The EU and the Environment
The environment is without frontiers: only joint action can protect it. The EU provides a ready-made framework in which this can be achieved by 27 countries - the bulk of our continent. Agreeing on common laws to protect the environment is more effective than divergent separate laws by each country, especially if some of them are not up to scratch.
Common standards in a common market are also fairer for our producers and traders, and lessen the temptation for them to relocate in countries with lower standards. It also means there is a level playing field that would not occur if environmental standards - and therefore costs - diverged radically from one Member State to another.
The EU can also be a powerful force in taking a lead at world level, both by pioneering standards that are then taken up by others, and by bargaining in international negotiations such as the Kyoto protocol, which would not have seen the light of day were it not for the EU's role in the negotiations. The EU's co-operation programmes with developing countries also put the concept of sustainable development at their heart. This means that when working with third countries to improve their economic and social circumstances the EU requires that the governments of developing countries systematically take account of the environmental aspects of policies.
The EU can only take action when there is a "legal base" agreed by Member States and inserted in the European Treaties, which are the de facto "constitution" of the EU. Since 1986 (the Single European Act, treaty on the single market), the European Community Treaty (Article 6) states that environmental protection is to be integrated into the definition and implementation of all Community activities and policies. Since 1993 (the Treaty of Maastricht) a specific chapter of the Treaty on Environmental policy empowers the Union to adopt common legislation to protect the environment.
Briefings of some specific EU policies
Amongst the earliest measures of the EU were quality standards for drinking and bathing water. The 1976 Bathing Water Directive sought to raise the standards of bathing water by setting minimum standards for the quality of bathing water. This is done through microbiological standards, which set limits to the amount of faecal pollution allowed in bathing waters. Many of Britain's 567 bathing areas were affected by the discharge of sewage into the sea in the past. The Bathing Water Directive led to a major national programme to stop sewage discharges in proximity to bathing areas. Over the last decade, the percentage of beaches in the UK meeting the EU standard for safe bathing water has risen from 82 per cent to 97.7 per cent. This directive also gives a degree of protection to the very large number of British tourists who swim off Mediterranean and other European beaches.
The Commission has recently begun enforcement procedures against a number of Member States who have been removing various beaches from their official list of bathing waters in order to evade their responsibilities under the Bathing Water Directive. The UK is being pursued because some of its urban water treatment works are inadequate for the volume of the sewerage generated and polluted waste water is, as a result, being discharged into seas and rivers. The Commission has particularly cited four places in the UK affected by the discharge of polluted water; they are Torbay, London, Whitburn and Kilbarchan.
The law on bathing water quality has recently been modernised, with a new directive agreed in February 2006. This tightens the bathing water quality rules and will repeal the existing directive at the end of 2014, giving Member States time to make the necessary changes to comply with the tougher standards.
Wildlife & Conservation: the Habitats Directive
The countryside is constantly threatened by development projects - highways, railways, airfields, and industrial buildings. Powerful commercial interests are often involved and governments themselves may be the developers. To ensure that the procedures leading to authorisation are transparent and accountable, the EU insists on Environmental Impact Assessments, in which the full extent of environmental harm can be set out and measured against the economic benefits claimed for the project.
The Habitats Directive agreed in 1992 seeks to establish an EU-wide network of nature conservation sites (Natura 2000). There are two types of conservation area: the first, Special Areas of Conservation, are created by the Habitats Directive; and the second, Special Protection Areas, were created by the 1979 Directive on the protection of wild birds. The measure to protect wild birds was particularly controversial in some EU countries because of a tradition of hunting small birds. The aim of these protective zones is to create an environment in which the population of protected birds can thrive. The Directive restricts hunting, the sale of birds, the taking of eggs and so on so as to allow the species to recover. Over the last decade the bird population trends in these areas have been better than for birds elsewhere in the EU.
The UK has nominated 608 sites as potential Special Areas of Conservation and there are 246 Special Protection Areas with a further 13 awaiting designation.
In 1999 the EU adopted a Directive on the disposal of waste by burying it in landfills. The purpose was to establish common standards for landfill sites covering, for example, their proximity to residential areas and to waterways. Under the terms of the directive, appropriate steps must be taken to prevent leaking of waste into soil and into water sources. Certain types of waste cannot any longer be disposed of in landfill, such as rubber tyres, hospital and clinical waste and liquid waste.
The Directive requires that all existing landfill sites meet the new standards, except those relating to location, by April 2009. Other parts of the Directive, particularly those relating to the disposal of hazardous waste in landfill sites, are already in force.
The European Commission published a proposal in 2003 for a new directive on the disposal of batteries. It is anticipated that the directive will become law in the UK in 2008 with all the targets in it having to be met by 2012.
The purpose of the directive is to ensure that all automotive and industrial batteries collected are recycled in future, along with 90 per cent of collected consumer batteries. As the UK currently has a very poor record for battery recycling (less than two per cent of consumer batteries are separately collected) a considerable amount of work will have to be done to persuade the public to separate batteries for disposal in their waste and local authorities will need to make arrangements to collect them. A pilot project in Bristol, in which residents put batteries out with their household refuse in a specially marked bag, proved very successful.
Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
The directive is intended to reduce the quantity of waste from electrical and electronic equipment and increase its re-use, recovery and recycling. The directive affects producers, distributors and recyclers of electrical and electronic equipment - including household appliances, IT and telecoms equipment, audio-visual equipment (TV, video, hi-fi), lighting, electrical and electronic tools, toys, leisure and sports equipment.
The main requirements of the directive are:
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that Member States set up systems to encourage separate collection of WEEE; and are to set up systems which will allow the return of WEEE free of charge to the final holder;
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that whilst there is no mandatory requirement for householders to separate all WEEE, Member States must encourage appropriate behaviour;
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that retailers are to ensure that WEEE is taken back on a one to one basis when a new, equivalent product is supplied; but Member States can provide that retailers make alternative arrangements instead, provided that they are free of charge to the final holder of the WEEE;
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that by 31 December 2006, Member States must achieve a collection rate of at least 4 kilograms on average per inhabitant per year of waste electrical and electronic equipment from private households;
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that Member States are to ensure that all WEEE collected from private households is transported to treatment facilities authorised under Article 6. Article 6 sets down standards which treatment facilities will have to meet;
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and that Member States are to ensure that systems are set up by producers to provide for recovery and re-use of separately collected WEEE according to set recovery, re-use and recycling targets. Targets are set as a proportion of collected WEEE from private households.
The Government brought forward the necessary UK legislation to implement the directive earlier this year following a further round of consultation on the details. The directive comes into force in August 2006.
The End-of-Life Vehicles Directive
Around two million cars are scrapped every year in the UK alone. The EU adopted a directive in 2000 designed to address the environmental consequences of this waste.
The main points of the directive are:
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that manufacturers limit the use of hazardous substances and increase the quantity of recycled material used in the production of their vehicles; and that they design vehicles for easy recycling;
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that as of 2007, manufacturers pay all or a significant part of the costs of free take-back of vehicles that have no value to a treatment facility;
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that manufacturers meet certain recovery and recycling targets by 1 January 2006 and more by 1 January 2015; and
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that treatment facilities have permits if they want to deal with ELVs and should operate to higher environmental standards.
Manufacturers will pay for "all or a significant part" of the costs of free take-back and treatment of all End-Life Vehicles from 1 January 2007. The directive gives flexibility to Member States in deciding how to fund take-back and treatment between 2002 and 2007. The Government announced on 21 June 2003 that, until 2007, the "last owner" of the vehicle would continue to have responsibility for its disposal.
The EU first legislated in 1980 to set minimum standards for drinking water quality with the aim of ensuring that water is safe and pleasant to drink. Based on guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the initial Drinking Water Directive was replaced in 1998 with a new law which reflected a toughening of the WHO's standards and a more co-ordinated approach to EU water legislation. The cost of complying with the directives has been significant because of the widespread presence of pesticides, lead and other poisonous substances in European drinking water but water quality has risen considerably over the last 20 years. Tap water is now should now be safe to drink across all EU countries.
Up to three million domestic fridges and freezers and another half a million commercial units are disposed of annually in the UK. The EU agreed a regulation in 2000 that requires Member States to remove ozone-depleting substances (including CFCs and HCFCs) from refrigeration equipment before such appliances are scrapped. This requirement came into force immediately for industrial and commercial appliances and applied to domestic appliances from 1 January 2002. There has been a delay in sufficient treatment plants coming on stream in the UK that can carry out the necessary work but the backlog of collected fridges is now being tackled. The alleged "fridge mountain" crisis has not materialised to the extent predicted.
Chemicals - the 'REACH' Regulations
The EU is currently debating a new system of regulation for all chemicals. This will ensure that chemicals are properly evaluated before they are put on the market. The EU is trying to ensure that this regulatory system is constructed in a way that imposes the minimum regulatory burden on industry, for example by making it only necessary to register a chemical once, but is nonetheless effective in minimising the use of potentially dangerous chemicals, especially where there are safer alternatives that can be substituted. REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) will cover some 30,000 different substances in the EU.
The EU supports the principle that the polluter pays. This approach was enshrined in the directive on environmental liability agreed in 2002, and which came into force on 30 April 2004. Where environmental damage occurs, the relevant national agency or government will require the operator to take steps to deal with the problem. If the operator cannot do this, for example because they are no longer trading, the clear-up will take place anyway. It will be open to national governments to establish common funds, financial guarantees or other methods of ensuring that pollution is cleared up if the original polluter cannot pay.
"Environmental damage" means damage caused to (1) the aquatic environment covered by Community legislation on water management; (2) species and habitats protected under Community legislation on nature conservation; (3) areas protected under national or regional legislation on nature conservation; and (4) health risks resulting from soil contamination.
The European Union wishes to keep citizens informed about, and involved in, environmental matters and to improve the application of environmental legislation. The EU has signed the Convention on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters (the Århus Convention of 1998).