OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on the Proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Convention on the Protection of the Alps (Alpine Convention)
Date: 1995-02-22
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: environmental protection, international convention, mountain region













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51995AC0183

OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on the Proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Convention on the Protection of the Alps (Alpine Convention)  


Official Journal C 110 , 02/05/1995 P. 0001 





Opinion on the proposal  for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Convention on the Protection of the Alps (Alpine  Convention) ()(95/C 110/01)On 28  September 1994 the Council decided to consult the  Economic and Social Committee, under Article  288 (2 and 3) and Article  130s of the Treaty  establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned proposal. 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 31  January  1995. The Rapporteur was Mr Pricolo. At its 323rd Plenary Session (meeting of 22  February 1995), the Economic and Social Committee  adopted the following Opinion by a large majority, with three abstentions. 1. Introduction 1.1. The Convention on the Protection of the Alps (known as the 'Alpine  Convention') is an international agreement signed in  November 1991 by seven Alpine countries  (Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, the Principality of Liechtenstein and Slovenia) and  by the European Union. 1.2. The Convention confines itself to laying down general principles intended to serve as a guide  to states interested in the practical implementation of policies for protecting the alpine  ecosystem. It thus has the nature of a general planning document, the detailed elaboration of which will be  left to the adoption of suitable protocols on the various economic sectors, such as nature and  landscape conservation, upland agriculture, tourism, transport, etc. 1.3. As things stand, the Convention has not yet been ratified by all the contracting parties,  among them the European Union. 1.4. The present Commission proposal urges the Council to proceed rapidly to ratify the Convention  through the approval procedure laid down in Article  228(2) and (3), taken in conjunction with  Article  130s of the Treaty of Maastricht. 2. General comments 2.1. The Commission proposal gives rise to no objections, neither as regards  its declared legal basis nor as regards its content, albeit limited to the straightforward approval  of the  November 1991 Convention. 2.2. The Committee cannot but share the hope that the Member States which are signatories to the  Convention and the European Union will ratify quickly, so that the Convention can come into force  at once. 2.3. The Committee cannot discuss the merits of the Convention, as it has been laid down in a  binding manner through being signed by the contracting parties, even if its entry into force awaits  its ratification by at least three of them. 2.4. The Committee can only make recommendations on certain specific problems, so that its  suggestions can be taken into account when the implementing protocols are being drawn up. 3. Specific comments 3.1. The Committee draws the attention of the Commission and the Council to  the fact that the overall policy for conservation and protection of the Alps - to which Article  2  of the Convention refers - must be formulated in such a way as to take account of Community  provisions on the various sectoral policies. 3.2. Obviously, exceptions to the above principle will be possible, but only if they are essential  to strengthening the economic and social fabric of the alpine regions and avoiding the depopulation  and desertification of those areas. 3.3. For upland areas with a pronounced agricultural character, steps should be taken to remove the  restrictions which hamper the continuation of agricultural activity in such disadvantaged areas,  such as restrictions on milk production, and strengthen instead the measures likely to consolidate  a traditional alpine activity on a permanent basis. 3.4. The Committee is convinced that farming - properly practised in agronomic, forestry and  stockbreeding terms - is a worthwhile, indeed essential, aid to the restoration and safeguarding of  the ecological balance in such areas. 3.5. Nature and landscape conservation, and the creation of upland forests, are of undoubted use in  protecting ecosystems. 3.5.1. The Committee is also aware that conflicts can arise between the aim of safeguarding nature  and the landscape and that of boosting economic activities, such as tourism. 3.5.2. Particularly in more recent times, there are good examples of a practical solution to such  conflicts of aims; these should be taken into account when the Convention and its implementing  protocols are put into effect. 3.6. A similar problem arises for transport, particularly with regard to interalpine and  transalpine traffic, and for the energy sector as regards exploitation of water and wind  resources. 3.7. The Committee takes the view that these problems must be tackled and solved when the  Convention's implementing protocols are being drawn up, taking account of the fact that ecology is  a dynamic relationship between man and the environment; hence certain constraints cannot be imposed  without taking account of the needs of the population which lives and works in the upland areas  concerned. 3.8. Finally, the Committee expects to be consulted on the implementing protocols. Done at Brussels, 22  February 1995. The Presidentof the Economic and Social CommitteeCarlos FERRER() OJ No C  278, 5. 10. 1994, p. 8.