Communication from the Commission to the European Council - Partnership for integration - A strategy for Integrating Environment into EU Policies - Cardiff - June 1998
Date: 1998-05-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, environmental cooperation, environmental monitoring, environmental protection, sustainable development

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 27.05.1998 
COM(1998) 333  final 

Communication  from  the  Commission  to the European  Council 

PARTNERSHIP  FOR  INTEGRATION 

A strategy for Integrating Environment into EU Policies 

Cardiff-June  1998 

Communication from the Commission to the European  Council 

PARTNERSHIP  FOR  INTEGRATION 

A strategy for Integrating Environment into EU Policies 

Cardiff-June  1998 

Contents 

Executive Summary and Recommendations 

Page 

3 

The Challenge of Integration of the Environment into Other Policies  5 

Developing Procedures to ensure Integration of the Environment 

into other Policies 

Guidelines for a Partnership for Integration 

Integrating the Environment into individual policy areas 

•  Agenda 2000 
•  Climate change 
Conclusions 

6 

6 

7 

g 
9 
10 

Executive summary and the recommendations 

This Communication  is the Commission's response to the request by the  Luxembourg 
European  Council  for  the  submission  of a strategy  to  implement  the  requirements  of 
Article  6  of  the  consolidated  EC-Treaty.  This  article  requires  that  environmental 
protection  is  integrated  into  the  definition  and  implementation  of  all  Community 
policies  and  activities, 
to  promoting  sustainable 
development, established as a Community objective  in Article 2 of the Treaty. 

in  particular  with  a  view 

The  achievement  of  a  healthy  environment  for  the  citizens  of  today  and  securing 
sustainable  development  for  our  children  is  rightly  one  of  the  Community's  stated 
objectives.  The  Community  also  has  responsibility  to  contribute  to,  and  indeed 
provide leadership for, the resolution of global environmental  issues. The progress we 
are  making  by  classic  environmental  regulation  will  not  be  sufficient  on  its  own. 
Most  of our environmental  problems have their origins  in current  practices  in  sectors 
such as agriculture, transport, energy and industry and we must look to these areas  for 
their  solution.  Attention  must  also  be  given  to  our  unsustainable  consumption 
patterns. This is the vision behind article 6 in the Treaty - environmental  integration as 
a  positive  instrument  for  progress. New  technologies  and  management  practices  can 
provide  the  answer  to  some  of  these  problems.  Our  policies  must  encourage  their 
development and application. 

The realisation of this vision, and indeed a credible response to the legal obligation of 
the Treaty requires that the Community equips itself with the necessary tools. 

Adherence to the  integration  requirement  is in principle  subject  to judicial  control  by 
the  European  Court  of  Justice  as  is  the  case  with  the  subsidiarity  principle.  The 
intention  of  this  document  is  however  to  develop  some  practical  steps  towards 
implementing  the  integration  principle  in  the  daily  work  of  the  Community 
institutions.  The  main  thrust  of  such  a  strategy  is  to  some  extent  a  break  with  our 
traditional  sectoral  decision  making.  Such  an  approach,  across  the  sectors,  can  only 
come about by Heads of State and Government assuming  responsibility. 

The European Council is invited to: 

•  declare  its  firm  commitment  to  ensuring  that  article  6  of  the  Treaty  will  be 

rapidly implemented in practice. 

• 

recognise  that  this  is  a  joint  responsibility  and  accordingly  promote  a 
for 
Partnership  between 
integration  of  the  environment  into  other  community  policies  based  on  the 
guidelines set out below. 

the  Council,  Parliament  and  Commission 

®  recognise  the  importance  of  the  environmental  dimension  in  the  decisions 
which  are  soon  to  be  taken  in  the  context  of  both  Agenda  2000  and  the 
Community strategy for implementing  the Kyoto Protocol and accordingly to 
ask the Council  to use these  as test  cases  for  the  application  of the  proposed 
guidelines.  In  addition,  to  commit  itself  to  review  the  integration  of  the 
environmental  dimension  in  the  Agenda  2000  proposals  at  their  meeting  in 
December  1998 and progress  on the Kyoto follow-up  at one of their  meetings 
in 1999. 

• 

launch  discussions  between  the  Council,  Parliament  and  Commission  on  the 
development  of  mechanisms  for  ensuring  the  follow  up  of  this  initiative, 
which should include provision for joint review of progress. 

The Challenge of Integration of Environment into other Policies 

The traditional  approach  of environmental  regulation  has contributed  to progress, but 
it is increasingly recognised that it does not provide answers to all of the problems we 
are  facing.  The  latest  report  from  the European  Environment  Agency  shows  how  the 
European  Community  has  successfully  worked  for  the  benefit  of  the  environment. 
improve 
However,  the  report  demonstrates  that  further  effort 
environmental  quality  and above all  it highlights the need to reverse  worrying  trends 
in many areas, mostly linked to unsustainable economic activity. 

is  required 

to 

The  concern  for  the  environment,  both  at  local  and  global  level,  is  just  one  of  a 
number  of  major  challenges  the  Community  is  facing.  Alongside  concerns  for 
continuing high levels of unemployment,  social  exclusion  and the need to prepare  the 
Community  for  the  accession  of  the  countries  of  Eastern  and  Central  Europe,  this 
concern  for  the  environment  has  motivated  the  re-enforcement  of  the  social  and 
economic  as  well  as  environmental  provisions  by  the  Treaty  of  Amsterdam.  The 
Community  needs  to  demonstrate  its  commitment  to  respond  to  the  concerns  of  its 
citizens by pursuing urgently these objectives. 

The  need  for  integration  of  environment  into  other  policies  at  all  levels  has  been 
recognised  for  some  time.  The  objective  was  introduced  initially  in  the  Single 
European  Act  and  received  a  priority  in  the  5th  Environmental  Action  Programme. 
While progress has been made much remains  to be achieved.  The  Amsterdam  Treaty 
has  given  this  process  new  impetus  by  promoting  the  importance  of  the  integration 
principle in the Treaty. 

The real challenge  facing  the Community  is to find  a way of developing  action  which 
meets  all  of  its  objectives  in  an  integrated  way.  This  is  the  challenge  of  sustainable 
development, a concept too often  perceived  as purely environmental,  but which  brings 
together  concerns  for  social  and  economic  development  alongside  protection  of  the 
environment.  The current pattern  of economic development  too often  entails  conflicts 
between development  and environment; this cannot be permitted  to continue.  Policies 
that  result  in  environmental  degradation  and  depletion  of  natural  resources  are 
unlikely to be a sound basis for sustainable economic  development. 

The  development  of  new  technologies  and  practices  shows  that  we  have  the  know-
how  to  find  solutions  to  some  of  these  problems.  Solutions  which  are  frequently 
shown  not  only  to  be  cost  effective  for  industries  concerned  but  also  generating 
broader benefits to the economy through the creation of value added and  employment, 
thus generating a genuine double dividend. However achieving the desired results will 
require more far reaching behavioural and policy changes in many sectors of society. 

Implementation  of  the  Treaty  objectives  requires,  therefore,  that  we  introduce  an 
approach to Community policy making based on the recognition that all policies must 
contribute to sustainable  development. 

Developing Procedures to ensure Integration of Environment into 
other Policies 

The  implementation  of  this  approach  requires  a  strong  commitment  from  all 
Community institutions. As recently stressed by the European Consultative Forum on 
the  Environment  and  Sustainable  Development  integration  and shared  responsibility 
must  also  be  fully  reflected  in  the  way  the  European  Commission  and  other 
institutions of the European Union organise their work. The Commission in the way it 
formulates  its  proposals  and  the  Council  and  Parliament  in  the  process  of  decision 
making. 

Too  often  in  the  past  attempts  to  establish  horizontal  principles  have  resulted  in 
bureaucratic and mechanistic requirements which have failed to deliver.  We must not 
repeat  this  in  the  case  of  environmental  integration.  Therefore  procedures  adopted 
must  be  seen  to  be  logical,  practical  and  meaningful  to  all  concerned.  This  is  the 
philosophy underlying the approach proposed in this document. 

In order to be able to measure our achievements and to adjust the adopted policies, as 
required,  we  will  need  a  system  of  regular  monitoring  and  review.  This  should  be 
based on the identification  of indicators against which progress can be monitored. In 
certain  cases  the  setting  of  quantifiable  targets  could  be  helpful.  Over  time  bench 
marking could be seen as a useful tool in order to progress towards best-practice. 

The following guidelines are proposed as the basis for A Partnership for Integration: 

Guidelines for A Partnership for Integration of Environment into 
other policies 

•  The  Commission  should  ensure  that  all  key  policy  initiatives  integrate 
concern  for  environment.  A  detailed  environmental  assessment  and  a 
description  of  how  the  results  of  such  assessment  have  been  incorporated 
should  accompany  all  key  proposals  where  an  important  environmental 
effect  is  expected.  The  Commission  should  refine  its  methodology  for  such 
assessments. 

•  The  Commission  should  undertake  reviews  of  existing  policies  and  on  that 
basis  prepare  strategies  for  action  in  key  sectors.  These  should  include  the 
identification  of  policy  and  performance  indicators  and,  where  justified, 
indicative targets as a basis for monitoring. 

•  The  Council  should  prepare  a  report  for  the  Vienna  European  Council  on 
previous  experience  and  best  practices  in  the  Member  States  of  integrating 

environmental  requirements into other policies as a basis for the  development 
of improved Community procedures. 

•  The  Council  should  in  key  policy  areas  identify  a set  of  priority  actions  for 
the  incorporation  of  environmental  requirements  and  foresee  effective 
mechanisms for monitoring their implementation. 

•  The  Council  should  undertake  to  ensure  that  environmental  requirements 
are explicitly  reflected  in its decisions on new proposals.  It should,  moreover, 
commit  itself  to  review  its  current  organisational  arrangements  to  ensure 
effective  implementation  of this integration strategy. 

•  The European  Council  should  periodically  review  environmental  integration 

into key sectoral policies. 

•  The  Parliament  should  review  its  current  organisational  arrangements  to 
ensure  that  in  its  decision  making  it  takes  account  of  the  need  to  integrate 
environment into other policies. 

•  The  Parliament  should  identify  priorities  for  integrating  environment  into 

key policy areas. 

•  The  Council,  Parliament  and  Commission  should  jointly  discuss  the 
development  of  mechanisms  for  implementing  these  guidelines  and  for 
monitoring their implementation. 

Integrating Environment into Individual Policy Areas 

Fully  integrating  environment  into  other  policy  areas  is  a  long  term  challenge 
requiring  a  step  by  step  approach  which  builds  on  experience.  This  will  eventually 
require  consideration  of  its  implications  in  all  policy  areas.  However,  in  the  first 
instance, the Commission considers that priority should be given to two important and 
urgent policy packages -  Agenda 2000 and the implementation  of the Kyoto  Protocol 
where decisions have to be taken in the near  future: 

1.  Agenda  2000  is  a  high  priority  issue,  with  concrete  Commission  legislative 
proposals  on  the  table  for  decision,  governing  a  major  proportion  of  the 
Community budget and setting the framework  for the future  enlargement. 

2.  The European  Union has made a binding commitment  in the Kyoto  Protocol. The 
implementation  of  this  commitment  has  now  to  be  prepared.  This  will  require 
significant  policy shifts  and involvement of a wide range of policy areas. 

Although  the  two  packages  are  different  in  nature  the  guidelines  set  out  above  are 
sufficiently  flexible  and  robust  to  accommodate  both  examples.  They  can thus  serve 
as test cases for the implementation of the proposed guidelines. 

Agenda 2000 

The  Agenda  2000  package  includes  proposals  for  the  reform  of  the  agriculture  and 
cohesion  policies  and  for  a  package  of  pre-accession  assistance  for  the  countries  of 
Central  and  Eastern  Europe. The Commission  has made special  efforts  to ensure that 
environmental  requirements are fully  reflected  in each of these proposals. 

The key environmental  components of these proposals are listed below: 

Cohesion  Policy: 

•  Under  the  proposed  new  Structural  Funds  Regulations,  environmental  protection 
and  improvement  are  established  as  objectives  to  ensure  that  the  funds  in  future 
make a contribution to sustainable  development. 

•  Enhanced  support  is provided  for  projects  of particular  environmental  importance. 
The  presence  of  a degraded  environment  will  be  considered  as  one  of  the  criteria 
for defining  eligible urban areas within objective 2 regions. 

•  The  Commission  will  appraise  Regional  Development  Plans  to determine  whether 

they are consistent with environmental  protection  requirements. 

•  There  will  be  a more  systematic  scrutiny  of  projects  over  50  MECU  in  particular 

with regard to their environmental  impact. 

•  Member  States  shall  put  in place a partnership  involving  environmental  bodies in 
order  to  integrate  environmental  protection  requirements  in  Structural  Fund 
intervention  programmes. 

Agriculture: 

•  The  proposals  for  the  reform  of  the  CAP  imply  an  additional  move  away  from 
price  support  towards  direct  payments.  This  will  provide  benefits  for  the 
environment  as  well  as enhancing  economic  efficiency.  Less distorted  prices  lead 
to more balanced use of polluting inputs and to less intensive use of sensitive land. 

•  Member  States  have  to  further  ensure  that  environmental  requirements  are 
complied  with and can make, where relevant, direct payments conditional  for  such 
provisions.  In  the  future  direct  payments  will  be  substantially  increased  as 
proportion of the EU agricultural  budget. 

A  rural  development  programme  will  emerge  as  a  new  pillar  in  the  CAP.  A 
substantial  proportion  of  the  funds  will  be  reserved  for  action  with  direct 
environmental  benefits.  Other projects under this programme should be compatible 
with the environmental  objectives. 

Enlargement: 

•  Candidate  countries  are 

in  the  process  of  drawing  up  realistic  national 
programmes  including  long-term  strategies  for  gradual  effective  alignment  to  the 
EU environmental acquis and some have begun to implement these;. 

The  reinforced  pre-accession  strategy  gives  a  high  priority  to  investment  for 
environmental  improvements  and  developing  the  administrative  structures  for 
implementation  and enforcement  of EU environmental  law. 

Increased  financial  resources,  such  as PHARE,  ISPA  and  the  agricultural  facility 
will  assist the candidate countries  in mobilising  further  finance  for  environmental 
protection. 

In  its  Agenda  2000  package  the  Commission  has  tried  to  find  the  right  balance 
between  the  needs of the  sectors  concerned  and-the  improvement  of  the  environment 
and  the achievement  of  sustainable  development.  The Commission  considers  that  the 
above  mentioned  provisions  are  important  elements  of  the  proposals  made. 
Maintaining  the  right  balance  in  the  package,  when  adopted,  will  be  critical  to 
progress in the integration of environment into these policy areas. 

Climate Change -  meeting our Kyoto commitments 

There  can  be  no  better  example  of  the  essential  need  for  integrating  environmental 
concerns  into  other  policies  than  the  case  of  climate  change.  The  Protocol  to  the 
Climate Change Convention agreed in Kyoto has set an ambitious target  for  reduction 
of  greenhouse  gases  by  the  time  frame  2008-2012.  Fulfilment  of  this  commitment, 
and  recognition  that  subsequent  further  reductions  will  be  necessary,  must  become  a 
primary consideration in the framing  of all key policy areas. 

This will require significant  changes in for example energy and energy  use policies. In 
the field of transport  current trends in road  and air transport  are of particular  concern. 
Their  continuation  will  prejudice 
its 
commitment. 

the  ability  of  the  Community 

to  fulfil 

The Commission  is currently  preparing a Communication  which  will outline  its initial 
ideas  on  the  shape  of  the  overall  Community  strategy  for  achievement  of  this 

commitment. This will subsequently require translation  into initiatives in all key areas 
such as Energy, Transport, Industry and Agriculture. 

The  development  and  decisions  on policy  elements  and  measures  for  such  strategies 
demands  a  close  dialogue  and  co-operation  between  Environment  Ministers  and 
Ministers  for  several  other  policy  areas.  The  British  Presidency  has  pioneered  this 
process by introducing joint environment and transport councils. Further  collaboration 
of  this  kind  may  be  helpful  in  the  establishment  by  each  sectoral  Council  of  the 
initiatives required to implement our international  commitments  from  Kyoto. 

Conclusion 

Integration  of environmental  considerations  into other policies  is no  longer an  option 
but  an  obligation.  The  guidelines  set  out  above  represent  an  important  step  in 
responding to this challenge. This is not however a one off  exercise and we will have 
to keep the process under review and adapt it on the basis of experience. 

While we have focused  initially  on two urgent matters -  Agenda 2000 and our  Kyoto 
commitments  -  it  is  clear  that  the  principle  of  integration  also  implies  other  policy 
areas.  It  will  therefore  be  of  importance,  as  outlined  in  the  proposed  Guidelines,  to 
develop  strategies  in respect of other policy  areas. Subjects  such  as the single  market 
and  industry,  development  and  trade  policies,  tourism,  fisheries  and  taxation  are 
examples  which  should  be  given  early  attention.  Progress  has  already  been  made  in 
some of these areas which will provide a useful  basis for further  policy  development. 

A  strong  commitment  from  the  European  Council  is  needed  to  carry  forward  this 
process and to monitor its ongoing success. 

10 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(98) 333  final 

DOCUMENTS 

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03  05  14 

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ISBN  92-78-36972-1 

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