Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-05-21-Speech-1-126"
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"en.20070521.18.1-126"2
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".
Madam President, I am pleased to open this debate on the proposal on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy, which complements the Water Framework Directive, which is the centrepiece of water protection for the European Union. I would like to thank the rapporteur, Mrs Laperrouze, and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety for its considerable efforts. I would also like to thank the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the Committee on Fisheries, and in particular the draftsman and draftswomen, Mr Rübig, Mrs Bourzai and Mrs Corbey respectively, for their very constructive and supportive input on this important file.
The current proposal is another step in this direction and I am committed to working with the European Parliament and the Member States to achieve the goals that we jointly set for ourselves in the year 2000. However, there are many more steps to take and I call for your support in this process.
Protecting rivers, lakes, the coastal and marine environment from pollution caused by hazardous substances is a key priority for the Commission. Since the 1970s when the Community took its first decisive action we have made significant progress. However, as we solved some pollution problems, others emerged. The chemical cocktail in our waters has become more complex and the sources of pollution are no longer concentrated at one point but are widespread and diffuse. There has never been a time for complacency.
To tackle the pollution problems caused by these dangerous substances the Commission has proposed or adopted more than 30 Community acts since the Water Framework Directive was agreed. I cannot list them all, but let me highlight some as an example.
First, the Commission has banned or restricted the marketing and use of 16 of the priority substances of the Water Framework Directive. Further decisions on some pesticides, biocides and other existing chemicals are in the pipeline. Second, the milestone agreement on REACH, the new EU chemicals policy, will require authorisation of the most hazardous substances and reduction of risks for all other chemicals regulated under the Water Framework Directive.
In summary, I underline again that also in the future the Commission is committed to providing the necessary instruments for emissions control where they can result in the most efficient and proportionate action to resolve pollution caused by priority substances. At the same time I am committed to the principles of better regulation and to coming forward with additional proposals only where it can be demonstrated that the Community is the most appropriate level at which to act.
I shall now turn to the Commission proposal for a directive on environmental quality standards for priority substances. The objective of the proposed directive is to set harmonised and transparent criteria for assessing good chemical status of surface waters, which must be achieved by 2015. Thus the most important part of the proposal is Annex I: the quality standards which must be respected in all rivers, lakes and coastal and territorial waters.
As you know, for marine waters the proposed Marine Strategy Directive will ensure the same level of protection regarding hazardous substances pollution in areas where the Water Framework Directive does not apply. I underline that the proposed values for quality standards already reflect the risk to the marine ecosystem that these substances may pose. In addition, the proposal identifies two additional priority hazardous substances and repeals several directives which were adopted between 1982 and 1990.
However, the proposal does not include additional measures for emissions controls for the reasons that I outlined earlier. The Commission believes that emissions controls are adequately covered through other existing Community legislation such as the directive on integrated pollution prevention and control.
As a closing remark, I would like to emphasise that we share the objective of a high level of protection of the water environment. The Commission published its first implementation report for the Water Framework Directive on 22 March 2007, World Water Day. It highlighted that, despite the progress, there is much work to be done, in particular by the Member States, if we want to achieve sustainable water management by making the implementation of the directive a success."@en1
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