RESOLUTION B3-0520/93

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the text of the Maastricht Treaty,

-having regard to the Fifth Environmental Action Programme and Parliament's comments on this Programme in its resolution of 17 November 1992 on the environment and industrial competitiveness,

A.whereas the Commission, in reply to Oral Questions Nos. H-1051/92 and H-1135/92, stated that the Habitats Directive and the Berne Convention do not form part of Community environment policy for the purpose of Article 7(1) of Regulation (EEC) 2052/88 on the tasks and coordination of the Structural Funds, and declined to clarify these statements in reply to Oral Question No. H-1240/92,

B.having regard to the opinion of its Legal Service on this subject, which calls the Commission's replies seriously into question and raises important institutional issues concerning the Commission's duties and responsibilities under Community law,

C.whereas the principle of sustainable development and the integration of environmental aspects into all policies is essential for the protection of the Community and the global environment, whereas sustainability must therefore be a principle incorporated into all Community policy, as already acknowledged in the Fifth Environmental Action Programme and the Maastricht Treaty,

D.whereas it is therefore essential that there be a clearly understood definition of the term 'Community environment policy' if the requirements of sustainability are to be met,

E.whereas this is also necessary if the requirements of Article 7(1) of Regulation (EEC) 2052/88 and the corresponding article in the revised Commission proposal on the Structural funds (COM(93)0067) are to be met,

1.Believes that Community policy is composed of all the decisions made by the Council after consultation with the European Parliament;

2.Believes therefore that the Berne Convention (Council Decision 82/72/EEC) on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats and the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) form part of the Community's environment policy; points out that one of the provisions of the Berne Convention is that Parties shall have regard to the conservation of wildlife in their planning and development policies;

3.Believes that despite the fact that the Habitats Directive has not yet been transposed to national legislation, both Member States and the Commission are required to abide by its objectives; points out that the Court of Justice judgement in Case 80/86 confirms that a directive can have legal consequences even before it is transposed;

4.Believes that the Fifth Environmental Action Programme, adopted by a Council Resolution at the Environment Council meeting on 15-16 December 1992, is not only embraced by the term of 'Community environment policy' but also sets out the guidelines for its policy;

5.Calls on the Commission to ensure that all Community activities, and in particular its regional policy, comply with the Community's environmental objectives and principles;

6.Calls on the Commission to publish a "White Paper on Environment", as it has already done, with success, for the completion of the Single Market, setting out concrete measures and a corresponding timetable to achieve the goals of the Fifth Environmental Action Programme with respect to each of the five targets mentioned: industry, agriculture, transport, energy and tourism;

7.Calls on the Commission to take the necessary steps to integrate environmental considerations effectively in other policies, for instance through the introduction into all DGs of the Commission of persons responsible for the environment;

8.Calls on the Commission to accept that the term 'Community environment policy' also embraces the following:

-the Bonn Convention on the conservation of migrating species, which was adopted by the Community in Council Decision 82/461/EEC of 24 June 1982,

-the commitment to stabilize CO2 emissions at 1990 levels by the year 2000 and to reduce them significantly in the following years, agreed by the joint Energy and Environment Council in October 1990,

-the Biodiversity Convention, which is soon to be formally ratified by the Community (Proposal for a Council Decision COM(92)0509),

-the Global Climate Change Convention,

-the Washington Convention,

-the Bird Directive;

9.Expects the Commission from now on, in its decisions on spending under the Structural Funds, to comply fully with the objectives of the Habitats Directive, the Berne Convention and other resolutions approved by the Council, and expects the same principles to apply to the Cohesion Fund;

10.Points out that Directive 85/337/EEC on environmental impact assessment also has to be implemented for projects carried out and financed by the Structural Funds, and that one of the parameters to be used in this assessment is the compliance of the projects with other Community legislation;

11.Calls on the Commission to extend the complaints system to policy matters, because the Commission's current complaints procedure is restricted to matters relating to Community legislation; this makes it impossible for the public to bring complaints for failure to comply with Community policy;

12.Calls on the Commission to submit a directive regarding better access to law for individuals and organisations and the possibility of taking action in national courts when Member States fail to comply with laws implementing Community directives;

13.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and to the Council.