Debate: General Union Environment Action Programme to
Date: WEDNESDAY, 7 JULY 2021
Speaker: Virginijus Sinkevičius
Language: EN

Environment action programmes (EAPs) have guided the development of EU environmental policies since the early 1970s. The previous programme, the 7th EAP, expired at the end of 2020 and the Commission’s proposal for the next EAP, which we adopted in October last year, now covers the next decade until 2030. Its vocation is to accelerate the Union’s transition to a climate-neutral, resource-efficient, clean and circular economy in a just and inclusive manner. The 8th programme also sets a long-term priority objective for 2050 to ensure well-being for all, while staying within the planetary boundaries, and promotes a regenerative economy that gives back to the planet more than it takes.  It reflects our joint commitment to the European Green Deal, which outlines the EU’s environmental and climate objectives. As such, it’s another important building block in our efforts to deliver on the commitments made in the European Green Deal and on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 8th EAP proposes a deal to all our institutions. It supports the delivery of the Union’s environmental and climate objectives with a focus on implementation at all levels of governance and on the monitoring of progress.  My services and I have closely followed the discussions on the Commission proposal for the next EAP so far, and we take good note of the amendments tabled in view of tonight’s and tomorrow’s plenary vote. While formally reserving the Commission’s position at this stage of the legislative procedure, I would nevertheless like to share with you some general remarks.  The Commission very much appreciate your efforts to respect the lean approach we propose and to ensure that the priority objectives for this decade are ambitious, yet focused. We will carefully analyse the additional ideas you propose to support the green transition taking root on the ground. Some avenues you suggest are already under way, such as the mainstreaming of the SDGs into our better regulation policy and instruments. In our Better Regulation communication from April of this year, we committed to identify relevant SDGs for each proposal and to examine how a new initiative will support their achievement. Links to the SDGs will be included from evaluations and impact assessments.  Looking at some of your amendments related to the enablers and legally binding commitments or actions the Commission shall take, I need, however, to be very clear. We must be careful about the legal basis of the proposal, which is limited to environment and climate policies. This means the 8th EAP cannot cover questions for which the Treaty provides a dedicated legal base, and it goes without saying that the provisions of the 8th environmental action programme should also be without prejudice to the Commission’s right of initiative, which is enshrined in our Treaties. I acknowledge Parliament’s efforts to identify an alternative option on the mid-term review than the one proposed by the Council, but still we have to be cautious not to go too far in prescribing what the next Commission, after 2024, has to do, how and when.  We also appreciate your strong interest in monitoring of progress and your call to clarify the articulation between the different tools to monitor progress towards our environmental and climate objectives. We take note that you propose a further cross—cutting tool. It’s important to discuss the purpose and the use of each of these tools in order to avoid any duplication.  In the context of the upcoming trilogues, we will therefore be particularly interested in better understanding what exactly you aim to capture with the set of Beyond GDP indicators, as those could be numerous depending on the definition of Beyond GDP. Finally, let me recall that the main rules guiding the relations between the Commission and the co—legislators are set out in the interinstitutional agreement on better law-making, which defines the boundaries of the relationship between our institutions. This also includes issues like impact assessment and stakeholder consultation or annual and multiannual interinstitutional programming. The 8th EAP should therefore be in line with our interinstitutional agreement and not include further commitments going beyond. Honourable Members, I look forward to listening to your views and comments tonight, and I can reassure you that the Commission is ready to discuss with the co—legislators and play its role as an honest broker during the upcoming trilogues.