Legal provisions of COM(2000)61 - Conclusion of the new Convention for the protection of the Rhine - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2000)61 - Conclusion of the new Convention for the protection of the Rhine. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2000)61  |
| date | November 7, 2000 |
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52000PC0061
Proposal for a Council Decision concerning the conclusion, on behalf of the Community, of the new Convention for the protection of the Rhine /* COM/2000/0061 final - CNS 2000/0037 */
Official Journal C 177 E , 27/06/2000 P. 0083 - 0090
Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION concerning the conclusion, on behalf of the Community, of the new Convention for the Protection of the Rhine
(presented by the Commission)
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. By Decision 77/586/EEC the Community concluded the Convention for the protection of the Rhine against chemical pollution and the Additional Agreement to the Agreement, signed in Bern on 29 April 1963, concerning the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution (ICPR). The other Contracting Parties are France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
2. International cooperation on the protection of water resources is essential in the case of the Rhine, which flows through several countries and whose waters are used intensively. An overall renovation programme, entitled the 'Rhine Action Programme' which was adopted in Strasbourg on 30 September 1987 at the ministerial conference, is currently being implemented with specific targets to be reached by the year 2000 for drinking water, the ecosystem and sediments together with supplementary measures adopted in 1989 for the protection of the North Sea.
3. At the 25th meeting of the Coordinating Group of the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine, the representatives of the riparian states drew attention to the importance, both now and in the future, of protecting the waters of this river and concluded that it was necessary to provide for a new Convention on the Protection of the Rhine which would take account of complementary approaches involving measures to:
_ preserve, improve and stabilise the ecosystem of the Rhine;
_ ensure the natural functioning of running water;
_ promote the economic and effective use of water, particularly with regard to the management of drinking water reserves;
_ prevent, reduce and avoid the incidence of transfrontier industrial and urban pollution, particularly where this is attributable to toxic, persistent, carcinogenic, mutagenic and bioaccumulable substances;
_ reduce pollution from diffuse sources, including groundwater;
_ prevent and counteract accidental pollution incidents.
4. Since the new Convention covers areas of Community competence relating to the environment, the Community, represented by the Commission, has been taking part in the negotiations in accordance with the negotiating directives issued by the Council.
5. On 22 January 1998, at the 12th ministerial conference of the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine held in Rotterdam, the Contracting Parties approved the text of the new Convention on the Protection of the Rhine. The Contracting Parties also decided to draw up a new 'Programme for the Sustainable Development of the Rhine' which, under the new Convention, will seek to continue and strengthen, beyond the year 2000, the work carried out under the existing 'Rhine Action Programme'.
When drawing up this modernised programme, particular account will be taken of the European Union's forthcoming framework Directive on water policy and of the experience gained in the context of Community programmes such as the IRMA programme which concerns a series of multiannual measures designed to prevent flood damage.
6. On 13 October 1998, at the meeting of the Coordinating Committee of the ICPR, it was decided that the Contracting Parties would simultaneously sign the new Convention at an official ceremony to be organised by the depository state, Switzerland, at the beginning of 1999. To this, the European Commission adopted and presented to the Council in February 1999 a proposal for a Council Decision concerning the signature, on behalf of the Community, of the new Convention for the Protection of the Rhine (COM(1999)51). After examining the Commission's proposal, the Council adopted conclusions in March 1999 in which it decided that the Community should sign the new Convention for the Protection of the Rhine, subject to its eventual conclusion. On 12 April 1999 the European Community signed in Berne the new Convention on the Protection of the Rhine simultaneously with the other contracting parties.
7. On several occasions since the Convention was signed, the Secretariat of the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (CIPR) invited the contracting parties to set in motion procedures for the ratification of the Convention to ensure that it could enter into force as soon as possible. The Commission therefore proposes that the Council should take a decision on the conclusion by the Community of the new Convention on the Protection of the Rhine.
Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION concerning the conclusion, on behalf of the Community, of the new Convention for the Protection of the Rhine
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 174(4) and the first sentence of the first subparagraph of Article 300(2) and the first subparagraph of Article 300(3),
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ,
...
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament ,
...
Whereas:
(1) By Decision 77/586/EEC , the Community concluded the Convention for the Protection of the Rhine against chemical pollution and the Additional Agreement to the Agreement, signed in Berne on 29 April 1963, concerning the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution.
OJ L 240, 19.9.1977, p. 35.
(2) At the 25th meeting of the Coordinating Group of the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine, the riparian states considered it necessary to provide for a new Convention for the Protection of the Rhine and to open negotiations to that end.
(3) The European Commission, acting on behalf of the Community, took part in these negotiations in accordance with the negotiating directives given by the Council and these negotiations were completed in January 1998.
(4) In the light of the outcome of these negotiations, the Council decided in March 1999 that the Community would sign the new Convention for the Protection of the Rhine, subject to its eventual conclusion, and authorised this signing on behalf of the Community. The new Convention for the Protection of the Rhine was signed on 12 April 1999 in Berne (Switzerland).
(5) The Convention for the Protection of the Rhine is intended to step up multilateral cooperation towards the sustainable development of the Rhine ecosystem, prevent and control the pollution of this river, protect the environment, ensure the sustainable use of hydrological resources, improve the quality of sediments, ensure general flood prevention and protection taking account of ecological requirements, and to help restore the North Sea.
(6) Community policy relating to the environment focuses in particular on a high level of protection; it is based on the principles of precautionary measures and preventive action, the principle of rectification of damage to the environment, preferably at source, and the principle that the polluter pays. In implementing the new Convention for the Protection of the Rhine, the contracting parties should heed these same principles.
(7) The conclusion of the Convention by the European Community will contribute to the pursuit of the objectives and principles laid down in Article 174 of the Treaty establishing the European Community.
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article1
The new Convention for the Protection of the Rhine is hereby approved on behalf of the Community.
The text of the Convention is annexed to this Decision.