Environment: 6th Community action programme 2001-2010

Following the second reading in plenary of the European Commission's proposal for a sixth environmental action programme, the European Parliament tabled 18 amendments. Mostly, they are of a general nature seeking to emphasise sustainability, re-introduce provisions on environmental crime, promote environmental compatibility of subsidies and fiscal measures and to raise the quality of information upon which policy is based. Other amendments seek to subject the various thematic strategies to the co-decision procedure and importantly that these thematic studies be ready within a three year, rather than five year, deadline. Of the 18 amendments proposed the Commission opted to accept three fully and nine either in principle or in part. The remaining four it rejected. The three accepted in full refer to: - the introduction of provisions for measures to combat environmental crime; - an editorial revision on low-fuel-consuming vehicles; and - a clarification of the need to de-couple GDP and transport growth. The nine accepted in part or in principle are generally of an editorial nature or else a clarification of terms in the text. They include, inter alia: - the need to raise awareness amongst local authorities of EU environmental policies; - reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles; and - an integrated, horizontal approach for the urban thematic strategy. Those amendments rejected by the Commission relate to: - subjecting every thematic strategy to co-decision; - bringing the deadline by which strategies must be ready for implementation by two years from five to three; - the additional target of stabilising transport CO2 emissions in the context of the Kyoto 8% reduction target for 2008-2012; and - introduction of a new date (2003) for providing information on indicators. Information, the Commission argues, should be provided on a regular bases and not provided on a one-off platform.�