Council conclusions of 27 October 2003 on a European environment and health strategy
Date: 2003-10-27
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU environmental policy, EU research policy, action programme, health policy, political cooperation, pollution, public health

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logging and the associated trade,

11. Invites the Commission together with Member States to
engage all the major consumer and producer countries
and organisations in a dialogue in order to seek to build
a consensus on the best way to tackle the problem of
in particular by
illegal
exploring multilateral and regional
responses and by
presenting and discussing the ideas developed in the
Action Plan at
the appropriate international meetings
such as UNFF, the ITTO, the regional FLEG processes,
the Asia Forest Partnership and the Congo Basin Forest
Partnership;

12. Invites the Commission together with Member States to
enter
into discussions with timber producer countries
and regional organisations about their readiness for, their
views on and the scope of voluntary FLEGT Partnership
Agreements and to report back to the Council by
mid-2004. The results of the discussions will form the
to the
for a future debate on the mandate
basis
Commission for negotiations with concerned partners;

the

internal

impact of

and external

13. Invites the Commission to review options for, and to
consider
the
measures indicated in the Action Plan, including the devel-
opment of a Regulation, and to review options for, and the
imports of
further legislation to control
feasibility of,
illegally harvested timber and conflict
taking
account of relevant initiatives in other areas, as well as
existing multilateral mechanisms, and the impact on
domestic industries, and present
to the
Council by mid-2004;

findings

timber,

its

14. Urges Member States to provide the Commission with
relevant information regarding national legislation which
could be applied to address the illegal logging issue. In this
regard, the Council suggests that Member States and the
Commission establish a virtual network to facilitate the
exchange of information on their findings.

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.

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

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5. The multi-annual Framework Programmes of the European Community for Research and Tech-
nological 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
In this respect, the new chemical policy with the REACH
expected, should also be considered.
system will
to improve
knowledge and prevent future threats to human health.

therefore be elaborated with a view to making it an essential

tool

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 environ-
mental
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.

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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 (1) 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 metho-
dologies 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
in order to ensure integrated information. Priority should be given to developing broader
banks,
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.

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

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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 Devel-
opment, 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 environ-
mental 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

health control with particular reference to the surveillance and monitoring activities, at
national and international level.

institutions competent for environment and
local,