RESOLUTION A3-0326/92

Resolution on the incorporation of environmental considerations in the Structural Funds

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr Collins and others on the incorporation of environmental considerations in the structural funds (B3-1765/91),

-having regard to its resolution of 9 June 1992 on the impact of Community regional policy on the environment OJ No. C 176, 13.7.1992, p. 34,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection (A3-0326/92),

A. whereas the Maastricht Treaty commits the Community to 'economic and social progress which is balanced and sustainable' and 'sustainable and non-inflationary growth respecting the environment'; whereas Article 130r in particular lays down that 'environmental protection requirements must be integrated into the definition and implementation' of all Community policies,

B. whereas the Fifth Environmental Action Programme agreed by the Commission embodies a commitment to sustainable development and acknowledges the need to adjust regional policy accordingly,

C.having regard to :

-the draft special report on the environment adopted by the Court of Auditors at its meeting of 12 March 1992, and

-opinion No. 2/92 of the Court of Auditors concerning Community expenditure since 1988 in the EAGGF-Guarantee sector, Structural Action, research and external action,

both of which highlight the major current shortcomings of the operation of the structural funds with regard to environmental considerations,

D.believing that 'development' cannot be viewed solely in conventional economic terms and that qualitative economic factors affecting quality of life such as health, education, habitat, water, air, etc. which form part of the environment are as important for the maintenance of human well-being as quantitative measures such as GNP, unemployment or inflation,

E.whereas development based on the indiscriminate quantitative increase of goods has created serious dysfunctions necessitating emergency corrective measures and giving rise to a new production and employment sector designed to reclaim environmental resources (air, water, energy, waste, etc.), a sector in which the Structural Funds have been intervening and must continue to do so, given the urgency and seriousness of certain situations,

F.whereas shared responsibility, transparency and democratic participation are central to the concept of sustainable development,

G. endorsing therefore the principle of subsidiarity, providing that it does not result in powers being assigned to the Member States with the consequent risk of independent, uncoordinated action being taken in an area such as the environment, where action can be effective only if it is global and coordinated; and recognising that there are currently serious obstacles to its successful operation in the context of regional policy and believing that the Commission should play a strong enabling rol in order to stimulate the participation of all levels of government,

H.believing that the Commission should take more active steps to meet its existing legal obligations to ensure that environmental legislation is observed, and that it should take a dynamic approach in the partnership process to seeking to secure the highest possible environmental standards,

I.deploring the fact that projects harmful to the environment continue to be submitted and funded under the Structural Funds,

1.Reiterates the call made in its aforementioned resolution of 9 June 1992 and in that of 10 June 1992 on the Delors II package OJ No. C 176, 13.7.1992, p. 74 for the environmentally sustainable use of natural resources to be made the guiding principle of regional policy;

2.Believes that the EEC, aware of the need for responsible application of the principle of subsidiarity with regard to sustainable development, should as a matter of priority support the setting up of appropriate administrative structures and encourage technical training and assistance so that the Member States can apply this principle fully, at all levels and with maximum efficiency;

Planning:

3.Calls on the Commission to provide in the revision of the Regulations governing the operation of the Structural Funds for the environmental profiles to be required not only at the plan stage, but also in the Community Support Frameworks and Operational Programmes; for them to include adequate baseline information on a range of environmental parameters (water and air pollution, nature conservation, waste disposal, etc.) identifying resources in need of protection, setting targets for improvemens where necessary and indicating technologies and methods for meeting these targets; and for no funding commitments for 'mainstream' development operations to be made until the environmental profiles requested are judged to be satisfactory and have been used as the basis for alternative models for action; notes that the provision of this information will inevitably require that Member States' environmental authorities are consulted;

4.Believes the Commission should play an enabling role by devoting significant levels of funds and technical assistance both at the planning stages to the collection and public dissemination of the necessary environmental information and to developing the institutional capacity in the Member States to integrate environmental requirements fully into their development planning and at the performance/construction stage of projects in order to cover any additional construction costs due to complianc with environmental standards and/or requirements; the relevant information collected in this process must be transmitted to the European Environment Agency;

5.Believes every effort should be made in the partnership to ensure that information on the best available environmental technologies and the results of relevant Community environmental research is available to the regions;

6.Calls on the Commission to give priority to the funding of investments which meet social needs and aim at promoting endogenous regional development, i.e. development based on a judicious use of natural resources both human and environmental;

7.Believes that the Community should only fund the best possible environmental options (e.g. waste recycling rather than landfill, water conservation rather than new water supply, etc.), and should not merely ensure that environmental legislation is not contravened, but should work actively to meet the highest possible standards;

8.Believes that the Structural Funds must contribute to the preservation of the diversity of the European landscape and its natural biodiversity, namely through the implementation of the Habitat- and Birds Directives;

9.Points out that Article 7(1) of Regulation (EEC) 2052/88 requires Structural Fund activities to comply with Community environmental policy, as well as Community legislation; believes that Structural Fund programmes and projects should therefore comply with the commitments to sustainable development set out in the Fifth Action Programme, the Council's commitment to reduce CO2 emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000 and the Berne Convention;

10.Calls on the Commission to ensure that in all Member States, Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the environmental impact of certain public and private projects is correctly transposed into national law and properly applied and also that for all projects financed by the structural funds, the Commission demand a serious impact study which, where appropriate, includes the drawing up of alternative projects ;

11.Welcomes the proposals made in the Fifth Environmental Action Programme for cost-benefit analyses that integrate economic and environmental parameters which enable socio-economic assessment to be carried out in the short, medium and long terms; this approach should be a matter of Community policy, and appropriate requirements should be provided for in the Regulations; the Commission should facilitate the use of these techniques through support for training and information provision;

12.Believes that the Community, so as to encourage the most environmentally cceptable options, could grant 'supplementary environmental bonuses' to development projects and programmes contributing to the improvement of the environment ;

13.Believes that to ensure that the Structural Fund system operates consistently throughout the Community and provides consistent environmental benefits, the new Regulations should provide for information on Fund operations to be freely available to the public and for non-governmental organisations to have opportunities to participate in the planning and monitoring process;

14.Reiterates its belief that rapid progress with Community legislation on environmental assessment of policies, plans and programmes is essential, and stresses the need for the strict application of the Environmental Impact Assessment directive and for rapid progress with Community legislation on environmental assessment of policies, plans and programmes;

Implementation:

15.Agrees that while the implementation of Structural Fund operations must to a great extent be the responsibility of the Member States and the regions, the Commission must nevertheless play its full role and exercise its responsibilities as joint 'funder' of these projects;

16.Asks that the public be informed throughout the procedure, i.e. from the preparatory through the programming to the assessment stages;

Monitoring and assessment:

17.Believes that the Community must be seen to be making the best possible use of its funds, securing genuine long-term development protecting and enhancing the environment, and that it is therefore essential that the Commission, in collaboration with the European Environment Agency, assiduously assesses the performance of regional policy against development objectives, on the basis of economic, social, environmental and health criteria, both when granting financial aid and, where appropriate, wen renewing it;

18.Asks that the Commission suspend payments from the Structural Funds when the application of the initial payments has led to damage to the environment;

19.Calls for economic indicators of quality of life and preservation of resources (space, air, water, soil, noise, energy and biodiversity) to be included in the assessment of regional policy and for a range of environmental parameters enabling assessment to be carried out before, during and after the whole process of implementing programmes to be given equivalent importance in the assessment of regional policy to conventional economic measures, and for regional policy not to be judged to have ahieved success unless both types of indicator have improved;

20.Believes that to ensure that the responsibility of securing compliance with environmental legislation is fulfilled, the new Regulations should give Monitoring Committees an explicit environmental remit and guarantee the involvement of governmental and non-governmental environmental specialists on these Committees;

21.Demands that the Commission strengthen the control and financial management mechanisms of the various funds, so as to guarantee not only optimum use of Community financial resources but also that projects truly meet their initial objectives and that European legislation is respected, above all with regard to the environment;

22.Calls for any projet which does not conform to Community legislation on the environment to be stopped forthwith, and monies repaid;

General considerations:

23.Calls for more staff to be allocated to the environmental aspects of regional policy;

24.Calls on the Commission, Member States and regions to use the opportunities offered by the Structural Fund and Cohesion Fund processes to work together to implement the UNCED commitment to national sustainability plans, turning the Fifth Action Programme into a genuine sustainability plan for the Community and translating it into appropriate plans at national and regional level;

25.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the Member States.