RESOLUTION A3-0170/92

Resolution on the impact of Community regional policy on the environment

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr Welsh on the regional policy implications of wildlife conservation (B3-1908/90),

- having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr Bettini and Mrs Diez de Rivera Icaza on an initiative for the adoption of the Land Suitability Evaluation procedure in regional planning and environmental impact assessment (B3-0883/91),

-having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr Kostopoulos on the funding of infrastructure projects at Lake Marathon (B3-1294/91),

-having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr Raffarin on the setting up of a new Structural Fund for interregional and regional environmental protection activities (B3-1943/91),

-having regard to its resolution of 26 October 1990 on a concerted regional planning policyOJ No. C 295, 26.11.1990, p. 652,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy, Regional Planning and Relations with Regional and Local Authorities (A3-0170/92),

A.welcoming the strengthened environmental protection procedures introduced at the time of the reform of the Structural Funds in 1988,

B.whereas the Commission is currently reviewing the Structural Funds and intends to propose new Regulations for implementation after 1993,

C.noting the statement by the Rhodes European Council in December 1988 that sustainable development must be one of the overriding objectives of all Community policies, and believing that, in order to protect the environment and ensure long-term cohesion in the Community, the Community's regional policy should be founded on the principle of environmentally sustainable development,

D.believing further that the Community should set an example to the rest of the world in this respect in the run-up to the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development,

E.whereas this requires a recognition that natural resources (water, soil, wildlife habitats, etc.) are the foundation of development and that environmental factors and the long-term sustainability of resource use should therefore be incorporated into the planning process from the earliest stages,

F.having regard to the Community Programme of Policy and Action in relation to the Environment and Sustainable Development 'Towards Sustainability' (COM(92)0023) in which the Commission uses the word 'sustainable' to describe a policy and strategy aimed at guaranteeing the continuity of economic and social development while respecting the environment and without compromising the natural resources which are essential for human activity,

G.whereas, furthermore, development should contribute towards improving the quality of life of all - and particularly the most underprivileged - through the establishment of social, environmental and economic policies,

H.having regard to the conclusions of the Second European Parliament - Regions of the Community Conference, held in Strasbourg on 27-29 November 1991, and in particular to recitals F and G and paragraph 6 of the resolution on the operation of the Community Structural Funds and its lending instruments and paragraphs 5 and 14 of the resolution on a Community policy for regional planning and management to ensure harmonious development while protecting the environment,

I.regretting that under the new arrangements less information is available to the Commission concerning the precise environmental implications of projects and programmes,

J.whereas no systematic appraisal is currently carried out of the full social and economic implications of projects and programmes, and this may lead to a failure to appreciate potential disbenefits to local people as well as to the environment,

K.whereas development cannot be assessed on the basis of sectoral criteria such as GNP but should also include other representative quality-of-life criteria such as the extent to which people are unable to find a place in society and the amount of damage caused to the environment,

L.noting that Member States and regional authorities appear not always to be fully informed of the requirements of EC environmental legislation, and that statutory environmental agencies have not always been involved in the production of applications for support,

M.regretting the fact that environmentally damaging projects have continued to be proposed and subsidized and that where certain such projects have been stopped, this has often been as a result of intense public pressure; whereas these situations lead to time and resources being wasted and represent a highly inefficient planning process,

N.whereas Community and national legislation governing environmental impact assessment and planning controls allows interested parties to contribute to the decision-making process when projects in environmentally sensitive areas are proposed by both public authorities and private developers; notes however that complicated bureaucratic procedures in the assessment and planning process can sometimes lead to time and resources being wasted,

O.whereas Environmental Impact Assessment in relation to Structural Fund projects is of variable quality, is not required under Community legislation for certain projects that can nevertheless have a substantial environmental impact and does not reflect a broad approach to the environmental assessment of development,

P.noting the Ninth Report on Commission Monitoring of the Application of Community Law (COM(92)0136) which points out that the majority of Member States have not satisfactorily transposed Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environmentOJ No. L 175, 5.7.1985, p. 40,

Q.whereas the staff and resources within the Commission devoted to environmental screening of Structural Fund measures are insufficient to cope with the current workload,

R.welcoming the principle of partnership, but regretting that in practice there is frequently little or no opportunity for local people who will be affected by projects and programmes, local elected representatives and organisations, or indeed the European Parliament, to contribute to the planning and monitoring of Structural Fund operations, that both the Commission and the Member States have on occasions been reluctant to release information to the public on planned development, and that this gives rise to a serious lack of accountability and transparency,

S.whereas these problems should be addressed in part through legislative changes at Community level, in order to set the appropriate framework in all parts of the Community where the Structural Funds apply, and to overcome differences between Member States in the current operation of the Funds,

T.welcoming existing environmental initiatives within the Structural Funds, such as ENVIREG and certain projects now being supported by ERDF and EAGGF, but noting that this spending requires a clearer direction and that it does not yet represent full integration of environmental concerns into the Funds,

U.believing that funds should be available for activities that are not directly 'economically productive' but help to achieve sustainable use of resources,

1.Calls on the Commission to incorporate in the revised Structural Fund Regulations a new 'horizontal' approach based on sustainable development embodying in particular an explicit commitment to the sustainable use of resources and a recognition that the conservation of natural resources is an essential precondition for lasting economic development, and therefore for achieving the purpose of the Funds;

2.Calls on the Commission to implement this fundamental approach of sustainable development by requiring all relevant Community Structural Funds and operational programmes to include a section indicating how it is to be achieved, through such measures as the development of clean technologies and products, the development of land-use planning and institutions for sustainable natural resource management, nature conservation activities, special development and conservation programmes for particularly sensitive areas, training in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and environmental management, research, etc., and to attach substantial funds to this approach;

3.Attaches particular importance in this connection to the transfer to the regions of the best available environmental technology and know-how (e.g. in energy conservation, waste management, waste water treatment, etc.) and to active attention being paid to these matters in the partnership process;

4.Calls on the Commission to require that programmes contain more detailed information on environmental implications, including precise project locations, and to ensure that the environmental implications of programmes as a whole are assessed, in order to determine the combined effects of their component schemes;

5.Calls on the Commission to ensure that the EIA Directive (85/337/EEC) is enforced and to exercise greater scrutiny over the quality of EIAs, for example by means of spot checks; calls also for rapid progress on the amendment of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive and on the proposed new Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment for policies, plans and programmes;

6.Calls on the Commission to ensure that the full economic, environmental and social implications of schemes are assessed before funding is provided in order to guarantee genuine long-term benefits to local people in the regions, and to develop and apply cost-benefit analysis techniques that take full account of the range of values of the environment;

7.Calls on the Commission to increase the scrutiny and financial management resources for the various funds to provide a real guarantee not only of optimum use of Community financial resources but also of the appropriateness of the projects with regard to initial objectives and of compliance with European legislation, particularly in the environmental field;

8.Calls on the Commission to ensure that the growth in the tourism industry in the Community's peripheral regions is compatible with the protection of the natural environment through grant-aiding the provision of educational facilities for visitors such as 'interpretive centres' in environmentally sensitive areas;

9.Calls on the Commission to ensure that sufficient information is available on the implications for the use of natural resources (e.g. water, soil, wildlife habitats) before programmes or projects are funded;

10.Calls on the Commission to provide in the revised Regulations for a public right to information on Structural Fund operations during the whole process, i.e. from the preparation of the programme to its assessment;

11.Calls on the Commission to ensure that elected local and regional authorities and public interest organisations are involved in planning structural operations and in monitoring them by means of representation on Monitoring Committees which should also be given an explicit environmental remit;

12.Calls on the Commission to address the problem of substitution by making funding for whole programmes conditional on all their component schemes being acceptable, including parts not directly funded by the EC;

13.Calls on the Commission to make available more staff to work on the environmental aspects of regional policy initiatives;

14.Calls on the Commission to devise more comprehensive rural development initiatives in partnership with elected local and regional authorities and public interest organisations in order to ensure that grant-aided projects in rural areas are both responsive to the needs of the rural population and environmentally sensitive;

15.Calls on the Commission to work closely with the regional and local authorities and the Member States to ensure that these new requirements are met;

16.Calls on the Commission to involve the regional and local authorities responsible for environmental policy closely in the devising, implementation, management and assessment of the programmes, in order to allow these authorities to share in the responsibility for the proper incorporation of the environmental dimension in Community regional policy;

17.Calls on the regional and local authorities and the Member States to comply with Community environmental legislation in the implementation of regional policy;

18.Calls on the regional and local authorities and the Member States to ensure that their environmental authorities are closely involved at all stages in the preparation and execution of development plans, support frameworks and operational programmes;

19.Calls on the regional and local authorities and the Member States to cooperate fully with the Commission in the implementation of the above recommendations;

20.Calls for a greater role to be given to the European Parliament in the setting-up and scrutiny of the Structural Funds in order to strengthen democratic accountability, and requests that it be closely associated with the new reform of the Structural Funds proposed by the Commission, particularly with regard to the adaptation of the regulations and objectives;

21.Welcomes and strongly supports the proposals by an Expert Commission for sustainable socio-economic development in Doñana and the surrounding area, which accord completely with the spirit of this resolution, namely that environmental factors should be integrated into economic planning from the very earliest stages, and that economic development and environmental protection can be reconciled;

22.Welcomes the decisions taken at Maastricht that place more emphasis on social and economic cohesion, sustainable development and environmental protection and create a "Cohesion Fund" that will provide increased funding for projects related to the environment;

23.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments of the Member States.