Resolution on the sustainable development strategy for the Barcelona Summit

The Council adopted its contribution to the European Council to be held in Barcelona on 15 and 16 March 2002 relating to the sustainable development Strategy. The conclusions concern in particular the environmental dimension of the Strategy as was established at the European Council in Göteburg in June 2001. The European Council will be called upon to review the progress made in the implementation of this Strategy and to provide guidelines for the future. In line with the objective established in the Sustainable Development Strategy of halting biodiversity decline by 2010, and taking account of the 6th Environmental Action Programme as well as of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Council considers that progress on the following issues is a priority: - full integration of biodiversity protection and conservation considerations in all relevant sectors and activities, and implementation of the Community biodiverstiy action plans in the areas of Conservation of Natural Resources, Agriculture, Fisheries and Development and Economic Co-operation, ensuring complementarity between the Community Action Plans and national measures; - encouraging the actions necessary to effectively implement the Community policy on biodiversity, including the Community Biodiversity Strategy, particularly through the definitive development of the Natura 2000 network, and the implementation of the necessary technical and financial instruments and measures required for its full implementation and for the protection, outside the Natura 2000 areas, of species protected under the Habitats and Birds Directives; - providing measures for promoting access to fair and equitable sharing benefits arising from the use of genetic resources and traditional knowledge; - developing the necessary additional measures, such as prevention, control and eradication of invasive alien species which can cause serious damage to biological diversity; - adopting and implementing measures to maintain biodiversity in forests and other important ecosystems by establishing international ecological networks. With regard to the candidate countries, the Council considers it important for the candidate countries to take the policies and objectives of the Community's strategic sustainable development policy into account in the period prior to accession, so that their situation is reflected in the synthesis report for 2003.�