European Parliament legislative resolution of 22 May 2007 on the proposal for a Council regulation on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Community and the Government of the Russian Federation on cooperation in fisheries and the conservation of the living marine resources in the Baltic Sea (COM(2006)0868 – C6-0052/2007 – 2006/0309(CNS))

P6_TA(2007)0186 A6-0160/2007

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the proposal for a Council regulation (COM(2006)0868)(1),

–   having regard to Articles 37 and 300(2) of the EC Treaty,

–   having regard to Article 300(3), first subparagraph, of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C6-0052/2007),

–   having regard to Rules 51 and 83(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A6-0160/2007),

1.  Approves the proposal for a Council regulation as amended and approves conclusion of the agreement;

2.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the Russian Federation.

Text proposed by the Commission   Amendment by Parliament Amendment 1 Article 2 a (new) Article 2a During the third and last years of application of the Agreement, prior to the opening of negotiations on its possible renewal, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council general assessment reports analysing the impact of the Agreement on the conservation of resources and the protection of the environment, and the economic and social repercussions of its application.

(1) Not yet published in OJ.

European Parliament legislative resolution of 22 May 2007 on the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the Financial Instrument for the Environment (LIFE+) (PE-CONS 3611/2007 – C6-0105/2007 – 2004/0218(COD))

P6_TA(2007)0187 A6-0180/2007

(Codecision procedure: third reading)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee (PE-CONS 3611/2007 – C6-0105/2007),

–   having regard to its position at first reading(1) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2004)0621)(2),

–   having regard to the amended Commission proposal (COM(2004)0621/2)(3),

–   having regard to its position at second reading(4) on the Council common position(5),

–   having regard to the Commission's opinion on Parliament's amendments to the common position (COM(2006)0759)(6),

–   having regard to Article 251(5) of the EC Treaty,

–   having regard to Rule 65 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of its delegation to the Conciliation Committee (A6-0180/2007),

1.  Approves the joint text and draws attention to the Commission statement thereon;

2.  Instructs its President to sign the act with the President of the Council pursuant to Article 254(1) of the EC Treaty;

3.  Instructs its Secretary-General to sign the act, once it has been verified that all the procedures have been duly completed, and, in agreement with the Secretary-General of the Council, to have it published in the Official Journal of the European Union;

4.  Instructs its President to forward this legislative resolution to the Council and Commission.

(1) OJ C 157 E, 6.7.2006, p. 451. (2) Not yet published in OJ. (3) Not yet published in OJ. (4) Texts Adopted, 24.10.2006, P6_TA(2006)0431. (5) OJ C 238 E, 3.10.2006, p. 1. (6) Not yet published in OJ.

European Parliament legislative resolution of 22 May 2007 on the Council common position with a view to the adoption of a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing for the period 2007-2013 a specific programme to prevent and combat violence against children, young people and women and to protect victims and groups at risk (Daphne III programme) as part of the General Programme "Fundamental Rights and Justice" (16367/1/2006 – C6-0089/2007 – 2005/0037A(COD))

P6_TA(2007)0188 A6-0147/2007

(Codecision procedure: second reading)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Council common position (16367/1/2006 – C6-0089/2007) and the relevant statement by the Council and Parliament,

–   having regard to its position at first reading(1) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2005)0122)(2) and on the amended proposal (COM(2006)0230)(3),

–   having regard to Article 251(2) of the EC Treaty,

–   having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (A6-0147/2007),

1.  Approves the common position and confirms the statement annexed to this legislative resolution;

2.  Notes that the act is adopted in accordance with the common position;

3.  Instructs its President to sign the act with the President of the Council pursuant to Article 254(1) of the EC Treaty;

4.  Instructs its Secretary-General to sign the act, once it has been verified that all the procedures have been duly completed, and, in agreement with the Secretary-General of the Council, to have it published in the Official Journal of the European Union;

5.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and the Commission.

ANNEX

STATEMENT BY THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Violence and the threat of violence constitute a breach of the right to life, safety, freedom, dignity and physical and emotional integrity, and are a serious threat to the physical and mental health of the victims of such violence. The effects of such violence, being so widespread throughout the Community, constitute a genuine fundamental rights violation and health scourge and an obstacle to the enjoyment by all people of safe, free and just citizenship. The aim of the Daphne III programme is to prevent and combat violence against children, young people and women and to protect victims and groups at risk. With a view to furthering these aims, the European Parliament and the Council invite the European Commission to consider the possibility of an initiative for a European Year to combat violence against children, young people and women.

(1) OJ C 305 E, 14.12.2006, p. 75. (2) Not yet published in OJ. (3) Not yet published in OJ.

European Parliament decision of 22 May 2007 on amendment of Rule 47 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure - cooperation between committees (2007/2016(REG))

P6_TA(2007)0189 A6-0139/2007

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the proposal for amendment of its Rules of Procedure (B6-0461/2006),

–   having regard to Rules 201 and 202 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (A6-0139/2007),

1.  Decides to amend its Rules of Procedure as shown below;

2.  Points out that the amendment will enter into force on the first day of the next part-session;

3.  Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council and Commission, for information.

Present text   Amendment Amendment 3 Rule 47 Enhanced cooperation between committees Procedure with associated committees Where in the opinion of the Conference of Presidents a question falls almost equally within the competence of two committees, or where different parts of the question fall under the competence of two different committees, Rule 46 shall apply with the following additional provisions: Where a question of competence has been referred to the Conference of Presidents pursuant to Rules 179(2) or 45, and the Conference of Presidents, on the basis of Annex VI, considers that the matter falls almost equally within the competence of two or more committees, or that different parts of the matter fall under the competence of two or more committees, Rule 46 shall apply with the following additional provisions: - the timetable shall be jointly agreed by the two committees; - the timetable shall be jointly agreed by the committees concerned; - the rapporteur and the draftsman shall endeavour to agree on the texts they propose to their committees and on their position regarding amendments; - the rapporteur and the draftsmen shall keep each other informed and shall endeavour to agree on the texts they propose to their committees and on their position regarding amendments; - the chairmen, rapporteur and draftsmen concerned shall endeavour to jointly identify areas of the text falling within their exclusive or joint competences and agree on the precise arrangements for their cooperation; - the committee responsible shall accept without a vote amendments from the committee asked for an opinion where they concern matters which the chairman of the committee responsible considers, on the basis of Annex VI, after consulting the chairman of the committee asked for an opinion, to fall under the competence of the committee asked for an opinion, and which do not contradict other elements of the report - the committee responsible shall accept without a vote amendments from an associated committee where they concern matters which the chairman of the committee responsible considers, on the basis of Annex VI, after consulting the chairman of the associated committee, to fall under the exclusive competence of the associated committee and which do not contradict other elements of the report. The chairman of the committee responsible shall take account of any agreement reached under the third indent; - in the event of a conciliation procedure taking place on the proposal, Parliament's delegation shall include the draftsman of any associated committee.

European Parliament legislative resolution of 22 May 2007 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy and amending Directive 2000/60/EC (COM(2006)0397 – C6-0243/2006 – 2006/0129(COD))

P6_TA(2007)0190 A6-0125/2007

(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2006)0397),

–   having regard to Article 251(2) and Article 175(1) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C6-0243/2006),

–   having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the opinions of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the Committee on Fisheries (A6-0125/2007),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend the proposal substantially or replace it with another text;

3.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 22 May 2007 with a view to the adoption of Directive 2007/.../EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy and amending Directive 2000/60/EC

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 175 (1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(3),

Whereas:

(1)  Chemical pollution of surface water presents a threat to the aquatic environment with effects such as acute and chronic toxicity to aquatic organisms, accumulation in the ecosystem and losses of habitats and biodiversity, as well as threats to human health. As a matter of priority, causes of pollution should be identified and emissions should be dealt with at source, in the most economically and environmentally effective manner.

(2)  In accordance with Article 174 of the Treaty, Community policy on the environment is based on the precautionary principle and on the principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source, and that the polluter should pay.

(3)  Properly conducted small-scale organic farming is necessary in order to guarantee good water quality.

(4)  Decision No 1600/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2002 laying down the Sixth Community Environmental Action Programme(4) sets out that environment and health and quality of life are key environmental priorities of the 6th EAP, highlighting in particular in Article 7(2)(e) the need to establish more specific legislation in the field of water policy.

(5)  Member States should implement the necessary measures in accordance with Article 16(1) and (8) of Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy(5) with the aim of progressively reducing pollution from priority substances and ceasing or phasing out emissions, discharges and losses of priority hazardous substances.

(6)  Directive 2000/60/EC lays down a strategy against pollution of water and Article 16 of that Directive requires further specific measures for pollution control and environmental quality standards (EQS).

(7)  There have been numerous Community acts adopted since 2000 which constitute pollution control measures in accordance with Article 16 of Directive 2000/60/EC for individual priority substances. Moreover, many environmental protection measures fall under the scope of other existing Community legislation. Therefore, in the short term, priority should be given to implementation and revision of existing instruments rather than establishing new controls which may duplicate existing ones. However, following the transmission of the river basin management plans produced by the Member States pursuant to Article 13 of Directive 2000/60/EC, including the programme of measures established pursuant to Article 11 of that Directive, the Commission should assess whether the implementation and revision of existing instruments fully achieved the objectives of Directive 2000/60/EC, or whether specific action is required pursuant to that Directive. If compliance with EQS can be achieved only by means of restrictions on use or the banning of individual substances, such measures should be implemented by means of existing or new Community legal acts, in particular in the context of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency(6).

(8)  Directive 2000/60/EC includes in Article 11(4) and Part B of Annex VI on the programme of measures a non-exhaustive list of supplementary measures which Member States may choose to adopt as part of the programme of measures, inter alia legislative instruments, administrative instruments and negotiated agreements for the protection of the environment.

(9)  As regards emission controls of priority substances from point and diffuse sources as referred to in Article 16(6) and (8) of Directive 2000/60/EC, Member States should include, where necessary, in addition to the implementation of other existing Community legislation, appropriate control measures, pursuant to Article 10 of Directive 2000/60/EC, in the programme of measures to be developed for each river basin in accordance with Article 11 of that Directive, where appropriate applying Article 10 of Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control(7). With a view to maintaining uniform competitive conditions in the internal market, all decisions to lay down control measures for point sources of priority substances should be based on the concept of the best available techniques laid down in Article 2 (11) of Directive 96/61/EC.

(10)  Where an issue which has an impact on the management of water cannot be resolved by a Member State itself, that Member State may report it to the Commission in accordance with Article 12 of Directive 2000/60/EC. A Member State should also be able to report such an issue where Community measures seem to be more cost-effective or appropriate. In such a case, the Commission should launch an information exchange with all Member States and if Community action does appear to be the better option, the Commission should publish a report and propose measures.

(11)  As the majority of other relevant Community acts have not yet been fully adopted and implemented, it is currently difficult to determine whether the implementation of those policies will enable the objectives of Directive 2000/60/EC to be achieved, or whether further Community action will still be needed. Consequently, it would be appropriate to carry out a formal evaluation of the consistency and effectiveness of all Community legislative acts contributing directly or indirectly to achieving good water quality.

(12)  Decision No 2455/2001/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2001 establishing the list of priority substances in the field of water policy and amending Directive 2000/60/EC(8) sets out the first list of 33 substances or groups of substances that have been prioritised for action at Community level. Among those priority substances, certain substances have been identified as priority hazardous substances which are subject to phase-out or cessation of emissions, discharges and losses. For substances occurring naturally or through natural processes, such as cadmium, mercury and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons, however, complete phase-out of emissions, discharges and losses from all potential sources is impossible. Some substances were under review and should be classified. Further substances should be added to the list of priority substances to achieve the objectives of Directive 2000/60/EC.

(13)  The Commission should continue to review the list of priority substances at least every four years, prioritising substances for action on the basis of risk to or via the aquatic environment, in accordance with the timetable required by Article 16(4) of Directive 2000/60/EC, and come forward with proposals as appropriate.

(14)  From the point of view of Community interest and for a more effective regulation of the surface water protection, it is appropriate that EQS are set up for pollutants classified as priority substances at Community level and to leave it to the Member States to lay down rules for remaining pollutants at national level subject to the application of relevant Community rules. Nonetheless, eight pollutants which fall under the scope of Council Directive 86/280/EEC of 12 June 1986 on limit values and quality objectives for discharges of certain dangerous substances included in List I of the Annex to Directive 76/464/EEC(9) and form part of the group of substances for which good chemical status should be achieved by 2015 were not included in the list of priority substances. However, the common standards established for those pollutants proved to be useful and it is appropriate to maintain the regulation of their standards at Community level.

(15)  Certain substances are very harmful to fish if present in surface waters but do not figure on the lists of EQS for water policy. The Commission should if necessary submit proposals for adopting EQS in the field of water policy for these substances too.

(16)  Consequently, the provisions concerning current environmental quality objectives, laid down in Council Directive 82/176/EEC of 22 March 1982 on limit values and quality objectives for mercury discharges by the chlor-alkali electrolysis industry(10), Council Directive 83/513/EEC of 26 September 1983 on limit values and quality objectives for cadmium discharges(11), Council Directive 84/156/EEC of 8 March 1984 on limit values and quality objectives for mercury discharges by sectors other than the chlor-alkali electrolysis industry(12), Council Directive 84/491/EEC of 9 October 1984 on limit values and quality objectives for discharges of hexachlorocyclohexane(13) and Directive 86/280/EEC, will become superfluous and should be deleted.

(17)  The aquatic environment can suffer from chemical pollution both in the short term and in the long term, and therefore both acute and chronic effects data should be used as the basis for establishing the EQS. In order to ensure that the aquatic environment and human health are adequately protected, annual average quality standards should be established at a level providing protection against long-term exposure, and maximum allowable concentrations should be established to protect against short term exposure. The application of maximum allowable concentrations, in accordance with the combined approach laid down in Article 10 of Directive 2000/60/EC, the treatment of outliers in particular, and the determination of emission controls should be harmonised.

(18)  In the absence of extensive and reliable information on concentrations of priority substances in biota and sediments at Community level and in view of the fact that information on surface water seems to provide a sufficient basis to ensure comprehensive protection and effective pollution control, establishment of EQS values should, at this stage, be limited to surface water only. However, as regards hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene and mercury, it is not possible to ensure protection against indirect effects and secondary poisoning by mere EQS for surface water at Community level. Therefore in those cases, EQS for biota should be set up. In order to allow Member States flexibility depending on their monitoring strategy they should be able either to monitor those EQS and check compliance with them in biota, or convert them into EQS for surface water. Furthermore, it is for Member States to set up EQS for sediment or biota where it is necessary and appropriate to complement the EQS set up at Community level. Moreover, sediment and biota remain important matrices for the monitoring of substances with significant accumulation potential and against whose indirect effect EQS for surface water currently offer no protection. Such monitoring should be carried out in order to advance the future technical and scientific work on EQS in sediment and biota for the monitored substances, where this is proven necessary.

(19)  In the case of lead, nickel and their compounds, the discussions on the risk assessments have not yet been concluded within the European Chemicals Bureau / Joint Research Centre, and thus, it is not possible to set up definitive quality standards for those elements. It is therefore appropriate to indicate clearly their provisional character.

(20)  Lead, used in fishing equipment for both recreational and professional fisheries, is a source of water pollution. In order to reduce the level of lead in fishing waters, Member States should encourage the fishing sector to replace lead by less hazardous alternatives.

(21)  Dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are two groups of toxic substances that are persistent and bioaccumulative. Both groups of substances entail a considerable risk to human health and the environment, and have a highly negative impact on aquatic species and, therefore, on the viability of the fisheries sector. The Commission has, in addition, on various occasions stressed the need to include these substances in the list of priority substances. This Directive should therefore provide for their future inclusion in this list.

(22)  Member States have to comply with Council Directive 98/83/EC of 3 November 1998 on water intended for human consumption(14) and manage the surface water bodies used for abstraction of drinking water in accordance with Article 7 of Directive 2000/60/EC. This Directive should therefore be implemented without prejudice to those requirements which may require more stringent standards.

(23)  It is possible that EQS cannot be met in the vicinity of discharges from point sources because the concentrations of pollutants in discharges are usually higher than the ambient concentrations in water. Therefore, Member States should be enabled to take this fact into account when checking compliance with the EQS by identifying a transitional area of exceedance for each relevant discharge. In order to ensure that those areas are limited, Article 10 of Directive 2000/60/EC and other relevant provisions of Community law should apply to their identification. As developments in treatment techniques and technological innovation, such as best available techniques, may enable the concentration of pollutants in the proximity of points of discharge to be diminished in the future, Member States should ensure that the transitional areas of exceedance are reduced accordingly.

(24)  This Directive allows Member States to make use of mixing zones (referred to in Article 4 of this Directive as "Transitional Areas of Exceedance") as long as they do not affect the compliance of the rest of the body of surface water with the relevant EQS. In designating mixing zones Member States must take a proportionate approach having regard to flow, concentration and volume of consented discharges and the capacity of the receiving body of water to absorb such discharges. Member States will decrease the extent of mixing zones as they fulfil their obligation to progressively reduce pollution from priority substances.

(25)  It is necessary to check the compliance with the objectives for cessation or phase-out, and reduction, as specified in Article 4(1)(a)(iv) of Directive 2000/60/EC, and to make the assessment of compliance with these obligations transparent, in particular as regards the consideration of significant and non-significant emissions, discharges and losses from human activities. Further, a timetable for cessation or phase-out, and reduction, can only be related to an inventory. It should also be possible to assess the application of Article 4(4) to (7) of Directive 2000/60/EC. An appropriate tool is equally needed for quantification of losses of substances occurring naturally, or produced through natural processes, in which case complete cessation or phase-out from all potential sources is impossible. In order to meet those needs, each Member State should establish an inventory of emission, discharges and losses for each river basin in its territory.

(26)  In order to avoid duplication of work by establishing those inventories and to ensure the coherence of those inventories with other existing tools in the area of surface water protection, Member States should use information collected under Directive 2000/60/EC and under Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 January 2006 concerning the establishment of a European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register and amending Council Directives 91/689/EEC and 96/61/EC(15).

(27)  In order to better reflect their needs, Member States should be able to choose an appropriate one-year reference period for measuring the basic entries of the inventory. However, account should be taken of the fact that the losses from the application of pesticides may vary considerably from one year to another because of different application rates, for example because of different climatic conditions. Therefore, in the case of certain substances covered by Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market(16), Member States should be able to opt for a three-year reference period for those substances.

(28)  In order to optimize the use of the inventory, it is appropriate to set up a deadline for the Commission to verify whether all measures were taken by the Member States to achieve the objectives set out in Article 4(1)(a)(iv) of Directive 2000/60/EC.

(29)  Criteria for identification of substances that are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic, as well as substances of other equivalent concern, notably very persistent and very bioaccumulative, as referred to in Directive 2000/60/EC, are established in the Technical Guidance Document for Risk Assessment in support of Commission Directive 93/67/EEC of 20 July 1993 laying down the principles for assessment of risks to man and the environment of substances notified in accordance with Council Directive 67/548/EEC(17), Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 of 28 June 1994 laying down the principles for the assessment of risks to man and the environment of existing substances in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93(18), and Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market(19). To ensure consistency between different Community legislation, only these criteria should be applied to the substances under review according to Decision No 2455/2001/EC, and Annex X to Directive 2000/60/EC should be amended and replaced accordingly.

(30)  Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 provides for a review to assess the adequacy of the criteria for identifying substances which are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic. The Commission should amend Annex X to Directive 2000/60/EC accordingly as soon as the criteria in Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 have been modified.

(31)  The obligations laid down in the Directives listed in Annex IX to Directive 2000/60/EC are already incorporated in Directive 96/61/EC and in Articles 8, 10, Article 11(3)(g) and (h) and other provisions of Directive 2000/60/EC and, at least, the same level of protection is guaranteed if the EQS are maintained or reviewed. In order to ensure a consistent approach to chemical pollution of surface waters and to simplify and clarify the existing Community legislation in that area, it is appropriate to repeal, pursuant to Article 16(10) of Directive 2000/60/EC, with effect from 2012, Directive 82/176/EEC, Directive 83/513/EEC, Directive 84/156/EEC, Directive 84/491/EEC and Directive 86/280/EEC.

(32)  The recommendations referred to in Article 16(5) of Directive 2000/60/EC, in particular those of the Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment, were taken into account.

(33)  Since the objective of this Directive, namely the adoption of EQS for water, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of maintaining the same level of protection of surface water throughout the Community, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

(34)  The measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(20).

(35)  Pursuant to Article 174 of the Treaty, and as reiterated in Directive 2000/60/EC, the Community must, in preparing its policy on the environment, take account of the available scientific and technical data, environmental conditions in the various regions of the Community, the economic and social development of the Community as a whole and the balanced development of its regions, as well as the potential benefits and costs of action or lack of action,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Subject matter

Objectives set out in this Directive are to be treated as objectives under Article 4 of Directive 2000/60/EC.

The Commission shall, in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 21(2) of Directive 2000/60/EC, present to the European Parliament and the Council, by 2020, a report on the success of implementation of this Directive.

Article 2

Environmental quality standards

1.  In order to achieve a good chemical status for bodies of surface water pursuant to Article 4(1)(a) of Directive 2000/60/EC, Member States shall ensure that the composition of those bodies of surface water, sediment and biota complies with environmental quality standards for priority substances as laid down in Part A of Annex I.

Member States shall at all times take the measures required to ensure that plants which discharge into bodies of water waste water containing priority substances employ the best available production and waste water treatment techniques. These measures shall be based on the results of the exchange of information provided for in Article 16(2) of Directive 96/61/EC.

Member States shall ensure compliance with the environmental quality standards in accordance with the requirements laid down in Part B of Annex I.

Member States must improve the knowledge and data available on sources of priority substances and ways in which pollution occurs in order to identify targeted and effective control options.

2.  Where a watercourse passes through more than one Member State, coordination of the monitoring programmes and of the national inventories compiled shall take place in order to avoid penalising Member States located downstream.

3.  Member States shall, in accordance with Article 8 of Directive 2000/60/EC, monitor concentrations of substances listed in Part A of Annex I in water, sediment and biota.

4.  Member States shall ensure that the following concentrations of hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene and mercury are not exceeded in prey tissue (wet weight) of fish, molluscs, crustaceans and other biota:

For the purposes of monitoring of the compliance with the environmental quality standards of substances listed in the first subparagraph, the Member States shall either introduce a more stringent standard for water replacing the one listed in Part A of Annex I, or set up an additional standard for biota.

Monitoring of other substances in Annex I may also be performed in sediment or biota instead of in water if Member States consider this to be more adequate and cost-effective. If significant concentrations of substances are detected and Member States consider that there is a risk that the environmental quality standards for water will not be met, monitoring in water shall be performed to ensure compliance with the environmental quality standards for water.

5.  The Commission shall, no later than 12 months after the submission of the inventories by the Member States, make a proposal concerning quality standards applicable to the concentrations of the priority substances in sediment and biota.

6.  Member States shall comply with Directive 98/83/EC and shall manage the surface water bodies used for the abstraction of drinking water in accordance with Article 7 of Directive 2000/60/EC. This Directive shall therefore be implemented without prejudice to provisions which may require more stringent standards.

7.  Cases in which compliance with environmental quality standards is not technically feasible, or would lead to disproportionate social or economic costs, shall be dealt with under Article 4(4), (5) and (6) of Directive 2000/60/EC, in order to determine the most cost-effective and environmentally acceptable approach to complying with the objective as set out in Article 4(1)(a) of Directive 2000/60/EC.

8.  The Commission shall, systematically using the database established under Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 to screen for substances that are harmful to water organisms, accumulate or are persistent, examine technical and scientific progress, including the conclusions of risk assessments as referred to in points (a) and (b) of Article 16 (2) of Directive 2000/60/EC and propose at least every four years the revision of the environmental quality standards laid down in Part A of Annex I to this Directive.

The Commission shall examine the most recent scientific information and technical progress regarding substances accumulating in sediment and biota and shall prepare environmental quality standards concerning them.

9.  In order to achieve a cohesive and harmonised calculation method, the Commission shall, in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 21(2) of Directive 2000/60/EC, not later than ...(21), set up compulsory methodologies at least for the matters referred to in the second paragraph of point 3 of Part B of Annex I to this Directive.

10.  If bans on substances are needed in order to secure compliance with environmental quality standards, the Commission shall submit suitable proposals to amend existing legal acts or establish new legal acts at Community level.

11.  If, with a view to enforcing the polluter-pays principle and the precautionary principle and to securing uniform implementation in the Member States, emission limit values valid throughout the Community are needed for specific plants, substances or point sources, or if such emission limit values can be effective in securing compliance with environmental quality standards, the Commission shall put forward proposals in accordance with Article 18 of Directive 96/61/EC.

Article 3

To achieve the objective set out in Article 2, Member States may impose more stringent restrictions on the use or discharge of substances than those set out in Directive 91/414/EEC and in Regulation (EC) No .../... of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market(22) which replaces it, or in other Community legislation.

Article 4

Transitional area of exceedance

1.  If there is no technically feasible means of adequately purifying waste water from one or more point sources, Member States shall designate transitional areas of exceedance, where the concentrations of one or more pollutants at low flow conditions exceed the relevant environmental quality standards in so far as they do not affect the compliance of the rest of the surface water body with those standards.

Member States shall include an action plan to reduce the extent and duration of each transitional area of exceedance within the river basin management plans referred to in Article 13 of Directive 2000/60/EC in order to comply with the relevant environmental quality standards by 2018 at the latest.

2.  Member States shall delimit in each case the extent of the parts of the surface water bodies adjacent to the points of discharge to be classed as transitional areas of exceedance, taking into account the relevant provisions of Community law.

Member States shall include a description of each delimitation in their river basin management plans referred to in Article 13 of Directive 2000/60/EC.

3.  In the case of cross-border watercourses the consent of the other affected Member States shall be required for determining the transitional area of exceedance.

4.  Member States shall carry out the review of the permits referred to in Directive 96/61/EC or of the prior regulations referred to in Article 11(3)(g) of Directive 2000/60/EC with a view to progressively reducing the extent of each transitional area of exceedance, as referred to in paragraph 1, identified in water bodies affected by discharges of priority substances.

5.  The Commission shall, in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 21(2) of Directive 2000/60/EC, set up the method to be used by the Member States for the identification of the transitional area of exceedance.

Article 5

Emission control methods to be used by Member States

1.  To achieve the objectives of Article 1, Member States shall establish integrated plans for emission control and phase-out measures for priority substances and priority hazardous substances in the framework of the programme of measures provided for in Article 11 of Directive 2000/60/EC. The plans shall contain at least:

2.  The plans should be drafted according to transparent criteria and revised in the framework of the revision of the programmes of measures. Member States shall report to the Commission and the public every three years on the progress of the implementation and on how the measures have contributed to achieving the objectives of this Directive.

Article 6

Inventory of emissions, discharges and losses

1.  On the basis of the information collected in accordance with Articles 5 and 8 of Directive 2000/60/EC or other available data, and under Regulation (EC) No 166/2006, Member States shall establish an inventory, including maps where applicable, of emissions, discharges and losses and of their sources of priority substances (both point and diffuse sources of pollution) and pollutants listed in Annex II or in Part A of Annex I for each river basin or its part within their territory, including their concentrations in sediment and biota. Priority substances and pollutants released from sediments as the result of shipping, dredging or natural phenomena shall not be regarded as losses.

Member States shall include all emission control measures taken for priority substances listed in Part A of Annex I in the inventory.

2.  Member States shall draw up specific monitoring programmes for sediments and biotas, identifying the species and tissues to be analysed and the form in which the results are to be expressed, in line with the organisms' seasonal variations.

3.  The reference period for the measurement of pollutant values to be entered in the inventories referred to in paragraph 1 shall be one year between 2007 and 2009.

However, for priority substances or pollutants covered by Directive 91/414/EEC, the entries may be calculated as the average of the years 2007, 2008 and 2009.

In preparing their inventories, Member States may use information on emissions, discharges and losses that has been collected since the entry into force of Directive 2000/60/EC provided that such information meets the same quality requirements as apply to the information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

4.  Member States shall communicate the inventories established pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, including the respective reference periods, to the Commission together with the river basin management plans reported in accordance with Article 15(1) of Directive 2000/60/EC.

5.  Member States shall update their inventories as part of the reviews of the analyses specified in Article 5 (2) of Directive 2000/60/EC.

The reference period for the establishment of values in the updated inventories shall be the year before that analysis is to be completed. For priority substances or pollutants covered by Directive 91/414/EEC, the entries may be calculated as the average of the three years before the completion of that analysis.

Member States shall publish the updated inventories in their updated river basin management plans as laid down in Article 13 (7) of Directive 2000/60/EC.

6.  As emissions, discharges and losses of priority substances must be progressively reduced or cease, it is necessary that Member States accompany their inventory with a suitable timetable for achieving those objectives.

7.  The Commission shall verify by 2015 that emissions, discharges and losses as reflected in the inventory can be expected to comply, by 2025, with the reduction and cessation obligations laid down in Article 4(1)(a)(iv) of Directive 2000/60/EC. The Commission shall submit a report on this verification to the European Parliament and the Council. If the report shows that compliance is unlikely to be achieved, it shall propose the necessary Community measures pursuant to Article 251 of the Treaty by 2016.

8.  The Commission shall, in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 21(2) of Directive 2000/60/EC, lay down the technical specifications for the analyses as well as the method to be used by the Member States for establishment of the inventories.

Article 7

Measures to reduce pollution by priority substances

1.  In order to achieve the objectives of reducing pollution by priority substances and priority hazardous substances established under Article 4(1)(a)(iv) of Directive 2000/60/EC, Member States shall ensure that the programme of measures established pursuant to Article 11 of that Directive includes prevention or control measures relating to point and diffuse sources of pollution, as well as the environmental quality standards laid down in that Directive.

2.  On the basis of Articles 4 and 12 of Directive 2000/60/EC and in order to achieve the objectives set out therein, Member States shall determine whether there is a need to review the implementation of existing measures or to introduce new measures for the reduction and control of pollution by priority substances and priority hazardous substances. Where these measures are best taken at Community level, the Commission shall propose the appropriate measures at Community level.

3.  In the course of preparing its report under Article 18(1) of Directive 2000/60/EC on the implementation of that Directive, the Commission shall carry out a formal assessment of the consistency and effectiveness of all Community legislative acts with a direct or indirect impact on good water quality. This assessment will enable Community measures to be proposed, adapted or implemented as necessary.

4.  The Commission shall, according to Article 16(8) of Directive 2000/60/EC, propose emission control techniques based on the best available technologies and environmental practices, to be used by the Member States for all point sources.

Article 8

Inclusion of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

Pursuant to Article 16 of Directive 2000/60/EC and no later than 31 January 2008, the Commission shall submit a proposal for the revision of this Directive with a view to including dioxins and PCBs in the list of priority substances set out in Annex II and include corresponding environmental quality standards in Annex I.

Article 9

Pollution originating from third countries

The Commission shall present to the European Parliament and the Council, by ...(23), a report on the situation regarding pollution originating from third countries. On the basis of that report, the European Parliament and the Council shall, if this is deemed necessary, ask the Commission to bring forward proposals.

Article 10

Amendment of Directive 2000/60/EC

Annex X to Directive 2000/60/EC is replaced by the text set out in Annex II to this Directive.

Article 11

Amendment of Directives 82/176/EEC, 83/513/EEC, 84/156/EEC and 84/491/EEC

Annex II to Directives 82/176/EEC, 83/513/EEC, 84/156/EEC and 84/491/EEC respectively is deleted.

Article 12

Amendment of Directive 86/280/EEC

Headings B in Sections I to XI of Annex II to Directive 86/280/EEC are deleted.

Article 13

Repeals

1.  Directives 82/176/EEC, 83/513/EEC, 84/156/EEC, 84/491/EEC and 86/280/EEC are repealed with effect from 22 December 2012.

2.  Before 22 December 2012, Member States may carry out monitoring and reporting in accordance with Articles 5, 8 and 15 of Directive 2000/60/EC instead of carrying them out in accordance with the Directives referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

Article 14

Transposition

1.  Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by ...(24) at the latest. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those measures and supply a correlation table between those measures and this Directive.

When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

2.  Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 15

Additional Community action

The Commission shall put in place clear and transparent procedures in order to establish a streamlined and targeted framework for the communication by the Member States of information on priority substances that supports the Community decision-making process and permits harmonised environmental quality standards for sediment and biota as well as additional emission controls to be laid down in future.

Article 16

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 17

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at ,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

ANNEX I

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY STANDARDS FOR PRIORITY SUBSTANCES

PART A: Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) in surface water

AA: annual average;

MAC: maximum allowable concentration.

Unit: [µg/l].

PART B: Compliance with Environmental Quality Standards (EQS)

1.  Column 4 and 5: For any given surface water body, compliance with EQS-AA requires that for each representative monitoring point within the water body, the arithmetic mean of the concentrations measured at different times during the year is below the standard.

2.  Column 6 and 7: For any given surface water body compliance with EQS-MAC means that the measured concentration at any representative monitoring point within the water body must not exceed the standard.

3.  With the exception of cadmium, lead, mercury and nickel (hereinafter "metals") the EQS set up in this Annex are expressed as total concentrations in the whole water sample. In the case of metals the EQS refers to the dissolved concentration, i.e. the dissolved phase of a water sample obtained by filtration through a 0.45 µm filter or any equivalent pre-treatment.

Natural background concentrations for metals shall be added to the EQS value. In addition, if hardness, pH or other water quality parameters affect the bioavailability of metals, Member States may take this into account when assessing the monitoring results against the EQS. The natural background concentrations for metals in inland surface waters and coastal waters shall be determined taking account in particular of the soil and of natural washing-out in river basins. The Member States shall report in their river basin management plans on the natural background concentrations of metals and on how the background concentrations of metals have been taken into account in assessing results against the EQS.

ANNEX II

AMENDMENT OF ANNEX X TO DIRECTIVE 2000/60/EC

Annex X to Directive 2000/60/EC is replaced by the following:

ANNEX X

TABLE 1: LIST OF PRIORITY SUBSTANCES IN THE FIELD OF WATER POLICY (*)

TABLE 2: LIST OF SUBSTANCES SUBJECT TO A REVIEW FOR IDENTIFICATION AS POSSIBLE "PRIORITY SUBSTANCES" OR AS POSSIBLE "PRIORITY HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES

(1) OJ C 97, 28.4.2007, p. 3. (2) OJ C ... (3) Position of the European Parliament of 22 May 2007. (4) OJ L 242, 10.9.2002, p. 1. (5) OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p.1. Directive amended by Decision No. 2455/2001/EC (OJ L 331, 15.12.2001, p. 1). (6) OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p. 1. (7) OJ L 257, 10.10.1996, p. 26. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 33, 4.2.2006, p. 1). (8) OJ L 331, 15.12.2001, p. 1. (9) OJ L 181, 4.7.1986, p. 16. Directive as last amended by Directive 91/692/EEC (OJ L 377, 31.12.1991, p. 48). (10) OJ L 81, 27.3.1982, p. 29. Directive as amended by Directive 91/692/EEC. (11) OJ L 291, 21.10.1983, p. 1. Directive as amended by Directive 91/692/EEC. (12) OJ L 74, 17.3.1984, p. 49. Directive as amended by Directive 91/692/EEC. (13) OJ L 274, 17.10.1984, p. 11. Directive as amended by Directive 91/692/EEC. (14) OJ L 330, 5.12.1998, p. 32. Directive as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1). (15) OJ L 33, 4.2.2006, p. 1. (16) OJ L 230, 19.8.1991, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2007/25/EC (OJ L 106, 24.4.2007, p. 34). (17) OJ L 227, 8.9.1993, p. 9. (18) OJ L 161, 29.6.1994, p. 3. (19) OJ L 123, 24.4.1998, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2007/20/EC (OJ L 94, 4.4.2007, p. 23). (20) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. Decision as amended by Decision 2006/512/EC (OJ L 200, 22.7.2006, p. 11). (21) * Two years after the entry into force of this Directive. (22) OJ... (23) * One year after the date of entry into force of this Directive. (24) * 18 months after the entry into force of this Directive. (25) This parameter is the Environmental Quality Standard expressed as an annual average value (EQS-AA). (26) This parameter is the Environmental Quality Standard expressed as a maximum allowable concentration (EQS-MAC). Where the MAC-EQS are marked as "not applicable", the AA-EQS values are also protective against short-term pollution peaks since they are significantly lower than the values derived on the basis of acute toxicity. (27) For the group of priority substances covered by brominated diphenylethers (No. 5) listed in Decision No. 2455/2001/EC, an EQS is established only for pentabromodiphenylether. (28) For Cadmium and its compounds (No. 6) the EQS values vary dependent upon the hardness of the water as specified in five class categories (Class 1: <40 mg CaCO3/l, Class 2: 40 to <50 mg CaCO3/l, Class 3: 50 to <100 mg CaCO3/l, Class 4: 100 to <200 mg CaCO3/l and Class 5: ≥200 mg CaCO3/l). (29) 5 For the group of priority substances of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) (No. 28), each individual EQS shall be complied with, i.e., the EQS for Benzo(a)pyrene and the EQS for the sum of Benzo(b)fluoranthene and Benzo(k)fluoranthene and the EQS for the sum of Benzo(g,h,i)perylene and Indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene must be met. (30) 6 DDT total comprises the sum of the isomers 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2 bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethane (CAS number 50-29-3); 1,1,1-trichloro-2 (o-chlorophenyl)-2-(p-chlorophenyl) ethane (CAS number 789-02-6); 1,1-dichloro-2,2 bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethylene (CAS number 72-55-9); and 1,1-dichloro-2,2 bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethane (CAS number 72-54-8). (31) * 12 months after the entry into force of this Directive

European Parliament legislative resolution of 22 May 2007 on the proposal for a Council regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products (COM(2005)0671 – C6-0032/2006 – 2005/0278(CNS))

P6_TA(2007)0191 A6-0061/2007

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2005)0671)(1),

–   having regard to Article 37 of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C6-0032/2006),

–   having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs on the proposed legal basis,

–   having regard to Rules 51 and 35 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A6-0061/2007),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended on 29 March 2007(2);

2.  Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

3.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4.  Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially;

5.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

(1) Not yet published in OJ. (2) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2007)0095.

European Parliament legislative resolution of 22 May 2007 on the proposal for a Council regulation on the conclusion of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community on the one hand, and the Government of Denmark and the Home Rule Government of Greenland, on the other hand (COM(2006)0804 – C6-0506/2006 – 2006/0262(CNS))

P6_TA(2007)0192 A6-0161/2007

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2006)0804)(1),

–   having regard to Article 37 in conjunction with Article 300(2) of the EC Treaty,

–   having regard to Article 300(3), first subparagraph, of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C6-0506/2006),

–   having regard to Rules 51 and 83(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries and the opinion of the Committee on Budgets (A6-0161/2007),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended and approves conclusion of the agreement;

2.  Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

3.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4.  Calls for initiation of the conciliation procedure under the Joint Declaration of 4 March 1975 if the Council intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

5.  Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially;

6.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

Text proposed by the Commission   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 1 Recital 2 a (new) (2a)  If fishing opportunities are established by the Joint Committee at a lower level than that set out in Chapter I of the Annex, Greenland should compensate the Community in subsequent years by corresponding fishing opportunities or in the same year by other fishing opportunities, or by deducting a corresponding proportion of the agreed payment. Amendment 2 Recital 2 b (new) (2b)  The Community should reserve the right to adjust quotas where, after 2010, they are found not to be in line with EU policy on sustainability. Amendment 3 Recital 2 c (new) (2c)  In implementing Article 2(1) of the Protocol, the conditions referred to in Article 1(2) of the Protocol should be observed. Amendment 4 Article 3 a (new) Article 3a The Commission shall report annually to the European Parliament and the Council on the results of the sectoral fisheries policy described in Article 4 of the Protocol. Amendment 5 Article 4, paragraph 1 a (new) The Commission shall evaluate each year whether Member States whose vessels operate under the Protocol have complied with reporting requirements. Where they have not done so, the Commission shall refuse their requests for fishing licences for the following year. Amendment 6 Article 4 a (new) Article 4a Prior to the expiry of the Protocol and before the beginning of negotiations for a possible renewal, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council an ex post evaluation of the Protocol, including a cost-benefit analysis.

(1) Not yet published in OJ.

European Parliament decision of 22 May 2007 on the setting up and numerical strength of the Standing Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly

P6_TA(2007)0193 B6-0204/2007

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to Rule 188 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to its decision of 10 March 2004 on the number of interparliamentary delegations, delegations to joint parliamentary committees and delegations to parliamentary cooperation committees(1),

–   having regard to the Constituent Act of 8 November 2006 of the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly,

1.  Decides to set up a Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly;

2.  Decides that the numerical strength of the Delegation shall be 60 full members and 30 substitutes;

3.  Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council and the Commission for information.

(1) OJ C 102 E, 28.4.2004, p. 635.

European Parliament decision of 22 May 2007 on the conclusion of the Joint Declaration on practical arrangements for the codecision procedure (2005/2125(ACI))

P6_TA(2007)0194 A6-0142/2007

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community,

–   having regard to its resolution of 5 May 1999 on the Joint Declaration on the practical arrangements for the new codecision procedure(1),

–   having regard to the decision of the Conference of Presidents of 8 March 2007,

–   having regard to the draft revised Joint Declaration on practical arrangements for the codecision procedure (hereinafter referred to as "the revised Declaration"),

–   having regard to Rule 120(1) of its Rules of Procedure and to point XVIII(4) of Annex VI of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (A6-0142/2007),

A.   whereas the continual extension of the scope of application of the codecision procedure increases its importance in the EU law-making process and leads to a change in the nature of interinstitutional relations between Parliament, the Council and the Commission,

B.   whereas Parliament, the Council and the Commission have attempted to make EU law-making more transparent, coordinated, efficient and democratic,

C.   whereas, whilst the Joint Declaration on practical arrangements of the codecision procedure of 1999 has proven its worth, some practical developments in its application over time have shown the need for it to be amended,

D.   whereas the successive enlargements of the European Union have created challenges affecting both the streamlining of procedures and the optimisation of resources,

E.   whereas the revised Declaration meets those expectations and allows future interinstitutional cooperation to develop in a constructive and flexible way,

F.   whereas interinstitutional agreements and framework agreements have significant consequences, and whereas it is therefore essential, in order to facilitate access to them, and to ensure transparency, to bring together all existing agreements and to publish them as an annex to Parliament's Rules of Procedure,

1.  Reconfirms its commitment to the principles of transparency, accountability and efficiency, and the need to focus on the simplification of the EU law-making process while respecting the legal order of the European Union;

2.  Welcomes the revised Declaration, which improves both the structure and the content of the 1999 Declaration by adding a number of important provisions which bring the document into line with existing best practices and which aims to strengthen cooperation between the three institutions, with a view to improving the efficiency and quality of EU legislation;

3.  Expresses the wish that Parliament adopt a method of harmonising parliamentary committee practices at trilogues by laying down a number of rules concerning the composition of parliamentary delegations and confidentiality obligations in relation to their proceedings;

4.  Welcomes, in particular, the following improvements contained in the revised Declaration:

5.  Is convinced that the revised Declaration will further increase the transparency and public accountability of legislative work undertaken pursuant to the codecision procedure;

6.  Approves the revised Declaration annexed to this decision and decides to annex the revised Declaration to its Rules of Procedure; calls for the revised Declaration to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union;

7.  Instructs its President to forward this decision and its annex to the Council and the Commission.

ANNEX

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

COUNCIL

COMMISSION

JOINT DECLARATION ON PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CODECISION PROCEDURE (ARTICLE 251 OF THE EC TREATY)

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1.  The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, hereinafter referred to collectively as 'the institutions', note that current practice involving talks between the Council Presidency, the Commission and the chairs of the relevant committees and/or rapporteurs of the European Parliament and between the co-chairs of the Conciliation Committee has proved its worth.

2.  The institutions confirm that this practice, which has developed at all stages of the codecision procedure, must continue to be encouraged. The institutions undertake to examine their working methods with a view to making even more effective use of the full scope of the codecision procedure as established by the EC Treaty.

3.  This Joint Declaration clarifies these working methods, and the practical arrangements for pursuing them. It complements the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Lawmaking(2) and notably its provisions relating to the co-decision procedure. The institutions undertake fully to respect such commitments in line with the principles of transparency, accountability and efficiency. In this respect, the institutions should pay particular attention to making progress on simplification proposals while respecting the acquis communautaire.

4.  The institutions shall cooperate in good faith throughout the procedure with a view to reconciling their positions as far as possible and thereby clearing the way, where appropriate, for the adoption of the act concerned at an early stage of the procedure.

5.  With that aim in view, they shall cooperate through appropriate interinstitutional contacts to monitor the progress of the work and analyse the degree of convergence at all stages of the codecision procedure.

6.  The institutions, in accordance with their internal rules of procedure, undertake to exchange information regularly on the progress of codecision files. They shall ensure that their respective calendars of work are coordinated as far as possible in order to enable proceedings to be conducted in a coherent and convergent fashion. They will therefore seek to establish an indicative timetable for the various stages leading to the final adoption of different legislative proposals, while fully respecting the political nature of the decision-making process.

7.  Cooperation between the institutions in the context of codecision often takes the form of tripartite meetings ("trilogues"). This trilogue system has demonstrated its vitality and flexibility in increasing significantly the possibilities for agreement at first and second reading stages, as well as contributing to the preparation of the work of the Conciliation Committee.

8.  Such trilogues are usually conducted in an informal framework. They may be held at all stages of the procedure and at different levels of representation, depending on the nature of the expected discussion. Each institution, in accordance with its own rules of procedure, will designate its participants for each meeting, define its mandate for the negotiations and inform the other institutions of arrangements for the meetings in good time.

9.  As far as possible, any draft compromise texts submitted for discussion at a forthcoming meeting shall be circulated in advance to all participants. In order to enhance transparency, trilogues taking place within the European Parliament and Council shall be announced, where practicable.

10.  The Council Presidency will endeavour to attend the meetings of the parliamentary committees. It will carefully consider any request it receives to provide information related to the Council position, as appropriate.

FIRST READING

11.  The institutions shall cooperate in good faith with a view to reconciling their positions as far as possible so that, wherever possible, acts can be adopted at first reading.

Agreement at the stage of first reading in the European Parliament

12.  Appropriate contacts shall be established to facilitate the conduct of proceedings at first reading.

13.  The Commission shall facilitate such contacts and shall exercise its right of initiative in a constructive manner with a view to reconciling the positions of the European Parliament and the Council, with due regard for the balance between the institutions and the role conferred on it by the Treaty.

14.  Where an agreement is reached through informal negotiations in trilogues, the chair of Coreper shall forward, in a letter to the chair of the relevant parliamentary committee, details of the substance of the agreement, in the form of amendments to the Commission proposal. That letter shall indicate the Council's willingness to accept that outcome, subject to legal-linguistic verification, should it be confirmed by the vote in plenary. A copy of that letter shall be forwarded to the Commission.

15.  In this context, where conclusion of a dossier at first reading is imminent, information on the intention to conclude an agreement should be made readily available as early as possible.

Agreement at the stage of Council common position

16.  Where no agreement is reached at the European Parliament's first reading, contacts may be continued with a view to concluding an agreement at the common position stage.

17.  The Commission shall facilitate such contacts and shall exercise its right of initiative in a constructive manner with a view to reconciling the positions of the European Parliament and the Council, with due regard for the balance between the institutions and the role conferred on it by the Treaty.

18.  Where an agreement is reached at this stage, the chair of the relevant parliamentary committee shall indicate, in a letter to the chair of Coreper, his recommendation to the plenary to accept the Council common position without amendment, subject to confirmation of the common position by the Council and to legal-linguistic verification. A copy of the letter shall be forwarded to the Commission.

SECOND READING

19.  In its statement of reasons, the Council shall explain as clearly as possible the reasons that led it to adopt its common position. During its second reading, the European Parliament shall take the greatest possible account of those reasons and of the Commission's position.

20.  Before transmitting the common position, the Council shall endeavour to consider in consultation with the European Parliament and the Commission the date for its transmission in order to ensure the maximum efficiency of the legislative procedure at second reading.

Agreement at the stage of second reading in the European Parliament

21.  Appropriate contacts will continue as soon as the Council common position is forwarded to the European Parliament, with a view to achieving a better understanding of the respective positions and thus to bringing the legislative procedure to a conclusion as quickly as possible.

22.  The Commission shall facilitate such contacts and give its opinion with a view to reconciling the positions of the European Parliament and the Council, with due regard for the balance between the institutions and the role conferred on it by the Treaty.

23.  Where an agreement is reached through informal negotiations in trilogues, the chair of Coreper shall forward, in a letter to the chair of the relevant parliamentary committee, details of the substance of the agreement, in the form of amendments to the Council common position. That letter shall indicate the Council's willingness to accept that outcome, subject to legal-linguistic verification, should it be confirmed by the vote in plenary. A copy of that letter shall be forwarded to the Commission.

CONCILIATION

24.  If it becomes clear that the Council will not be in a position to accept all the amendments of the European Parliament at second reading and when the Council is ready to present its position, a first trilogue will be organised. Each institution, in accordance with its own rules of procedure, will designate its participants for each meeting and define its mandate for the negotiations. The Commission will indicate to both delegations at the earliest possible stage its intentions with regard to its opinion on the European Parliament's second reading amendments. 

25.  Trilogues shall take place throughout the conciliation procedure with the aim of resolving outstanding issues and preparing the ground for an agreement to be reached in the Conciliation Committee. The results of the trilogues shall be discussed and possibly approved at the meetings of the respective institutions.

26.  The Conciliation Committee shall be convened by the President of the Council, with the agreement of the President of the European Parliament and with due regard to the provisions of the Treaty.

27.  The Commission shall take part in the conciliation proceedings and shall take all the necessary initiatives with a view to reconciling the positions of the European Parliament and the Council. Such initiatives may include, draft compromise texts having regard to the positions of the European Parliament and of the Council and with due regard for the role conferred upon the Commission by the Treaty.

28.  The Conciliation Committee shall be chaired jointly by the President of the European Parliament and the President of the Council. Committee meetings shall be chaired alternately by each co-chair.

29.  The dates and the agendas for the Conciliation Committee's meetings shall be set jointly by the co-chairs with a view to the effective functioning of the Conciliation Committee throughout the conciliation procedure. The Commission shall be consulted on the dates envisaged. The European Parliament and the Council shall set aside, for guidance, appropriate dates for conciliation proceedings and shall notify the Commission thereof.

30.  The co-chairs may put several dossiers on the agenda of any one meeting of the Conciliation Committee. As well as the principal topic ("B-item"), where agreement has not yet been reached, conciliation procedures on other topics may be opened and/or closed without discussion on these items ("A-item").

31.  While respecting the Treaty provisions regarding time-limits, the European Parliament and the Council shall, as far as possible, take account of scheduling requirements, in particular those resulting from breaks in the institutions' activities and from the European Parliament's elections. At all events, the break in activities shall be as short as possible.

32.  The Conciliation Committee shall meet alternately at the premises of the European Parliament and the Council, with a view to an equal sharing of facilities, including interpretation facilities.

33.  The Conciliation Committee shall have available to it the Commission proposal, the Council common position and the Commission's opinion thereon, the amendments proposed by the European Parliament and the Commission's opinion thereon, and a joint working document by the European Parliament and Council delegations. This working document should enable users to identify the issues at stake easily and to refer to them efficiently. The Commission shall, as a general rule, submit its opinion within three weeks of official receipt of the outcome of the European Parliament's vote and at the latest by the commencement of conciliation proceedings.

34.  The co-chairs may submit texts for the Conciliation Committee's approval.

35.  Agreement on a joint text shall be established at a meeting of the Conciliation Committee or, subsequently, by an exchange of letters between the co-chairs. Copies of such letters shall be forwarded to the Commission.

36.  If the Conciliation Committee reaches agreement on a joint text, the text shall, after legal-linguistic finalisation, be submitted to the co-chairs for formal approval. However, in exceptional cases in order to respect the deadlines, a draft joint text may be submitted to the co-chairs for approval.

37.  The co-chairs shall forward the approved joint text to the Presidents of the European Parliament and of the Council by means of a jointly signed letter. Where the Conciliation Committee is unable to agree on a joint text, the co-chairs shall notify the Presidents of the European Parliament and of the Council thereof in a jointly signed letter. Such letters shall serve as an official record. Copies of such letters shall be forwarded to the Commission for information. The working documents used during the conciliation procedure will be accessible in the Register of each institution once the procedure has been concluded.

38.  The Secretariat of the European Parliament and the General- Secretariat of the Council shall act jointly as the Conciliation Committee's secretariat, in association with the Secretariat-General of the Commission.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

39.  Should the European Parliament or the Council deem it essential to extend the time-limits referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty, they shall notify the President of the other institution and the Commission accordingly.

40.  Where an agreement is reached at first or second reading, or during conciliation, the agreed text shall be finalised by the legal-linguistic services of the European Parliament and of the Council acting in close cooperation and by mutual agreement.

41.  No changes shall be made to any agreed texts without the explicit agreement, at the appropriate level, of both the European Parliament and the Council.

42.  Finalisation shall be carried out with due regard to the different procedures of the European Parliament and the Council, in particular with respect to deadlines for conclusion of internal procedures. The institutions undertake not to use the time-limits laid down for the legal-linguistic finalisation of acts to reopen discussions on substantive issues.

43.  The European Parliament and the Council shall agree on a common presentation of the texts prepared jointly by those institutions.

44.  As far as possible, the institutions undertake to use mutually acceptable standard clauses to be incorporated in the acts adopted under codecision in particular as regards provisions concerning the exercise of implementing powers (in accordance with the "comitology" decision(3)), entry into force, transposition and the application of acts and respect for the Commission's right of initiative.

45.  The institutions will endeavour to hold a joint press conference to announce the successful outcome of the legislative process at first or second reading or during conciliation. They will also endeavour to issue joint press releases.

46.  Following adoption of a legislative act under the codecision procedure by the European Parliament and the Council, the text shall be submitted, for signature, to the President of the European Parliament and the President of the Council and to the Secretaries-General of those institutions.

47.  The Presidents of the European Parliament and the Council shall receive the text for signature in their respective languages and shall, as far as possible, sign the text together at a joint ceremony to be organised on a monthly basis with a view to signing important acts in the presence of the media.

48.  The jointly signed text shall be forwarded for publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Publication shall normally follow within two months of the adoption of the legislative act by the European Parliament and the Council.

49.  If one of the institutions identifies a clerical or obvious error in a text (or in one of the language versions thereof), it shall immediately notify the other institutions. If the error concerns an act that has not yet been adopted by either the European Parliament or the Council, the legal-linguistic services of the European Parliament and the Council shall prepare the necessary corrigendum in close cooperation. Where this error concerns an act that has already been adopted by one or both of those institutions, whether published or not, the European Parliament and the Council shall adopt, by common agreement, a corrigendum drawn up under their respective procedures.

(1) OJ C 279, 1.10.1999, p. 229. (2) OJ C 321, 31.12.2003, p. 1. (3) Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23). Decision as amended by Decision 2006/512/EC (OJ L 200, 27.7.2006, p. 11).

European Parliament resolution of 22 May 2007 on halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010 (2006/2233(INI))

P6_TA(2007)0195 A6-0089/2007

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the communication from the Commission on 'Halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010 - and beyond - Sustaining ecosystem services for human well-being' (COM(2006)0216),

–   having regard to its resolution of 20 October 1998 on the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on a European Community biodiversity strategy(1),

–   having regard to its resolution of 14 March 2002 on the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the biodiversity action plans in the areas of conservation of natural resources, agriculture, fisheries, and development and economic cooperation(2),

–   having regard to its opinion of 25 June 1993 on the Commission proposal for a Council decision concerning the conclusion of the Convention on Biological Diversity(3),

–   having regard to Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds(4) (Birds Directive) and to European Parliament resolution of 17 January 2001(5) on implementation of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora(6) (Habitats Directive) ,

–   having regard to its position of 31 May 2001 on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Sixth Community Environment Action Programme (2001-2010)(7) ,

–   having regard to the Review of the EU's Sustainable Development Strategy (EUSDS) – Renewed Strategy(8),

–   having regard to the outcome of the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 8) to the Convention on Biological Diversity and of the third meeting of the Parties (MOP 3) to its Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety,

–   having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the opinions of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the Committee on Fisheries (A6-0089/2007),

A.   whereas the worrying current rate of biodiversity loss is likely to gather pace and continue in the absence of large-scale measures,

B.   whereas there are few adequate indicators available for effectively measuring the extent to which the imperatives of biological diversity are being complied with in the implementation of the various policies, one of the most notable being the Common Farmland Bird Index,

C.   whereas biodiversity plays an essential role in sustaining life and livelihoods, economic and social development and human well-being, as well as in achieving the 2015 Millennium Development Goals,

D.   whereas, according to the UN 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, there has been a decline in two thirds of all ecosystems since the beginning of the 1960s,

E.   whereas the main factors behind the loss of biological diversity are climate change, environmental degradation, the use of intensive farming methods and inappropriate forest and water resource management,

F.   whereas, as a user of biodiversity, agriculture has a key role to play in managing and maintaining that biodiversity; and whereas the common agricultural policy (CAP) must henceforth promote sustainable production models which, while being economically viable, enable action to be taken on the environment and on regenerating and rehabilitating the biodiversity of as many animal, plant and microbial species as possible,

G.   whereas there is an urgent need for intensified and coordinated efforts to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010 at the latest,

1.  Welcomes the above-mentioned Commission Communication (COM(2006)0216) for its conceptual approach, its priority objectives for 2007-2008 and its key supporting measures, and sees it as a good starting point for a more focused approach to achieving the 2010 biodiversity target; endorses also the decision to place the emphasis on strengthening the implementation of existing policy and existing measures;

2.  Welcomes the Potsdam Initiative agreed on 17 March 2007 by the G8+5 (China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Brazil) that aims at contributing to curb the massive loss of biodiversity by 2010; encourages the G8+5 to urgently implement the adopted initiative and to provide funding to protect the oceans, to support research and to improve monitoring of species threatened by extinction;

3.  Stresses the intrinsic value of biodiversity and the urgency of protecting it from further degradation due to human influence and interference, including but not limited to exploitation, climate change and habitat loss;

4.  Expresses profound concern at the continuing loss of biodiversity and the related decline of ecosystem services;

5.  Recognises the vital importance of healthy ecosystems for prosperity and well-being in EU and worldwide;

6.  Stresses that climate change and biodiversity loss are closely linked and are equally important;

7.  Reaffirms the urgent need for an effort to meet commitments to halt the loss of biodiversity in the EU by 2010, made by the European Council in Gothenburg 2001 in the context of the Sustainable Development Strategy and the Sixth Environment Action Programme; underlines the urgent need for intensified and coordinated efforts to halt this trend, in particular in the light of the short time remaining to meet the 2010 commitments; supports the integrated approach proposed in the Commission's communication, according to which halting the reduction in natural diversity should form part of all relevant EU policies;

8.  Recognises the potential importance of the emerging concept of ecosystem services promoted by the Commission Communication as a tool for incorporating the economic value of biodiversity into other policy areas, and suggests that the maintenance of ecosystem services should become a fundamental goal of all EU horizontal and sectoral policies; warns, however, against reducing the value of biodiversity to the benefits humans can derive from it, or viewing the loss of biodiversity as only an economic concern;

9.  Welcomes the "EU Action Plan to 2010 and Beyond", annexed to the Commission Communication, and recognises that this is a vital tool and last opportunity to bring together actors at Community and Member State levels on key actions to meet the 2010 commitments; but given the limited time remaining for implementation, urges the Commission to ensure the necessary structures are in place for its immediate and effective implementation at Community and Member State levels;

10.  Recognises that the Action Plan will be insufficient to conserve biodiversity and sustain ecosystem services in the longer term; welcomes all proposals to launch an EU debate on a longer-term vision as a framework for a longer-term policy; invites the Commission to start a process for the development of a long-term EU vision for biodiversity, as a framework for further policy development.

11.  In this contexts calls on the Commission to study and make proposals for practical measures to internalise the cost of biodiversity loss in activities that have a significant negative impact on biodiversity;

12.  Takes the view that the whole of EU society, including the business and education sectors, needs to be actively involved in the biodiversity protection process;

Policy area 1 – biodiversity and the EU
Most important habitats and species (Objective 1)

13.  Stresses the vital role played by the Birds and Habitats Directives in protecting the EU's biodiversity; recognises the importance of completing the Natura 2000 network (established under the Habitats Directive) on land and at sea, of effective management and adequate financing of the network, of land use planning that takes it into account, and of strengthening coherence, resilience and connectivity of the network, in particular in the light of climate change;

14.  Emphasises the importance of including in the Natura 2000 network areas in the overseas countries and territories which are under the sovereignty of EU Member States;

15.  Stresses the importance of additional measures focused on threatened species and recognises the value of extending the use of species action plans in this regard; stresses that the conservation status of habitats and species whose protection is required by the Habitats Directive should be reviewed on a scientific basis at regular intervals;

16.  Points out the need to produce tailored measures to promote biodiversity in the new EU Member States, and the fact that ecosystem services such as maintaining landscapes and economic activities such as tourism are mutually dependent;

17.  Notes that the promotion of selective fishing methods constitutes a priority because it will contribute towards the sustainability of fisheries and the maintenance of biodiversity by reducing by-catches;

18.  Emphasises the importance of the high biodiversity of the outermost regions and calls for legislative measures to be taken for its conservation and sustainable use;

19.  Recognises that, while the capture of and trade in live animals continues to present threats to biodiversity, Europe also has a number of zoological institutions and other organisations that are demonstrating through breeding programmes and 'in situ' conservation measures that they have a role to play in maintaining the survival of certain endangered species;

20.  Welcomes the Commission's intention to implement a common maritime policy based on a holistic approach to the oceans, and draws attention to the need for environmental and ecological preservation of the oceans as a guarantee for the economic development of sectors such as fisheries, tourism and others;

Wider countryside and wide marine environment (Objectives 2 & 3)

21.  Recognises that land use planning and exploitation of wild species (through unsustainable hunting and fishing) are key factors affecting biodiversity and ecosystem services; stresses in particular threats to high-nature-value farmland and forests posed by both intensification and abandonment; recognises the threats posed to fish stocks, non-target species and marine habitats caused by ecologically unsustainable fishing practices including illegal fishing and fishing using destructive and non-selective technologies;

22.  Points out that maintaining the diversity of European rural landscapes is essential not just to enable the services provided by sustainable farming to keep going, but also to maintain the gene flow between wild fauna and flora populations;

23.  Stresses the importance of implementing the reformed common fisheries policy (CFP), since it provides for the sustainable development of fishery resources and discourages overfishing, which constitutes a threat to marine life;

24.  Calls on the Commission to draw up a specific action programme to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), which constitutes a fundamental threat to the replenishment of fish stocks;

25.  Welcomes the proposal put forward by the EU and the Member States to incorporate marine and river ecosystems into the Natura 2000 network of protected sites, and calls for emphasis also to be placed on areas for the reproduction of fish stocks;

26.  Calls on the Commission to consolidate the Natura 2000 network further by extending it to the ten Member States which acceded to the EU in 2004 and to Bulgaria and Romania since, following the accession of those two last-mentioned countries, the Black Sea now forms part of Community waters;

27.  Urges Member States to exploit all available opportunities under the CAP and CFP to support the biodiversity targets in the wider countryside and the wide marine environment (i.e. outside Natura 2000 sites); calls for the further integration of biodiversity and ecosystem service considerations into the CAP and CFP and the identification in particular of the opportunity provided in this regard by the 2008-09 budget review;

28.  Expresses its concern at the repercussions the introduction of exotic species and the likely escape of genetically modified fish into marine ecosystems may have on biodiversity, and calls on the Commission to study the dangers further;

29.  Urges the Commission to encourage and support studies linked to the rearing of new species in captivity, particularly species affected by overfishing, thereby responding to market needs that are potentially threatened by the reduction in catches;

30.  Is concerned at the diminishing diversity in farmed animals and plant varieties; calls therefore for immediate transposition of Council Directive 98/95/EC(9), which provides a legal basis to permit, within the framework of legislation on the seed trade, the conservation, by use in situ and on farms, of varieties threatened by genetic erosion;

31.  Points out that the CAP and the associated developmental dynamic leading, on the one hand, to specialisation and intensification and, on the other, to marginalisation and under-utilisation of land, have contributed to a significant biodiversity loss in recent decades;

32.  Points to the wide richness of species and genetic diversity of agricultural crops and animals, and argues in favour of preserving and strengthening that diversity;

33.  Urges the Commission to revise the management and recovery plans for certain fish species, which are frequently out of tune with the correct monitoring of those species; urges the Commission to apply more specific measures that are compatible with the fishing gear and methods used in the biogeographical areas in question;

34.  Stresses the importance of timely and effective implementation of the Water Framework Directive(10) to attain 'good ecological status' and 'no deterioration' of freshwaters and the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Recommendation; urges Member States to make use of the economic instruments provided by Article 5 and Article 9 of the Water Framework Directive in order to give an incentive for the careful use of this scarce resource and provide a sound financial basis for the implementation of the River Basin Management Plans; stresses the importance of putting in place an ambitious Marine Framework Directive geared towards attaining 'good environmental condition' of the marine environment; considers it particularly important that the forthcoming Marine Strategy places maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem services as a key over-riding objective;

35.  Urges the Commission to verify more closely compliance with Community laws linked to the fight against the pollution and degradation of marine ecosystems;

36.  Recognises the immense damage being done to EU ecosystems by pollutants, most notably diffuse acidifying and eutrophicating pollutants, including ammonium from farm sources; stresses the importance of reducing these pollutant pressures, especially in and around Natura 2000 sites and other high-nature-value areas; highlights the opportunity to address these concerns in the forthcoming review of the National Emissions Ceiling Directive as well as through timely implementation of the Thematic Strategy on Air Quality;

37.  Recognises the threat to ecosystems from certain pesticides, flame retardants and other persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic chemicals; stresses the importance in this regard of effective implementation of REACH; stresses the need to monitor bio-accumulation of such pollutants through the use of top predators in terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments; considers furthermore that special attention should be given to the hazards of pesticide use as they are designed to be toxic and are used in the environment; points out that European pesticide legislation - proposal for a regulation on the placing of plant protection products on the market (COM(2006)0388); proposal for a framework directive on the sustainable use of pesticides (COM(2006)0372 ); Thematic strategy on the sustainable use of pesticides (COM(2006)0373) - should ensure that the European biodiversity loss does not grow due to pesticide use;

38.  Points out that the promotion of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications has a key role to play in safeguarding regional specialities, the entire rural culture associated with them and the related ancestral farming practices that enable the countryside and rural farming systems to be preserved as habitats for many wild species;

39.  Points out that in 1992 an initial impetus was given to integrating the protection of biodiversity into the CAP, and that subsequently the 2003 reform introduced measures such as cross-compliance, the single farm payment (decoupling) and rural development which have benefits for biodiversity;

40.  Proposes that biodiversity should be one of the main principles of the 'health check' on the CAP due to be carried out in 2008, and considers it necessary to use the 2008 'health check' to assess the effectiveness of the various measures on biodiversity, especially measures in the forestry sector, and to deal appropriately with shortcomings in this area;

41.  Draws attention to the new rural development regulation (programming period 2007-2013), which provides inter alia for financing Natura 2000, contains agri-environmental measures and measures to preserve genetic resources in agriculture and support sustainable forest management, and maintains payments for areas with natural handicaps;

42.  Advocates promoting (local/regional) partnerships between landowners and users, nature conservation organisations, government and centres of expertise so that they can work together to find local solutions to biodiversity problems, adopting a bottom-up approach;

43.  Calls for the cultivation and use of biomass for the production of energy and as a fuel to be seized as an opportunity to increase biodiversity in agriculture; considers that this should also be reflected in the funding of research under the Seventh Framework Programme for research and that the cultivation of biomass should not be allowed to lead to a decline in biodiversity, either within or outside the European Union;

Regional and territorial development (Objective 4)

44.  Recognises the increasing fragmentation of ecosystems resulting from the expansion of infrastructure, industry and housing; asserts that with careful planning, damage to ecosystems can be greatly reduced and opportunities to benefit ecosystems identified; urges Member States to ensure that projects funded by cohesion and structural funds do not harm biodiversity and ecosystem services but optimise benefits to biodiversity; urges Member States to prioritise maintenance and recovery of biodiversity and ecosystem services in spatial planning at national, regional and local levels and ensure adequate consideration of biodiversity in strategic environmental assessments (SEA) and environmental impact assessments (EIA);

Invasive alien species and Alien Genotypes (Objective 5)

45.  Recognises that invasive alien species (IAS) are a key threat to biodiversity, and that the spread of IAS is exacerbated by the increasing movement of people and goods; urges the development of a comprehensive Community response to the problem, including an early warning system, and filling gaps in the legislative framework, including the development of an EU Strategy on IAS;

46.  Highlights the fact that immunocontraception could play a decisive role in the control of mammalian IAS and notes the important research currently underway in this field; urges the Commission to allocate financing for European research into immunocontraception and to issue a call for project proposals; notes that the LIFE + Programme is one existing framework that could be utilised to better effect to encourage action on IAS;

47.  Calls on the Commission to take steps towards proposing legislation to limit the introduction of alien species in the European Union and monitoring the fulfilment of the CITES Convention (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora);

48.  Draws attention to the sometimes disastrous impact of exotic organisms in the marine ecosystem; calls for urgent measures to prevent the transfer of organisms in ballast water and urges Member States to implement the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship's Ballast Water and Sediments under the IMO;

49.  Calls on the EC to introduce effective controls on the discharge of ballast water within EU waters;

50.  Emphasises the importance of fully implementing the EU legislative framework on Genetically Modified Organisms; highlights the potential risks to biodiversity of industrial-scale production of GM crops and asks the Commission to evaluate the impact on European ecosystems;

51.  Expresses its concern at the possibility of genetically modified fish escaping into marine ecosystems and the likelihood of their reproducing with local fish, which may disrupt the biodiversity of those ecosystems; calls on the EC to prohibit genetically modified fish intended for the EU food chain from entering the EU;

52.  Welcomes the Commission's declared intention to introduce specific legislation for the eco-certification of fish and urges it to come forward with a legislative proposal as rapidly as possible;

Policy area 2 – EU and global biodiversity
International governance (Objective 6)

53.  Strongly supports the effective implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and urges EU leadership in this respect; stresses the importance of implementing CBD programmes of work including on protected areas; stresses the need to conclude work on an international regime on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing; considers that reference material relating to species and varieties should be stored only in states which are parties to the CBD; stresses that the mutual support and synergy between international environmental agreements should be increased and proposes that third countries receiving EU subsidies should respect EU biodiversity policies;

54.  Recognises the threat to biodiversity in the high seas; urges the putting in place of an agreement on the protection of biodiversity in the high seas under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea; urges the EU to continue taking a lead role in this;

55.  Considers it vital to promote agreements and concerted action plans between the EU and third countries aimed at the preservation of common marine areas;

56.  Highlights the threat to biodiversity posed by deep sea bottom-trawling and other unsustainable fishing practices; takes note of the recent decision in the UN General Assembly in this regard; urges the Commission to come forward as soon as possible with legislative proposals on bottom fisheries in the high seas; urges the Commission to work with the UN and the relevant Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, where they exist, to adopt and implement measures to manage all fisheries that are conducted on the high seas, including those using trawls; further urges the Commission to work towards the urgent implementation of measures to protect important deep sea habitats in the high seas from destructive fishing practices, including bottom-trawling;

57.  Fully endorses the "Message from Paris" conclusions of the Paris Conference (19-21 September 2006) on Biodiversity in European Development Cooperation; urges the Commission and the relevant Member States to ensure adequate funding for environmental and biodiversity issues in the EU's Overseas Countries and Territories and improved access to European programmes for local bodies and NGO's, in co-ordination with local authorities;

58.  Regrets the limited attention paid to biodiversity aspects in bilateral and multilateral trade agreements; advocates integration of the biodiversity dimension into international trade and into global efforts to change unsustainable production and consumption patterns; therefore calls on the Commission and the Member States to give first priority to recognition of the Non-Trade Concerns in the ongoing WTO negotiations;

External assistance (Objective 7)

59.  Shares the strong concern of the Court of Auditors' Report on environmental integration in development cooperation and the conclusions of the EU biodiversity policy review (2004) on the poor level of implementation of the Biodiversity Action Plan for Economic and Development Cooperation; welcomes the call in the EU Development Consensus for greater 'earmarking' of funds for biodiversity and stronger 'mainstreaming' of biodiversity in development cooperation;

60.  Points out that, despite these aspirations, there is very limited 'earmarked' funding for biodiversity in the Community's and Member States' external assistance programmes; welcomes the recent fourth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility but regrets that this does not represent any increase in funding for biodiversity in real terms; stresses the vital importance of committing limited earmarked funds to biodiversity priorities in third countries;

61.  Emphasises the vital importance of effective 'mainstreaming' of biodiversity concerns in Community and Member State external assistance programmes (including budgetary support measures) to ensure that they do not result in harm to biodiversity and ecosystem services; stresses the importance in this regard of building capacity in recipient countries to integrate biodiversity concerns into national development strategies (including poverty reduction strategies);

62.  Expresses strong concern that, despite the policy aspirations, in reality there is a high risk that the new generation of Country and Regional Strategy Papers will continue to disregard biodiversity needs without a much more proactive engagement of the Commission with recipient countries in this regard;

Trade (Objective 8)

63.  Recognises the 'ecological footprint' arising from EU trade on biodiversity and ecosystem services in third countries; urges the Commission and Member States to identify major impacts of trade on biodiversity and ecosystem services, in particular through sustainability impact assessments; stresses the importance of putting in place measures to reduce the ecological impact of globalisation within the context of multilateral, regional and bilateral free trade agreements; stresses that European policies should not lead to a decline of biodiversity in third countries;

64.  Expresses deep concern at the EU imports of commodities, including wood, palm oil and soybean, which drive tropical deforestation; expresses concern that the emerging drive for biofuels may exacerbate pressure on tropical forests; calls for urgent action by the Commission and Member States to adopt measures to prevent or minimise negative impacts from such trade on tropical forests, including bilateral agreements under the forest law enforcement, governance and trade (FLEGT) programme; urges the Commission to come forward the soonest possible with an analysis of options for further legislation to curb imports of illegally harvested timber;

65.  Calls upon the Member States to reinforce efforts to combat illegal trade in CITES-listed species and calls upon Member States and the Commission to devise a coordinated response and actions for the enforcement of CITES;

66.  Expresses concern that fisheries partnership agreements have in the past exacerbated pressures on fish stocks, non-target species and marine habitats in the waters of third countries; stresses the critical importance of ensuring that fisheries partnership agreements ensure that fish stocks are sustained at levels that support maximum sustainable yield and minimise impacts on non-target species and marine habitats; urges the Commission and the Member States to ensure that EU fishing fleets operate in line with these agreements;

Policy area 3 – biodiversity and climate change
Climate change (Objective 9)

67.  Recognises that a period of unavoidable climate change has begun which will have significant impacts on EU and global ecosystems; stresses that many impacts of climate change on human societies and economies will be felt through ecosystem change; recognises that changes to ecosystems and impacts on species are already observable; stresses the vital importance therefore of an ecosystem approach for adaptation to climate change, in particular in relation to policies which affect land, water and marine use; calls on the EU to continue taking a strong lead internationally in working to decrease global greenhouse emissions;

68.  Stresses the importance of ensuring that climate change mitigation measures, such as the development of renewable sources of energy, should be assessed to ensure they take due account of potential negative impacts on biodiversity and that such impacts should be prevented or minimised – notably in relation to windfarms, hydropower and biofuels;

69.  Recognises that climate change will put strong additional pressures on EU ecosystems; stresses the vital importance of a large, coherent protected areas network (especially Natura 2000 sites) and of a healthy wider environment in order to strengthen the resilience of ecosystems to climate change; stresses the need therefore to reduce 'conventional' pressures on ecosystems (fragmentation, overexploitation, pollution, invasive alien species), the need to devise additional measures tailored to address the additional pressure of climate change, as well as the need for an urgent assessment of habitats and species most at risk from climate change;

Policy area 4 – the knowledge base
Knowledge (Objective 10)

70.  Recognises the immense challenge posed by the need to understand biodiversity; expresses strong concern that the level of resources dedicated to research on biodiversity and ecosystems is far too low given the critical importance of the issue to our prosperity and wellbeing; urges that higher priority be given to funding for biodiversity research in Community (FP7) and national research programmes;

71.  Recognises the need for more effective mechanisms to bring the evidence base relating to biodiversity and ecosystem services to bear on policy at Community, Member State and international levels; supports the proposal to put in place a new EU mechanism for independent, authoritative advice for this purpose, taking due account of existing provisions; calls on the Commission to prepare studies and assessments on the impacts of renewable energy production on biodiversity and on the change in biodiversity in urban areas, including both the positive and the negative impacts of new species appearing in urban areas;

72.  Is concerned about the decline in many fish species and about the fact that the scientific reports of ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) are only partially adhered to, if at all, when setting the annual TACs (total allowable catches); recognises that the scientific reports are not political diktats, but considers that there must be strong reasons and good arguments for not complying with the scientific recommendations; considers that, in that case, the Commission and Council must also produce arguments to show that the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) principle is genuinely being complied with in the EU;

73.  Calls on the Commission to finance studies into marine ecosystems, particularly in areas with rich biodiversity and intensive fishing activity;

Supporting measures
Financing

74.  Expresses strong concern at financial constraints for support to Natura 2000 and other biodiversity actions in the EU Action Plan to 2010 and Beyond, resulting from Financial Framework decisions;

75.  Stresses the responsibility of Member States to take up all available opportunities under the CAP, CFP, Cohesion and Structural Funds and Life+ and Seventh Framework Programme and to allocate national resources; urges that greater consideration be given to financial needs in the 2008-09 budget review, during which there should be an assessment of the sufficiency and availability of EU financing for biodiversity, especially for Natura 2000;

76.  Regrets, however, that the Commission proposal, supported by Parliament, to provide EUR 20 billion more for rural development policy under the financial framework 2007-2013 has not been accepted by the Council, all the more so as the money could have been used specifically to further broaden and deepen measures on biodiversity;

77.  Deplores the fact that the available European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) funding falls woefully short of what would be necessary to produce the desired effect on management of the Natura 2000 network, as determined by farming and forestry, the support proposed for improving knowledge and monitoring being particularly meagre;

78.  Draws attention to the need to provide financial compensation for local communities whose incomes have been adversely affected by means of specific actions aimed at the preservation of the marine environment;

79.  Draws attention to the possibilities that exist under the Environmental Liability Directive(11) to apply the polluter pays principle and urges Member States to use these possibilities to finance measures to help achieve environmental objectives, including those of the Habitats and Birds Directives;

Strengthening decision-making

80.  Welcomes the proposal for an EU debate on a longer-term vision on biodiversity and ecosystem services as a framework for policy; stresses that this debate should be explicitly linked to the debate on the Future of Europe; urges that this debate be made as inclusive as possible and, in particular, should be taken into the regions; urges that European values relating to nature (both within the EU and worldwide) should be an explicit part of the proposed Declaration of European Values under the German Presidency;

81.  Recognises the high quality of policy impact assessments relating to Community environmental policy initiatives; regrets that the environmental dimension in policy impact assessments relating to policy initiatives in other sectors is frequently weak; urges the Commission and Member States to screen all new policy initiatives for potential significant negative impacts on biodiversity and to ensure that where such potential impacts are identified, there is adequate treatment of biodiversity considerations, including impacts on ecosystem services, in the impact assessment process;

82.  Stresses the importance of complementarity between actions at Community and Member State levels; recognises the unique value of the "EU Action Plan to 2010 and Beyond" as a tool to enhance complementarity; urges Member States therefore to align their actions with those of the Action Plan; urges Member States to extend this alignment down to regional and local levels;

83.  Emphasises the significance of full and consistent implementation and enforcement of the Birds and Habitats Directives; insists that the Commission and Member States dedicate sufficient resources and attention to this task;

84.  Stresses the importance of spatial planning in relation to biodiversity and ecosystem services; urges Member States to strengthen approaches and methods at regional and local levels to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services, including through the complementary application of Natura 2000, river basin management planning and rural development measures, and at sea through implementation of the ecosystems approach as laid out in the Marine Strategy Directive;

85.  Urges the Commission to exert pressure on those responsible for the successive delays in setting up regional advisory councils for fisheries, which are vital for improved monitoring and preservation of fish resources;

Partnerships

86.  Welcomes the call to strengthen partnerships between biodiversity interests and key stakeholder groups; stresses the importance of partnerships with key owners and users of land, water and marine resources; supports in particular partnerships with hunters, the fishing community, farmers and foresters, and with the business and finance sectors; recognises the important role being played by the Countdown 2010 initiative in this regard;

Education, awareness and participation

87.  Stresses the importance of raising public understanding of the importance of biodiversity and ecosystems for prosperity and well-being; urges the Commission and Member States to significantly strengthen programmes and campaigns to educate and inform the general public, to build political demand for action, and to strengthen the active participation of the general public in conservation measures; stresses the importance of access to information and justice in this regard;

88.  Notes that many people feel emotionally attached to landscapes and their historical manmade features, and appreciate their beauty; regrets that large-scale agriculture has eroded the biodiversity and beauty of landscapes; considers that restoring landscapes, for example hedgerows between meadows, would be widely applauded and would help to restore biodiversity;

89.  Notes that Europe's zoos and aquaria are visited annually by more than 100 million people, and recognises that these institutions have a significant role to play in raising public environmental awareness;

90.  Urges the Commission to launch campaigns to raise public awareness of the problems linked to the preservation of fishery resources and associated ecosystems;

Monitoring, evaluation and review

91.  Stresses the importance of indicators to inform the public and decision-makers on progress; welcomes the proposed set of headline biodiversity indicators; urges the adoption and retention of a biodiversity indicator as a Structural Indicator and as a Sustainable Development Indicator;

92.  Highlights the vital importance of strengthening long-term monitoring capacities and methods in support of the set of indicators and to provide broader sources of information on the state of biodiversity, pressures on biodiversity and the effectiveness of policy response; stresses the need to make this information widely available through a shared information system;

93.  Supports existing projects under which objective indicators for monitoring and evaluating biodiversity are being developed and calls on the Commission to ensure compliance with the obligations entered into by the European Union under the Biodiversity Convention, that is to say the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from it, to make it an objective that reference material relating to species and varieties should, in any event, be stored only in states party to the Biodiversity Convention, and to harmonise the available information and make use of existing networks;

94.  Welcomes the Commission's proposal for submission to Council and Parliament of mid-term (to end 2008) and final (to end 2010 and to end 2013) evaluations of progress towards the targets of the "EU Action Plan to 2010 and Beyond" ; stresses that the findings of these evaluations should inform broader policy and budgetary review processes including the 2008-09 budget review and policy and budgetary reviews for the post-2013 period; urges the Commission to put forward a comprehensive long-term strategy on biodiversity after 2010;

95.  Considers that the existing reporting requirements should be streamlined and simplified and future reporting should not lead to an increased administrative burden;

o
o   o

96.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

(1) OJ C 341, 9.11.1998, p. 41. (2) OJ C 47 E, 27.2.2003, p. 575. (3) OJ C 194, 19.7.1993, p. 401. (4) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 2006/105/EC (OJ L 363, 20.12.2006, p. 368). (5) OJ C 262, 18.9.2001, p. 132. (6) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p.7. Directive as last amended by Directive 2006/105/EC. (7) OJ C 47 E, 21.2.2002, p. 113. (8) Council document 10117/06, 9.6.2006. (9) Council Directive 98/95/EC of 14 December 1998 amending, in respect of the consolidation of the internal market, genetically modified plant varieties and plant genetic resources, Directives 66/400/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 66/403/EEC, 69/208/EEC, 70/457/EEC and 70/458/EEC on the marketing of beet seed, fodder plant seed, cereal seed, seed potatoes, seed of oil and fibre plants and vegetable seed and on the common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species (OJ L 25, 1.2.1999, p. 1). (10) Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1). Directive as amended by Decision No 2455/2001/EC (OJ L 331, 15.12.2001, p. 1). (11) Directive 2004/35/CE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage (OJ L 143, 30.4.2004, p. 56). Directive as amended by Directive 2006/21/EC (OJ L 102, 11.4.2006, p. 15).

European Parliament resolution of 22 May 2007 on Global Europe - external aspects of competitiveness (2006/2292(INI))

P6_TA(2007)0196 A6-0149/2007

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions entitled "Global Europe: competing in the world. A contribution to the EU's Growth and Jobs Strategy" (COM(2006)0567),

–   having regard to the Communication from the Commission entitled "Global Europe: Europe's Trade defence instruments in a changing global economy. A Green Paper for public consultation" (COM(2006)0763),

–   having regard to its resolution of 28 September 2006 on the EU's economic and trade relations with India(1),

–   having regard to its resolution of 25 October 2006 on the annual report from the Commission to the European Parliament on third country anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard action against the Community (2004)(2),

–   having regard to its resolution of 4 April 2006 on the assessment of the Doha Round following the WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong(3),

–   having regard to its resolution of 12 October 2006 on economic and trade relations between the EU and Mercosur with a view to the conclusion of an Interregional Association Agreement(4),

–   having regard to its resolution of 1 June 2006 on EU-US transatlantic economic relations(5),

–   having regard to its resolution of 13 October 2005 on prospects for trade relations between the EU and China(6),

–   having regard to its resolution of 6 September 2005 on textiles and clothing after 2005(7),

–   having regard to the Commission staff working document accompanying the Communication from the Commission entitled "Economic reforms and competitiveness: key messages from the European Competitiveness Report 2006" (SEC(2006)1467),

–   having regard to the Presidency conclusions of the Brussels European Council, held on 23 and 24 March 2006(8),

–   having regard to its resolution of 15 March 2006 on the input to the Spring 2006 European Council in relation to the Lisbon Strategy(9),

–   having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament entitled "EU − China: Closer partners, growing responsibilities" and the accompanying Commission working document entitled "Closer Partners, Growing Responsibilities: A policy paper on EU-China trade and investment: Competition and Partnership" (COM(2006)0631 and 0632),

–   having regard to the Declaration adopted by consensus on 2 December 2006 in the context of the annual session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO,

–   having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on International Trade and the opinion of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A6-0149/2007),

A.   whereas trade policy can contribute decisively to the stimulation of growth and the creation of jobs in line with the objectives of the renewed Lisbon agenda,

B.   whereas an appropriate strategy must be adopted by the EU in order to meet the challenges of globalisation and to confront increased competition from major emerging economies, while preserving the European model of economic, regional and social cohesion,

C.   whereas consistency between the internal and external aspects of the renewed Lisbon agenda is indispensable to the success of that initiative,

D.   whereas domestic structural reforms play an important role in improving both the internal and external competitiveness of EU enterprises,

E.   whereas the suspension of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) on 24 July 2006, after almost five years of negotiations, has created a new situation whereby it has become necessary for the EU to temporarily adjust the priorities and instruments of its trade policy, while maintaining multilateralism as its main trading policy priority,

F.   whereas trade policy is a means and not an end in itself, and should be designed in such a way that it contributes to the common welfare of the people in and outside the EU,

G.   whereas the EU is in most sectors already one of the most open economies in the world,

H.   whereas the integrated character of the common commercial policy is an important asset for the EU and enables it to play a prominent role in the international trading system,

I.   whereas protectionism artificially shelters inefficient sectors of the economy from international competition, diverts resources away from more productive sectors, raises prices and ultimately leads to unemployment,

J.   whereas there is often a public outcry against the disruptive impact that the opening up of trade has on certain regions and economic sectors, while its positive effects on innovation, competitiveness and employment are too often overlooked,

K.   whereas market access is being increasingly hampered by various types of non-tariff barrier (NTBs),

L.   whereas high tariffs still constitute a significant obstacle to trade, especially in relations with major emerging countries,

M.   whereas the multilateral trading system, embodied in the WTO, remains the most effective framework for achieving fair and equitable trade on a global basis, by developing appropriate rules and ensuring compliance with those rules,

N.   whereas the EU remains committed to the success of the DDA and has already shown its goodwill through a series of meaningful offers in all areas of the negotiations,

O.   whereas renewed consideration should, under certain conditions, be given to the conclusion of bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs), bearing in mind, however, that an excessive proliferation of such agreements could militate against strengthening the multilateral system, of which the EU is a proponent,

P.   whereas it is essential to identify the right balance between multilateral, bilateral and plurilateral agreements,

Q.   whereas the EU should be prepared to defend itself, whenever necessary, against violations of agreed rules through recourse to dispute settlement mechanisms, and against unfair trading practices through the application of effective and lawful trade defence measures providing immediate relief to industries that have been harmed,

R.   whereas no credible and legitimate trade policy can be conducted without the meaningful involvement of Parliament,

S.   whereas it is important that the Parliament have access, in due time, to the texts of the various negotiating mandates given to the Commission;

The EU in global competition

1.  Considers that trade policy is an indispensable component of any strategy the objective of which is to stimulate growth and create jobs through improving Europe's competitiveness; welcomes, therefore, the Commission's abovementioned Communication on Global Europe: competing in the world as an important contribution to the renewed Lisbon agenda;

2.  Considers that the development of trade is not an end in itself, but must be assessed in the light of its impact on economic growth, employment and sustainable development; points out that an analysis of European economic competitiveness, instead of solely focusing on trade figures, should also focus on the proportion of total world output achieved by European producers and on employment trends;

3.  Recalls the EU's commitment to policy coherence, and considers that this commitment requires that the EU's negotiating objectives in trade negotiations must be consistent with EU development policy, with particular care taken in the case of LDCs and developing countries;

4.  Considers that greater external competitiveness is vital if the Lisbon growth and employment goals are to be attained; believes that the EU, when taking external action, must encourage reform and international cooperation in the economic sphere so as to create a favourable business environment and promote sustainable development worldwide; intends, to that end, to work towards greater consistency and compatibility in its macroeconomic policies, improved monetary and financial security, cooperation in tax matters and the elimination of unfair tax competition;

5.  Considers it necessary, firstly, to pursue a monetary policy based on price stability so as to be able to finance technological progress and to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by enabling them to enter markets outside the Euro-zone; secondly, to establish business-friendly taxation systems that are likely to increase the number of start-ups and, to that end, to cut taxes that undermine efficiency and impede job creation, especially for particular social groups such as women, the long-term unemployed, and the elderly; and, thirdly, to increase competition on the internal market, bearing in mind that the fiercer competition is within the EU, the more able EU-based companies will be to compete outside the EU;

6.  Is convinced that the social model that remains at the base of European industrial relations has enabled the EU to maintain a high degree of global competitiveness vis-à-vis its main competitors; considers that the biggest challenge facing the EU is to uphold the functioning of that social model despite existing pressure, in increasingly competitive global markets, to further lower the social and environmental costs of production;

7.  Believes that the benefits of an open trading system outweigh its potentially disruptive impact; considers, therefore, that the EU should continue to strive to complete the single market, continue to promote increased global liberalisation and free and fair trade and resist protectionism; also believes, however, that its potentially disruptive impact on certain sectors, regions and countries, such as the effects of displacement and relocation, cannot be disregarded;

8.  Believes that the benefits of liberalisation accrue largely to those countries that lift tariff and NTBs and open their markets; considers, therefore, that the ability of the EU to increase its competitiveness is dependent, among other factors, upon it addressing barriers to trade at a global level, securing the completion of the single market and opening its markets to third countries;

9.  Agrees with the Commission strategy to positively influence the process of globalisation and to manage risks;

10.  Regrets that EU citizens equate globalisation with falling European output and job losses; points to the need for the EU to adopt a suitable strategy for implementing the reforms needed to enable the EU to take advantage of globalisation, thereby boosting production and employment;

11.  Invites the Commission and the Member States to better inform European citizens on all aspects of globalisation and the concrete benefits resulting from the EU's participation in the international trading system;

12.  Considers that the concepts underpinning lifelong learning are useful tools but that they are an inadequate response to projected changes in global productive structures; demands that the implementation of the new global EU competitiveness strategy be made dependent on progress in the realisation of the Lisbon agenda, which must be re-oriented in order to better address the legitimate fears of European citizens that they will be unable to adapt to change;

13.  Believes that increased competition should prompt the EU to boost its efforts in education and in research and development in order to maintain its position on world markets for innovative products and highly skilled services and to improve its position through the creation of new comparative advantages;

14.  Believes that it is essential to support the smooth integration of highly innovative European high-tech companies into the global trading environment;

15.  Stresses the strategic need for the EU to maintain, in spite of external competitive pressures, a sufficiently wide and diversified industrial base; considers, therefore, that trade opening should be accompanied by, and consistent with, solid industrial policies at both European and national levels;

16.  Insists that the backbone of the EU's economic success is the activity of its SMEs which, through improved access to research and development opportunities, must be endowed with the ability to guarantee the production of high quality goods at the higher end of the value chain;

17.  Recalls that the EU is in most sectors already one of the most open economies in the world and that it has greatly contributed to, and benefited from, the considerable expansion of global trade over the past fifty years;

18.  Considers, however, that the EU's performance, in relation to already developed and emerging economies, is negatively affected by both a lack of reciprocity in market access conditions, an insufficient degree of compliance with agreed trade rules and the proliferation of unfair trading practices;

19.  Notes that many countries in the world, including major emerging economies, maintain high tariff and NTBs to EU exports; considers that the lifting or significant reduction of such barriers with due regard to development considerations should be one of the main priorities of EU trade policy;

20.  Agrees with the Commission that the world trading system is no longer the preserve of the OECD countries; recommends, however, that countries like Mexico be integrated in the list of countries which the Commission regards as emerging; recalls that emerging countries like China, Brazil, Russia, India and Mexico already represent more that 18 % of global trade flows;

21.  Calls for the EU's external policies to ensure fair economic development among partner countries, combat social dumping and promote compliance with social legislation and provisions on decent employment standards which, as proposed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), guarantee a decent income for workers and their families, the right to safety and health at work and the right to social security and trade union freedoms;

22.  Stresses the need to promote codes of conduct which incorporate the objectives of decent labour standards and other aspects of corporate social responsibility by third-party subsidiaries, sub-contractors and suppliers of EU-based companies;

23.  Notes the interest that the EU has in pursuing and intensifying bilateral negotiations with its main developed trading partners, provided that this does not compromise EU environmental and health standards and respects the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions of 20 October 2005;

The WTO

24.  Considers that the multilateral trading system, embodied in the WTO, remains by far the most effective framework for achieving free trade on a global basis; considers, however, that the WTO system should be reformed to some extent in order to increase its transparency and effectiveness; welcomes the resumption of formal negotiations on the DDA and reiterates its strong support for a successful conclusion of those negotiations;

25.  Considers that achieving an ambitious and balanced outcome of the DDA negotiations is crucial for European companies and should be considered a priority by EU negotiators;

26.  Notes that the Doha Round is a development round, and that, therefore, the EU's new trade agenda must reflect development objectives; further notes that the new trade agenda also implies special responsibility in relation to the effectiveness of EU development policy, particularly as regards the poorest countries in the world;

27.  Regards a meaningful reform of the WTO institutional structure and decision-making process as essential if there is to be an improvement in its functioning and if the challenges of a steadily increasing membership are to be met; calls on the Commission to actively contribute to a global reflection on this subject and to come up with constructive proposals;

28.  Believes that, if the EU were to promote basic multilateral rules on competition policy and international cooperation in this area were to be strengthened, markets could be made more open, balanced, and efficient;

Bilateral and regional free trade agreements

29.  Emphasises that the WTO is the most appropriate forum for ensuring the equitable distribution of the benefits flowing from increased globalisation; considers, therefore, that achieving an ambitious, development-oriented outcome to the DDA negotiations must be the EU's first priority; regards bilateral and regional FTAs as a sub-optimal solution; recalls that such agreements lead to trade diversion, are often unbalanced, contribute to introducing discrimination in international trade relations, and tend to reduce the level of engagement of participating countries in the WTO;

30.  Believes that new bilateral or regional free trade initiatives should only be launched when necessary to improve the competitive position of EU exporters on crucial foreign markets, especially in cases where other major trading powers have already concluded or are in the process of negotiating such agreements with the countries or regions concerned; demands full transparency from the Commission on the criteria applied to select new FTA partners and insists that comprehensive economic and sustainable impact assessments must be carried out, with the involvement of all stakeholders, and that their results be made public;

31.  Considers that all new FTAs concluded by the EU should be WTO-compatible, comprehensive, ambitious, lead to real reciprocal market access and, moreover, ensure far-reaching liberalisation of services and investment, going beyond both existing multilateral commitments and those expected to result from a successful conclusion of the DDA;

32.  Considers that, when negotiating FTAs, the Commission must take into account the risks of excluding the smallest and weakest trading partners from the benefits of international trade and, therefore, insists that their interests must be taken into consideration during the entire negotiation process;

33.  Calls on the Council to distinguish between emerging economies and developing countries when formulating FTA or Association Agreement negotiation mandates, and to ensure that, in negotiations with developing countries, an orientation towards their development needs prevails;

34.  Is convinced that all future FTAs must be modern in nature and include the standards incorporated in the fundamental ILO Conventions;

35.  Demands that all new FTAs concluded by the EU include mechanisms allowing it to suspend, wholly or partially, their application when there is evidence of non-fulfilment of FTA obligations by the other parties; considers that the Commission should agree to activate such mechanisms whenever invited to do so by a Parliament resolution ;

36.  Invites the Commission to negotiate, with like-minded members of the WTO, common basic provisions for FTAs concerning, for example, preferential rules of origin with a view to achieving more consistency between such agreements and simplifying their use for the benefit of economic operators;

Plurilateral/sectoral negotiations

37.  Invites the Commission and the Council to also consider the merit of plurilateral/sectoral negotiations in certain cases, following the examples of the Civil Aircraft Agreement, the Government Procurement Agreement, and the Information Technology Agreement;

General approach to trade negotiations

38.  Insists that any EU concessions made to its negotiating partners should, except when clearly justified by development considerations, be matched by concessions from the countries concerned;

39.  Draws attention to the strategic importance and multifunctional nature of agriculture in the EU; stresses that agriculture should not be the only area in which the EU makes concessions in the course of trade negotiations and that trade policy must continue to comply with the basic approaches prescribed in the course of several successive reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy;

40.  Recalls that the EU, as the largest single market for goods and services in the world, is very attractive in the eyes of exporters the world over; draws attention to the considerable leverage that this confers on EU negotiators, both in the multilateral framework and in the bilateral and regional frameworks;

41.  Considers that the implementation of fair trade policies by the EU and all its trading partners will have to progressively place greater emphasis on the international recognition of minimum environmental standards that create a level playing field between all the partners;

42.  Considers that trade negotiations, at multilateral, bilateral or regional level, must strive to qualify international trade in terms of global social, environmental and human rights commitments and hence contribute to efforts made in other frameworks; insists that progress on such issues should be weighed against the EU's trade interests only, as foreign trade is only one, though an important, aspect of sustainable economic development in the EU;

43.  Calls on the Commission to clarify its understanding of the character of social and environmental rules and standards in international trade policy, to lay down the principles and content of the envisaged social and environmental chapter of new FTA and Association Agreements, and to draw up a convincing strategy on how to promote acceptance of such chapters with EU trade partners;

Transatlantic relations

44.  Takes the view that the EU needs to diversify its economic relations, preserve its policies in matters such as public health and the environment, and reinforce its economic relations with other regions of the world on the basis of peace and the principles of sovereignty, respect for civil liberties and respect for the environment, social standards, human rights and development;

45.  The strengthening of transatlantic economic relations must proceed on the basis of compliance with the EU's environmental and public health rules, and must not compromise the independence of its competition policy and its rules on the protection of public services and cultural diversity;

46.  Recommends that reliable data be gathered in order to analyse the relevance of the integration of the EU and US economic markets to the Mexican and Canadian economies and societies; draws attention to the fact that foreign direct investment in Mexico is quite often channelled through European subsidiaries operating from the US, which explains why those operations are not actually reflected in EU-Mexican data;

China

47.  Refers to its abovementioned resolution on prospects for trade relations between the EU and China; regards China as a clear illustration of the positive impact of trade liberalisation and active participation in global and competitive markets, in terms of economic growth and welfare; is aware of the considerable societal and environmental challenges faced by that country; insists that China should comply with all its WTO obligations, such as the enforcement of international labour standards and the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs); welcomes the abovementioned Commission communication and working document on EU-China, and supports the Commission's efforts to define an appropriate strategy to deal with all aspects of EU-China relations;

48.  Considers that the development of economic and trade relations with China must proceed in tandem with a political dialogue embracing both partners" responsibilities in the environmental and social fields; stresses that economic and trade relations between the EU and China must be based on respect for fair and even-handed trade rules and the application of WTO rules;

49.  Considers that inadequate protection of IPRs represents one of the greatest challenges facing the EU in its bilateral relations with the Chinese authorities; calls on the Commission, therefore, to intensify its efforts to persuade China to fully respect the TRIPs agreements and improve the enforcement of judgments handed down by the courts;

Regulatory issues

50.  Stresses the increasing relevance of regulatory issues in international trade; calls for greater consistency between EU rules and practices and those of our main trading partners; emphasises that this should not produce a downward harmonisation of norms and regulations that would erode citizens" confidence with regard to health, safety and the environment; stresses that they should, rather, increase the effort to ensure that they are both recognised and enforced by the EU's major trading partners;

51.  Calls on the Commission to systematically assess the impact of the EU's internal policies and regulations on global competitiveness and to give due weight in its regulatory policy-making processes to the competitive position of EU enterprises inside and outside Europe;

52.  Stresses, in the context of the WTO and bilateral FTAs, the importance of speeding up the removal of non-tariff trade barriers and of harmonising technical rules, particularly by applying the mutual recognition principle;

53.  Considers that the most effective way to avoid regulatory divergences, resulting in the creation of obstacles to trade, lies in the development of global rules and standards; encourages the Commission to actively participate in the work of all relevant international agencies and standard-setting bodies;

54.  Supports plurilateral and bilateral regulatory cooperation with key partner countries, as long as it neither leads to undue discrimination against others nor allows the partners concerned to unduly interfere with the EU internal decision-making process;

IPR protection

55.  Calls on the Commission to continue its efforts in the fields of research, development and innovation; notes that respect for patents and the defence of IPRs lie at the heart of the EU's external competitiveness, and believes that the EU should adopt a more resolute stance in its approach towards third countries in that connection;

56.  Stresses that counterfeiting and piracy result in job losses, undermine innovation and deprive governments of tax revenues; stresses that adequate IPR protection and effective enforcement are the bedrock of a global economy;

57.  Regards the appropriate protection of IPRs by the EU´s main trading partners as an indispensable requirement for preserving and improving the EU's external competitiveness;

58.  Welcomes the Commission's commitment to strengthening IPR provisions in international trade agreements and the enforcement of existing commitments;

59.  Insists that the major trading partners of the EU, such as China and Russia, enforce IPRs in accordance with WTO/TRIPS obligations;

60.  Stresses that European IPR policy towards developing countries should not go beyond TRIPs Agreement obligations, but that it should instead encourage the use of TRIPs flexibilities;

61.  Considers that the protection of IPRs, and evidence of their effective enforcement through appropriate legal and administrative means, should be a sine qua non for accession to the WTO;

62.  Calls on the Council to approve the Commission proposal for a Council regulation on the indication of the country of origin of certain products imported from third countries (COM(2005)0661), as supported by the Parliament in its resolution of 6 July 2006 on origin marking(10);

Market access strategy

63.  Welcomes the Commission's decision to review its Market Access Strategy and looks forward to the adoption of its communication on the subject in 2007; invites the Commission to keep the Parliament closely involved in this initiative;

64.  Insists on the need to particularly focus on NTBs which, as tariffs are progressively reduced or eliminated, tend to become the main obstacles to international trade; draws attention to the great variety, technical complexity and political sensitivity of NTBs, which make them difficult to tackle, and invites the Commission to devote sufficient resources to that demanding task;

65.  Draws attention to the serious risk of security-related measures becoming the main NTBs of the 21st century; calls on all countries to address their legitimate security concerns through measures which restrict trade as little as possible and to cooperate with each other - multilaterally, plurilaterally or bilaterally - in the pursuit of that objective;

66.  Calls on Commission delegations, Member State embassies and trade promotion agencies, chambers of commerce and all other public and private organisations representing European economic interests abroad to better coordinate their action to promote EU goods and services, open markets and increase investment flows;

Services

67.  Recalls the growing share of services in global economic output and in the GDP of the EU; draws attention to the high level of external competitiveness of European services providers; calls on the Commission to pursue, in all trade negotiations, both the progressive and reciprocal liberalisation of services and a policy of increased standardisation, transparency and predictability of rules and regulations concerning that sector, in order that the highly competitive European services sector can operate more freely in third countries; notes, however, that this should neither lead to offers nor requests in the area of public services;

68.  Believes that a distinction should be made between commercial and public services; stresses the need to keep public services out of all negotiations, particularly in the case of public services which address people's basic needs and provide access to essential "public goods" such as health, education, drinking water and energy and those which play an important role in preserving cultural diversity, such as audiovisual services;

69.  Insists on the need to guarantee that the least developed countries´ partners maintain policy space in order to be able to regulate services which are important for their development;

70.  Maintains that the EU must promote the dissemination and recognition of international accounting and auditing standards and practices so as to ensure that markets become more stable and transparent, and to ensure that operators are able to benefit from greater certainty and that they are better informed, as regards their activities, outside the EU;

71.  Maintains, in particular, that, in order to increase its external competitiveness, the EU must take measures under its commercial policy to strengthen the security of electronic transactions and trade and to improve data protection;

72.  Believes that opening up the market in financial services and facilitating the movement of capital must go hand in hand with greater transparency and improvements in measures to combat money laundering, financial support for terrorism and tax fraud, especially where offshore financial centres are involved;

Raw materials and energy

73.  Considers that raw materials, and in particular energy resources, should merit special treatment in the new EU trade agenda;

74.  Considers, in light of the need to also combat climate change through more sustainable trade patterns, that access and use of energy and resources is a matter of multilateral rule setting that must not be undermined by bilateral trade agreements that compete for the most favourable access conditions;

Government procurement

75.  Considers that the large degree of openness of EU public procurement markets, at all levels of government, is not matched by commensurate access in favour of EU suppliers, particularly SMEs, to foreign public procurement markets for goods, services and construction contracts and that the Commission should work towards reciprocal access in relation to developed and emerging economies in that important economic sector; agrees that the introduction of targeted restrictions on access to parts of the EU procurement market may be exceptionally considered with a view to encouraging reciprocity, but strongly objects, however, to any attempts to close that market for protectionist purposes;

76.  Calls on the Commission to secure meaningful commitments from the other WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) participants, within the framework of the ongoing renegotiation of that agreement;

77.  Stresses, however, the need for a higher level of transparency and requests that the Commission refrain from making excessive demands in the area of public procurement, especially in the field of public utilities, wherever those create difficulties for the least developed partners;

78.  Takes note of the initiative taken by some Member States to redress the balance of the GPA in favour of SMEs; urges the Commission and the Council, therefore, to insist on inserting in the GPA being renegotiated at the WTO a clause enabling the EU to give preference to SMEs when awarding public procurement contracts, along the lines of those already applied by other major States which are party to the agreement, such as the United States and Japan;

79.  Considers that public procurement should also be part of all bilateral and regional trade negotiations initiated by the EU, with a view to opening up public procurement markets on a balanced basis;

Respecting the rules

80.  Stresses the need to ensure that the EU's trading partners fully comply with rules and obligations resulting either from their membership of the WTO or from bilateral or regional agreements with the EU; stresses the crucial importance of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism for the credibility and effectiveness of the multilateral trading system; urges the Commission to activate that mechanism every time non- compliance by other members negatively affects the trade interests of the EU and a negotiated solution cannot be found within a reasonable period of time;

Trade defence instruments

81.  Believes that the pursuit of further trade liberalisation makes it all the more necessary for the EU to preserve its ability to protect itself against unfair trading practices; regards Trade Defence Instruments (TDIs), therefore, as an indispensable component of the EU's strategy for external competitiveness;

82.  Takes note attentively of the Commission's initiative to engage in a comprehensive review of TDIs and the launching of a public consultation process on the basis of the abovementioned Communication from the Commission on the Green Paper for public consultation;

83.  Recalls that, as indicated in the Commission's summary of the "Evaluation of EC trade defence instruments' prepared by Mayer, Brown, Rowe and Maw LLP and submitted in December 2005, the study in question concluded that "the status quo is both reasonable and adequate in order to address the interests of all groups of parties" and therefore supports the view that there is no visible nor urgent need at present to review or alter the Community's existing TDIs;

84.  Recalls that negotiations are currently taking place on multilateral disciplines concerning TDIs within the framework of the DDA; welcomes those negotiations but regrets American opposition to reforms of the WTO's framework for TDIs; believes that the global escalation in the use of TDIs, particularly by advanced industrial countries, calls for new and more stringent rules at WTO level so as to ensure the continuation of free and fair world trade;

85.  Endorses the idea of adapting those instruments to the new realities of the global economy, but warns of the danger of unilaterally disarming the EU to such an extent that it is unable to counter unfair trading practices in an international context marked by the proliferation of such practices and the intensive, and often abusive, use of trade defence measures by third countries against imports from the EU;

86.  Supports the Commission's efforts to monitor the application of trade defence measures by third countries against imports from the EU, to react to possible abuses and to provide appropriate assistance to affected companies;

Customs

87.  Stresses the importance of customs rules and procedures for the correct implementation of trade policy measures; believes that, in defining and applying such rules and procedures, an appropriate balance must be struck between effective control and the facilitation of trade flows;

88.  Recalls that the excessively complex and burdensome import procedures applied by many countries in the world often entail significant transaction costs for EU exporters and represent significant barriers to trade; supports, therefore, the Commission's efforts to tackle that issue, both in the multilateral framework of the DDA negotiations on Trade Facilitation and through bilateral and regional negotiations;

89.  Invites the Commission and the Member States to give serious consideration to the idea of setting up a unified EU customs service for a more effective application of customs rules and procedures throughout the customs territory of the EU;

Exchange rates

90.  Notes that exchange rates are a major factor in the development of international trade; calls on the Commission to make concrete proposals on measures to be taken when exchange rates are such as to undermine the EU's competitiveness, and to consider the inclusion of such measures in the upcoming revision of the EU's TDIs;

Institutional issues

91.  Believes that the credibility and effectiveness of the common commercial policy, as an instrument of EU competitiveness, are negatively affected by the lack of legitimacy of that policy resulting from the insufficient involvement of Parliament;

92.  Deplores the fact that important trade legislation, such as that concerning TDIs, remains outside the scope of the codecision procedure and that uncertainty remains as to the applicability of the assent procedure with respect to FTAs; calls on Member States to urgently correct that unsatisfactory situation by carrying out the necessary institutional reforms and, in particular, by giving effect to the provisions of the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe concerning international trade;

93.  Calls on the Commission and the Council to keep it fully informed of, and involved in, all new initiatives taken as a follow up to the "Global Europe" communication;

o
o   o

94.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the candidate countries.

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2006)0388. (2) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2006)0450. (3) OJ C 293 E, 2.12.2006, p. 155. (4) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2006)0419. (5) OJ C 298E, 8.12.2006, p. 235. (6) OJ C 233E, 28.9.2006, p. 103. (7) OJ C 193E, 17.8.2006, p. 110. (8) Council Document 7775/1/06. (9) OJ C 291E, 30.11.2006, p. 321. (10) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2006)0325.

Declaration of the European Parliament on establishing a green hydrogen economy and a third industrial revolution in Europe through a partnership with committed regions and cities, SMEs and civil society organisations

P6_TA(2007)0197 P6_DCL(2007)0016

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to Rule 116 of its Rules of Procedure,

A.   whereas global warming and costs of fossil fuels are increasing, and having regard to the debate launched by the European Parliament and the Commission on the future of energy policy and climate change,

B.   whereas a post-fossil fuel and post-nuclear energy vision should be the next important project of the European Union,

C.   whereas the five key factors for energy independence are: maximising energy efficiency, reducing global-warming gas emissions, optimising the commercial introduction of renewable energies, establishing hydrogen fuel-cell technology to store renewable energies and creating smart power grids to distribute energy,

1.  Calls upon the EU Institutions to:

2.  Instructs its President to forward this declaration, together with the names of the signatories, to the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.