects.

13. A range of important human pathologies are associated with the exposure of the population, in particular vulnerable population groups such as children in their different developmental stages, pregnant women, the elderly, and the socio-economically disadvantaged, to a number of environmental factors, both indoors and outdoors, and in the short and the long term. Children are particularly vulnerable to certain environmental factors and therefore an additional safety factor may be required when considering actual risk for children. Specific actions are therefore needed in order to protect their health and enhance their healthy life expectancy.

14. Environment-related health problems could affect men and women differently. There is therefore a need for further research in this field.

15. Factors in the indoor environment influence the prevalence of respiratory disease, asthma and allergy in children. For this reason the indoor environment should be more closely focussed on in the future work programme. Small children spend much of their time indoors so safe conditions are crucial. In addition, many workers spend considerable parts of their working lives indoors and a safe working environment is essential to them. It is therefore essential that unacceptable risks such as environmental tobacco smoke should be reduced or eliminated altogether.

III. WELCOMES:

16. The European Environment and Health Strategy outlined in the Commission Communication(2) with its focus for the first cycle (2004-2010) on four major human health problems (childhood respiratory diseases, asthma, allergies; neurodevelopmental disorders; childhood cancer; endocrine disrupting effects), and with its three ultimate objectives, namely the reduction of the health risks and disease burden caused by environmental factors in the EU, the identification and prevention of new health threats caused by environmental factors, and the strengthening of EU capacity for policymaking in this area. As such, the Strategy represents an important step towards establishing a coherent, long-term, integrated Community policy to combat environmental and health threats, including specific measures and activities;

17. The Commission's intention to establish a European Integrated Environment and Health Monitoring and Response System which will generate synergies and facilitate the sharing of data and methodologies in order to increase the understanding of the environment and health relationship;

IV. UNDERLINES:

18. The added value which can be generated by close co-ordination of the Sixth Environmental Action Programme, the Programme of Community Action in the field of Public Health (2003-2008) and the Sixth Framework Programme for Research and Development.

19. The need to ensure that the consultative group and technical working groups established by the Commission take into account the work of scientific committees and other advisory fora set up to advise the Commission in order to optimise synergies and avoid duplication of work.

20. The need for close co-operation between the Commission and the Member States, making full use of the inputs from scientific institutions, and involving NGOs and other stakeholders in implementation of the Strategy.

21. The importance, in the context of the drawing up of the "Action Plan 2004-2010", of establishing concrete operational and quantifiable objectives on the basis of existing environmental and health data banks, in order to ensure integrated information. Priority should be given to developing broader Health Impact Assessment Methodologies, Information Surveillance Systems and an Early Warning System and to developing robust, reliable and informative indicators on Environment and Health. Joint programmes on monitoring would also help the exchange of experience and knowledge and would fill some of the gaps.

22. The need to support the development and implementation of the the European Environment and Health Strategy, including through the Framework Programmes for Research and Development, and to pay particular regard to both capacity building, and the generation, exchange and dissemination of knowledge.

23. The fact that appropriate and effective advocacy, information, education and communication, based on sound science, is key to promoting public awareness so that people can avoid well known and emerging environmental health threats. Furthermore, public awareness can also play an important role in ensuring sufficient support for the development of new risk management policies.

24. The need to consider how to supplement regulatory instruments with other types of measures, for example policies designed to motivate economic operators and individual citizens to undertake positive action in the field of environment and health.

25. The need to ensure that specific attention can be paid to the environment and health issues which are prevalent in the Acceding countries.

26. The need to co-operate closely with international institutions such as the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, in developing the external dimension of the Strategy, taking into account the goals set by the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the UN Millennium declaration.

V. CALLS UPON THE COMMISSION TO:

27. Ensure, in establishing and implementing the "Action Plan 2004-2010", a strict linkage and interaction with the relevant Thematic Strategies of the Sixth Environment Action Programme, the Programme of Community Action in the field of Public Health, the Sixth Framework Programme for Research and Development and other relevant Community programmes with a view to providing input for their future development;

28. Ensure that the Strategy and its Action Plan are regularly evaluated and adjusted on the basis of scientific knowledge and experience acquired during implementation;

29. Develop, in the first cycle of the Strategy, the research base for the socio-economic evaluation of the health impact of policies and measures with particular focus on the health of children and other vulnerable groups in order to support policy-making and strengthen the integration of health aspects into the new integrated impact assessment tool;

30. Consider including in the first cycle of the Strategy research on the less explored health and environmental threats represented by the broad physical, psychological, social and aesthetic environment affecting the health and well-being of the population such as:

- indoor environmental factors including environmental tobacco smoke,

- the socio-economic determinants of environmental health,

- the impacts of climatic change,

- contaminated water, and

- noise.

31. Ensure the appropriate consultation of the Council in the evolution of the Action Plan in the lead up to the pan-European Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health to be held in Budapest.

32. Contribute, in close co-operation with the Member States and the World Health Organisation, to the preparation and follow-up of the forthcoming pan-European Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health and, in this framework, ensure consistency between the "Action Plan 2004-2010" and the Children's Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE).

VI. CALLS UPON THE MEMBER STATES TO:

33. Ensure an active role for civil society, NGOs and citizens' organisations in developing and implementing the Strategy;

34. Ensure close organisational co-operation between all institutions competent for environment and health control with particular reference to the surveillance and monitoring activities, at local, national and international level.

(1) "Environment and health. The European Charter and commentary", Copenhagen, WHO Regional Office for Europe, 1990 (WHO Regional Publications, European Series, No 35).

(2) Doc. 10676/03 ENV 347 SAN 141.