European Environment Council

Wednesday 26th February 2014 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr Owen Paterson)]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and I will represent the UK at the European Environment Council meeting in Brussels on 3 March. Paul Wheelhouse, Minister for Environment and Climate Change in the Scottish Government, and Alun Davies, Minister for Natural Resources and Food in the Welsh Government, will also attend.

Following the adoption of the agenda and approval of the list of “A” items, there will be a policy debate on a framework for climate and energy in the period from 2020 to 2030. Member states will be invited to discuss the framework and in particular consider two questions which have been posed by the Greek presidency. First, whether the framework provides the appropriate balance between ambition and flexibility. Secondly, what the next steps should be for the policy debate, taking into account the need to provide certainty for investors in the longer term and the forthcoming international climate negotiations. This is in the context of discussions on the 2030 framework due to take place in the March European Council.

After a series of AOB points relating to climate, Ministers will break for a working lunch. This will provide Ministers with the opportunity for a discussion on the withdrawal of the existing proposal for a soil framework directive and the means of tackling soil degradation in the future. The UK supports the objective of protecting soil but is concerned that the existing proposal lacks sufficient flexibility and could impose additional regulatory burdens. The UK therefore supports the withdrawal of the current dossier as proposed in the Commission’s communication on regulatory fitness (REFIT).

Following the lunchtime discussion, the Council will hold an exchange of views on the proposal that would allow member states to restrict or prohibit the cultivation of GMOs in their territory. Ministers will consider the presidency compromise proposal put forward after the recent General Affairs Council debate on the cultivation of a specific GM maize crop. During this debate, a significant number of member states expressed their willingness to revisit the EU legislative framework. Ministers will explore whether there is common ground to reopen the discussions on this legislative file and whether the compromise proposal offers a good basis for further technical work.

The Council will then turn to an exchange of views on non-legislative activities with regard to greening the European semester. In light of the annual growth survey 2014, Council has been asked to discuss the Europe 2020 resource efficiency and low-carbon objectives and the possible involvement of Environment Ministers in the European semester cycle. Ministers have also been asked to consider which measures are currently taken at national level in the areas of resource efficiency and climate action to achieve sustainable growth. The UK is already active in these areas and supports the objectives on sustainable growth. This discussion will be followed by a series of AOB points relating to the environment.

Over the course of the day, the following topics will be covered under “any other business”:

Information from the Commission on a clean air programme for Europe;

Information from the Czech delegation, supported by the Polish and Estonian delegations, on a review of the best available techniques reference document for large combustion plants;

Information from the Commission on the EU approach to wildlife trafficking;

Information from the Commission on the state of play of the Kyoto protocol’s second commitment period ratification;

Information from the Commission on a recommendation regarding the exploration and production of hydrocarbons using high-volume hydraulic fracturing.