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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(82)79
Vol.1982/0030

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(82)79 final
Brussels,1March1982
Recommendation fora
COUNCILDECISION
authorizing theCommissiontoopennegotiations onCommunityparti­
cipationintheEnvironmental ActionPlanfortheCaribbeanandthe
Conventionfortheprotection anddevelopment ofthemarineand
coastalenvironment ofthewiderCaribbeanarea
/.V"-b-:
(submittedtotheCouncilbytheCommission )
V..
ν··1
C0M(82)79final

■^4^'•
<*>x fi•?« •.
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
TheCommunity hasbeeninvitedtotakepartintheEnvironmental
ActionPlanfortheCaribbeanwhichwasadoptedatMontegoBay,
Jamaicaatanintergovernmental meetingoftheriparianStateson
6-8April1981.TheActionPlan,whichispartofUNEP'sRegional
SeasProgramme,wasdrawnupbyUNEPincooperation withthe
UNEconomic Commission forLatinAmerica(ECLA).Theresolution
adoptingtheActionPlanmakesitpossible,asisalreadythecase
L
withtheActionPlanfortheMediterranean ,foraregionaleconomic
groupexercisingresponsibilities infieldsrelatingtothePlan,
andatleastonememberofwhichbelongstotheCaribbeanregion,
tobeassociated withtheActionPlan,providedthatrules
governingthegroup'sfinancialparticipation havebeenagreedin
advance.
Thisisthecaseinthisinstance,thegeographical regionconcerned •
includingtheFrenchOverseasdepartments ofGuadeloupe,Guianaand
Martinique .Asestablished bytheHansenlineofcases,secondary
legislation isapplicable inthesedepartments,providedthelatter
« ft
arenotexpresslyexcludedfromtheambitoftheCommunityactconcerned
Thefollowing Communitylegislation isalsoapplicableinthose
«
Frenchoverseasdepartments :
-CouncilDirective 76/464/EECofAMay1976onpollutioncausedby
certaindangeroussubstancesdischargedintotheaquaticenvironment
oftheCommunity; ; . '
-CouncilDirective 78/659/EECof18July1978onthequalityoffresh
watersneedingprotectionorimprovementinordertosupportfish
life;
-CouncilDirective79/923/EECof30October1979onthequality
requiredofshellfishwaters;
~CouncilDecision of3.12»1981establishing a
Communityinformation systemforpreventingandcombating
hydrocarbon pollutionofthesea®

.The Plan has three sections :
1)Acollection ofmeasures designed toevaluate theenvironmental
situation inthe region andtomanage itsresources with aview
toprotecting theenvironment against pollution from various
sources and inparticular from hydrocarbons .Thepriority measures
pertain toseveral fields already covered bytheabovementioned
Community acts .TheCommunity will have totake part ,therefore ,
ifsuch measures areembodied inabinding agreement likely to
affect theinternal rules oftheCommunity ,aswasestablishing
bytheAETR line ofcases .Thefollowing measures areenvisaged :
-aregional plan for intervention intheevent ofdischarges
ofhydrocarbons ;
~themanagement ofriver basins ,and inparticular themanagement
ofground andsurface freshwater resources ,theconservation
ofnatural environments andforests ,andtheprevention of
water pollution byhousehold ,industrial oragricultural
>effluents ;
o
-the improvement ofenvironmental hygiene services :control of
water quality ,treatment ofwaste water ,water supply forurban
and rural areas ; <•
' r,-education onenvironmental matters .
2)Provisions relating tothefinancial andinstitutional organization
ofthe Plan .
3)AConvention for theprotection anddevelopment ofthemarine and
coastal environment ofthe wider Caribbean area -currently in
preparation -which' will betheequivalent oftheBarcelona
Convention fortheMediterranean Sea,towhich theCommunity
will beaparty inparticular byvirtue ofitsresponsibilities
deriving from the AETR line ofcases .
Ameeting oflegal experts which toofc place at theend
of1981 examined ■theConvention ,which should beadopted at
thesecond intergovernmental meeting (scheduled forthebeginning
of1983 )oftheStates participating intheAction Plan .

TheCommunityisalreadyengagedinsimilarmeasures,asitisaparty
tovariousinstruments relatingtotheprotectioofthemarine
environment,amongwhichare:•
-TheActionPlanfortheMediterranean,whichisgivenlegalsubstance
bytheframeworkBarcelonaConvention togetherwithitsthree
protocols,andwhich,liketheActionPlanfortheCaribbean,comes
underUNEP'sRegionalSeasProgramme.TheCommunitysignedand
concludedtheBarcelonaConvention andtheprotocolonthepollution
causedbydumpingfromshipsandaircraft(1)on16March1978and
signedtheprotocolontheprotectionoftheMediterranean Seaagainst
pollutionfromland-basedsourceson17May1980,whileon19May1981
theCounciladoptedtheDecisionconcerning theconclusionofthe
protocolrelatingtopollution byoilandotherharmfulsubstances (2)
-TheConvention ontheprevention ofmarinepollution fromland-based
sources(knownastheParisConvention andaffectingtheNorthEast
Atlantic)whichwassignedon23June1975(3).
TheCommunitycoordinates theenvironmental protection measuresderiving
fromtheapplication oftheTreatyofRomeandthosefromtheAction
ProgrammesoftheCommunities ontheEnvironment withtheprovisions •
adoptedwithintheframeworkoftheseConventions .
ThreeMemberStateswilltakepartintheEnvironmental ActionPlanfor
theCaribbean,France,byvirtueofitsoverseasdepartments Guadeloupe,
Martinique andGuiana;theUnitedKingdombyvirtueofitsoverseas
countries and.territoriesAnguilla,theCaymanIslands,Montserrat,
St.Kitts-Nevis andtheBritishVirginIslands;andtheNetherlands
byvirtueoftheNetherlands Antilles-Aruba,Bonaire,Curasao,
St.Martin,SabaandSt.Eustatius.
(1)0JL240,19.9.1977
(2)0JL162,19.6.1981
(3)0JL194,25.7.1975

1
Α.
The British and Dutch overseas countries andterritories inquestion
areassociated with theCommunity under thearrangements provided for
inCouncil Decision No80/1186 /EEC of16December 1980 <1).
Several members oftheLome Convention are also taking part inthe
Action Plan :theBahamas ,Barbados ,Dominica ,Grenada ,Guiana ,Jamaica ,
St.Lucia ,Suriname ,Trinidad andTobago .
Finally ,itmust also bementioned that ,through itsexperience ,the
measures^it ispreparing andtheresearch ithascarried outonthis
subject ,theCommunity will beable toplay anactive part inthePlan
and help the countries andterritories inthe area toimplement it.
Inthe light ofallthese considerations ,theCommission believes that
theCommunity should open negotiations with a.view toagreeing the
procedures for itsparticipation inthe Action Plan and the Convention
which isbeing drawn up.Ittherefore recommends that theCouncil
adopt thedraft decision setout intheannex hereto .
(1)0JL361,31.12.1980

RECOMMENDATION FOR ACOUNCIL DECISION AUTHORIZING
THE COMMISSION TOOPEN NEGOTIATIONS ONCOMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN
THE ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLAN FOR THE CARIBBEAN AND THE CONVENTION
FORTHE PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT OFTHE MARINE AND COASTAL
ENVIRONMENT OFTHE WIDER CARIBBEAN AREA
THECOUNCIL OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard totheTreaty establishing theEuropean Economic Community ,
I
Having regard totherecommendation from theCommission ,
Whereas the twoAction Programmes oftheEuropean Communities onthe
Environment (1)emphasize how important itisfor theCommunity to
protect the seaand themarine environment ,notably from pollution
arising from various sources ,and state that theprotection and
improvement ofsea-water with aview tomeeting economic and -social
requirements andensuring themaintenance ofthevital ecological
balances constitute apriority task ;
Whereas theEuropean .Counci I,atitsmeeting inCopenhagen on
7and 8April 1978 ,considered that theCommunity should make the
prevention andcontrol ofmarine pollution animportant objective
ofitsaction ,and invited theCouncil ofMinisters ,onaproposal
from theCommission ,toadopt inthecompetent international bodies
common attitudes with particular regard toresearch andthe
implementation ofeffective measures tocontrol pollution ;
Whereas cooperation ontheprotection oftheenvironment with the
developing countries ,especially with regard tosupplying them with
information attheCommunity 'sdisposal ,andtheCommunity 's
contribution toprojects andprogrammes inthis field constitute
oneoftheobjectives ofthesecond Action Programme oftheEuropean
Communities onthe Environment ;
(1)OJNoC112,20.12.1973 and0JNoC139,13.6.1977

Whereastheintergovernmental meetingatMontegoBayapprovedanActionPlan
fortheEnvironment ProgrammeoftheCaribbean,towhichcertainMemberStates
aretobeparty;whereasthesaidActionPlanprovidesfortheparticipation
ofregionaleconomicgroupswithresponsibilities inthefieldscoveredbythe
plan,oneatleastofthemembersofwhichbelongstotheCaribbeanregion;
Whereasanumberofparticipants inthePlanmaintainspeciallinkswiththe
CommunitythroughtheLomeConvention andtheassociation arrangements for
overseascountriesandterritories ;
WhereasthePlanenvisagesthatcomprehensive measureswillbetakentoensure
thecontinueddevelopment oftheCaribbeanareaunderacceptableecological
conditions andthatcooperation withtheGovernments oftheregionwillbe
institutedinordertosolveenvironmental problemssuchastheprotectionof
maritimeandcoastalzones,inparticularagainstpollutionfromvarious
sources;whereas,therefore,itisdesirablethattheCommunityshouldtake
partinordertoachieveitsobjectivesinthesefields;
WhereasthePlanprovidesforaConventionforthewiderCaribbeanareatobe
drawnup,andtheextentofthatareaincludespartoftheterritoryofone
MemberStatetowhichthefollowingareapplicable :CouncilDirective75/440/EEC
of16June1975concerningthequalityrequiredofsurfacewaterintendedforthe
1abstraction ofdrinkingwaterintheMemberStates;CouncilDirective76/160/EEC
of8December1975concerningthequalityofbathingwater2;CouncilDirective
76/464/EECof4May1976onpollutioncausedbycertaindangeroussubstances
dischargedintotheacquaticenvironmentoftheCommunity3;CouncilDirective
78/659/EECof18July1978onthequalityoffreshwaterneedingprotection
4orimprovement inordertosupportfishlife;CouncilDirective79/923/EECof
30October1979onthequalityrequiredofshellfishwaters;CouncilDirective
80/68/EECof17December1979ontheprotectionofgroundwateragainst
pollutioncausedbycertaindangeroussubstances^;CouncilDirective80/778/EEC
of15July1980relatingtothequalityofwaterintendedforhumanconsumption ;
andCouncilDecision81/971/EECof3December1981establishing aCommunity
information systemforthecontrolandreductionofpollutioncausedby
8hydrocarbons dischargedatsea;whereastheseinstrumentsestablishcommonrules
inthefieldofwaterpollution,whicharelikelytobeaffectedbycertain
provisions inthesaidConvention;whereasitisthereforeimperativethatthe
CommunityshouldbeapartytotheConvention;
0JNoL194,25.7.1975,p.26 ■0JNoL281,11.10.1979,p.47
20JNoL31,5.2;1976,p.1 60JNoL20,26.1.1980,p.43
30JNoL129,18.5.1976,p.2370JNoL229,30.8.1980,p.11
40JNoL222,14.8.1978,p.180jNoL355,10.12.1981,p.52

HASDECIDEDASFOLLOWS:
SoleArticle
TheCommissionisauthorizedtoopennegotiations withaviewto
Communityparticipation intheEnvironmental ActionPlanforthe
CaribbeanandjintheConventionfortheprotectionanddevelopment
ofthemarine'andcoastalenvironmentofthewiderCaribbeanarea.
TheCommissionshallconductthenegotiations inaccordancewith
theannexedbriefandsubjecttoanydirectives whichtheCouncil
maylateradopt.
DoneatBrussels,
FortheCouncil/
ThePresident

8.
Negotiatingbrief
TheConventionforthewiderCaribbeanareamustbeadjustedinsuch
awaythattheCommunitycanbepartytoit,accountbeingtakenof
theexistingcommonrulesinthefieldsconcerned.

Financial record
Community participation intheEnvironmental Action Plan forthe
Caribbean
Relevant budget heading
Article 298,Item 2986
Community participation ininternational conventions ontheenvironment .
Legal basis
Article 235oftheEECTreaty .
Description oftheproject
3.1 .Objectives
3.1.1 .General aim
Itisproposed intheEnvironmental Action Plan for the Caribbean
that comprehensive measures should betaken toimplement ageneral
development plan fortheCaribbean under acceptable ecological
conditions ,and that theGovernments ofthe area should cooperate
tosolve environmental problems such astheprotection of
maritime and coastal zones .
Community participation intheAction Plan should make itpossible to
implement anumber ofCommunity environmental protection objectives
inconjunction with development cooperation schemes .
Such objectives are : «
-theprotection andpurification ofthe sea and themarine
environment ,notably with regard topollution from various sources /
with aview tomeeting economic and social requirements and
ensuring that vital ecological balances aremaintained (First and
Second Action Programmes oftheCommunity ontheEnvironment );
-theprevention andcombating ofmarine pollutron andthe
.adoption ofcommon attitudes inthe competent international
bodies (European Council of7and 8April 1978 );
-cooperation onenvironmental protection with thedeveloping
countries (Second Action Programme ontheEnvironment ;
Article 93(2 )(c)ofthe second Lome Convention ).

-10-
3.1.2 .Specific aims
a)**Technical :
Toimplement theprovisions oftheAction Plan ,including :
-aprogramme ofpriority measures forprotecting the
environment inthe region ;
-provisions relating tothefinancial andinstitutional
framework of ,thePlan ;
-aConvention for thewider Caribbean area (draft ).
b)-Financial :
Tocontribute about 1%(i«e .US230000,or28620 ECU
attherate applying on31July 1981 )oftheaverage annual
budget(USZ 2730000);thetotal agreed forthe1981-83
period isUS2 8200000 .
3.2 .Persons concerned (outside theCommunity institutions ):
-inhabitants oftheFrench departments ofGuiana ,Martinique and
Guadeloupe ;
-inhabitants oftheStates associated with theCommunity under
special arrangements :Dutch andBritish overseas territoriesd ),
Caribbean States signatory totheLome Convention (2);
-industries andport installations intheregion .
4.Justification oftheproject
4.1 .Type ofproject :
Community participation atfinancial andtechnical level inthe
Environmental Action Plan for the Caribbean .
4.2 .The need for Community participation ;
Community participation intheenvisaged Convention isimperative
byvirtue oftheAETR line ofcases ,certain matters intheplan
being covered byCommunity rules (notably Directive 76/464/EEC of
4May 1976 onpollution caused bycertain dangerous substances
discharged into the aquatic environment into Jhe'Community ).
Inview ofthemeasures which itispreparing inenvironmental
fields similar tothese covered bytheAction Plan ,andofits
experience and research inthese matters ,theCommunity isable
tomake amajor contribution toachieving development and
environmental protection objectives inaregion which isclosely
connected with it.
(1)TheNetherlands Antilles (Aruba ,Bonaire ,Curasao ,St.Martin ,Saba and
St. Eustatius )andtheBritish countries andterritories ofAnguilla ,
theCayman Islands ,Montserrat ,St.Kitts -Nevis andtheBritish Virgin
Islands . "
(2)TheBahamas ,Barbados ,Dominica ,Grenada ,Guiana ,Jamaica ,St.Lucia ,
St.Vincent andtheGrenadines ,Suriname ,Trinidad andTobago .

-11-
5.Financial implications inrespect ofintervention appropriations
5.1 .Appropriations provided for :
For1983 ,aCommunity participation ofUSZ30000,or28620ECU
atthe rate of31July 1981 .
Itisnot possible tosay atthe moment the total of
appropriations which will beneeded insubsequent years ,asthe
budget fortheAction Plan hasbeen voted only fortheperiod
1981-83 andmust berenewed in1983 fotthefollowing twoyears .
The current estimate isthat theoutlay would not exceed 50000 ECU .
5.2 .Finance from the Member States :
-France will contribute USSS375 000,orA.5%oftheapproved
budget for1981-83 ;
-theNetherlands will contribute USJ530000through their
territories inthe region ,i.e. 0.4 %ofthebudget for1981-83 ;
-the United Kingdom has not yetdecided how much itwill
contribute onbehalf ofitsterritories inthe region .
5.3 .Five-year timetable :
Asstated in5.1,itisnotpossibleaat themoment topredict
the total ofappropriations which will beneeded after 1983 .
6.Financial implications inrespect of -appropriations for staff and
current administrative expenditure
6.1 .Staff necessary for the implementation oftheproject alone :
Nil .
7.Financing intervention expenditure
Appropriations tobeentered under future budgets .
8.Implications inrespect ofrevenue
Although itdoes notyield anyrevenue ,this action does contribute
totheprotection oftheenvironment and ofnatural resources and
applies agroup ofmeasures which should have apositive effect on
thedevelopment ofthe Caribbean .
9.Type ofmonitoring tobeapplied
TheCommission wiIreport tothe Council and toParliament every two
years onthe results obtained .