Environmental Implementation Review (EIR)

1.9.2017

Question for oral answer O-000065/2017
to the Council
Rule 128
Sirpa Pietikäinen, Simona Bonafè, Mark Demesmaeker, Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, Luke Ming Flanagan, Benedek Jávor, on behalf of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

On 3 February 2017 the Commission published the first edition of the Environmental Implementation Review (EIR). The EIR aims to provide an overview of how Member States are implementing EU environmental law and to support them if necessary. The publication includes 28 country reports, a Commission summary of the most common problems, and suggestions for improvement.

The Commission’s assessment shows implementation gaps, particularly in the areas of waste management, nature and biodiversity protection, air quality, noise pollution, and water quality and management. The common root causes of these gaps were identified as ineffective coordination between local, regional and national authorities, a lack of administrative capacity and financing, a lack of knowledge and data, insufficient compliance assurance mechanisms and a lack of integration and policy coherence.

1. Does the Council agree with the root causes of the implementation gaps as identified by the Commission? How does the Council plan to address these root causes, in particular insufficient financing and the lack of integration of environmental concerns into other policy areas?

2. How do Member States intend to follow up on the EIR? Are all Member States committed to holding structural implementation dialogues, while ensuring transparency and broad stakeholder participation, including NGOs, businesses and research?

3. Do Member States support the Commission’s commitment to broaden the scope of the next EIR to include climate change, chemicals regulation and industrial emissions?

4. Does the Council agree that implementation issues require regular attention at political level? Could an annual or bi-annual Council meeting be set up, dedicated specifically to the implementation of EU environmental law, in order to ensure a structured implementation dialogue, based on a review of progress in implementing EU environmental law monitored at the Member State level against a scoreboard and through best practice benchmarking, and to discuss corrective actions?

5. Will the Council organise joint Council meetings to address the implementation of cross-cutting issues, such as air quality or nitrates pollution?