The sixth Environment Action Programme (6th EAP), adopted in 2002, is the EU’s ten-years (2002-2012) policy programme for the environment. It identifies four key environmental priorities: climate change, nature and biodiversity, environment and health, and natural resources and waste. The Commission will start a mid-term review of the 6th EAP before the end of 2006.

• Source: http://www.euractiv.com/en/environment/6th-environment-action-programme/article-117438

More on this topic:

• News
• Ministers make first move to keep EU seas and oceans clean (19 December 2006)
• MEPs oppose ‘re-nationalisation’ of LIFE+ funds (08 November 2006)
• Cities urged to become ‘greener’ to tackle air pollution (01 June 2006)
• EU seeks clear responsibilities in halting biodiversity loss (23 May 2006)

Milestones:

• A mid-term report published in May 2006 by the Institute for European Environmental Policy and the EEB concludes that most objectives of the 6th EAP will not be reached and that environmental policy has been politically “downgraded” as a result of the EU’s Lisbon agenda for growth and jobs.
• The programme will be reviewed in 2007. The Commission will present a report by the end of 2006.

Policy Summary

Since 1973, the EU’s environmental action programmes define the future orientations of EU policy in the environmental field and suggest specific proposals that the Commission intends to put forward over the next years.

The sixth environmental action programme (6th EAP) was proposed by the Commission in 2001 and adopted under the co-decision procedure by Council and Parliament in 2002.

Issues:

In the 6th EAP, the Commission set out the environmental objectives for the next 10 years (2002-2012) and outlined actions that need to be taken to achieve them. The programme identifies four major areas of action:

• Tackling climate change : to achieve the EU’s target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 8 % by 2008 to 2012 and target more radical global emission cuts in the order of 20 to 40 % by 2020;
• Nature and biodiversity: to avert the threats to the survival of many species and their habitats in Europe: completion of the Natura 2000 network, new sectoral biodiversity action plans, paying greater attention to protecting landscapes, new initiatives for protecting the marine environment, measures to prevent industrial and mining accidents and a thematic strategy for protecting soils;
• Environment and health: fundamental overhaul of the EU’s risk-management system for chemicals, a strategy for reducing risks from pesticides, protection of water quality in the Union, noise abatement and a thematic strategy for air quality.
• Sustainable use of natural resources and management of wastes: increased recycling and waste prevention with the aid of an integrated product policy and measures targeting specific waste streams such as sludges and biodegradable waste.

Contrary to previous environmental action programmes, the 6th EAP did not propose new quantifiable targets nor related timetables. This was remarkable as a “global assessment ” of the 5th EAP had identified exactly these missing targets and the lack of ownership by Member States and stakeholders as the weak points of the EAPs.

Instead, the 6th EAP promised seven Thematic Strategies, which were to be adopted within three years of the programme’s adoption (so in July 2005).

By mid-2005, Commissioner Dimas came under heavy fire when he wanted to present the first ones of these strategies, because some of his colleagues feared that new legislative action in areas such as air pollution could give rise to high costs for industry and undermine the EU’s ambitions to become the most competitive knowledge economy by 2010 (the “Lisbon agenda”). In the meantime, five out of the seven strategies have been adopted.

The seven thematic strategies are:

• Air pollution (adopted on 21 Sept 2005) [DG ENV Overview –Commission proposal – EurActiv news – EurActiv LinksDossier]
• Marine environment (adopted on 24 Oct 2005) [DG ENV Overview –Commission Proposal– EurActiv news]
• Prevention and recycling of waste (adopted on 21 Dec 2005) [DG ENV Overview – Commission proposal– EurActiv news – EurActiv LinksDossier]
• Sustainable use of resources (adopted on 21 Dec 2005) [DG ENV Overview– Commission Proposal– EurActiv news]
• Urban environment (adopted on 11 Jan 2006) [DG ENV Overview–Commission proposal– EurActiv news]
• Soil (adopted on 22 September 2006) [DG ENV Overview –Commission communication– Proposal for framework directive ]
• Pesticides (adopted on 12 July 2006) [DG ENV Overview –Commission proposal – EurActiv news]