For this first session of the Environment Council in partnership with the new European Commission, the presidency has had to innovate and determine a new working method since the Council now has to deal with two commissioners, Janez Potocnik for the environment and Connie Hedegaard for climate change policies. Spanish Minister Elena Espinosa Managana is taking a pragmatic approach and has decided to split the work into two separate sessions: the morning will focus on environment matters, while the working lunch and afternoon session will be devoted to climate change, with Connie Hedegaard. The environment agenda includes adoption of conclusions on biodiversity and the resumption of discussions on the sensitive issue of the draft directive on soil protection. The climate change session will focus on follow-up to the Copenhagen conference and will adopt conclusions.

BIODIVERSITY: 2020 TARGETS

The Council will set new short-term (2020) and long-term (2050) targets for the protection of biodiversity, notes the Spanish Council Presidency. The year 2010 has been named International Year of Biodiversity and the United Nations conference (18 to 29 October, Nagoya, Japan) is set to update the Convention on Biological Diversity. The European Union must prepare a strong position for the conference after failing to achieve its 2001 target of halting biodiversity loss in the EU by 2010.

The Council conclusions will identify the causes of this failure: lack of appropriate instruments, incomplete implementation of nature protection laws, insufficient integration of biodiversity considerations into other policies and knowledge gaps. Addressing these issues is already quite an agenda, but also a source of reflection for the future. The Council’s debate will be based on both the short-term perspective of halting biodiversity loss in Europe and at international level by 2020 and on the longer term, for which the presidency will propose to develop a «vision for 2050». The question in this context is how to protect and put a premium on biodiversity considering the environmental, social and economic importance of ecosystems and of services related to biodiversity.

SOIL DIRECTIVE

Spain has always backed the directive on soil protection so it is no surprise to see it put the proposal back on the table. Although the European Parliament issued its first-reading opinion in November 2007, the text has been held up since the Portuguese Council Presidency (second half of 2007) due to the opposition of six member states (United Kingdom, Germany, France, Netherlands, Austria and Malta). The reasons they give are non-compliance with subsidiarity and proportionality, as well as doubts about cost effectiveness. The presidency has no illusions about what progress may be possible but the other delegations, which also have reservations, are willing to discuss the matter and take it forward.

The draft directive would set up a common strategy for soil protection based on the principles of: integration of soil concerns into other policies; prevention of threats to soil and mitigation of their effects; preservation of soil functions through the identification of action programmes and priority areas; identification and remediation of contaminated sites; awareness raising, reporting and exchange of information.

EU 2020

The Council will debate the new European strategy for growth and jobs (EU 2020). The presidency will then present the results to the General Affairs Council on 22 March, so as to include the Environment Council’s position in the conclusions for the European Council on 25 March. The ministers will be asked to comment on two questions: 1. How can environmental policies maximise opportunities to speed up reforms towards a safe and sustainable low-carbon and resource-efficient economy, to underpin growth and job creation, and to give an additional impetus towards more sustainable development? 2. What should the Environment Council’s role be in the new strategy, including in relation to synergies and complementarity with other relevant cross-cutting EU objectives and strategies?

CLIMATE CHANGE

This first Environment Council in the wake of the Copenhagen conference will give ministers a chance to take stock and draw conclusions from the conference, which will be discussed during lunch. They will then be briefed on preparations for the International Climate Conference in Cancun (COP16) by Mexico’s Environment Minister Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada, who will chair the proceedings. The Council will then continue its internal debate and is expected to adopt conclusions that are practically a work programme for the Commission, but without setting a deadline. They will ask the EU executive to present an analysis of the outcomes of the Copenhagen conference, a study of the comparability of emission reduction offers by all parties to the Climate Convention and a socio-economic impact assessment of the EU’s conditional offer of a 30% reduction target by 2020 (from 1990 levels) and of the risk of carbon leakage and of potential measures to curb it. According to the presidency, the conclusions will be «particularly short, concise, simple and clear but very concrete and straight to the point».

The ministers will also hold an initial airing of views on the draft regulation to limit CO2 emissions from light commercial vehicles. The Spanish Council Presidency, which regrets the EP decision not to vote on this subject until the July plenary, hopes to go as far as possible with the aim of coming to agreement in a single reading. It is not starting from scratch because it can build on the equivalent regulation adopted for passenger cars.

The directive on soil protection has been held up since the 2nd half of 2007 due to opposition from six member states.