Legal provisions of COM(1985)86 - - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(1985)86 - . |
|---|---|
| document | COM(1985)86  |
| date | March 18, 1985 |
COLLECTION RELIEE DES DOCUMENTS 'COM'
COM (85) 086
Vol. 1985/0026
Disclaimer
Conformement au reglement (CEE, Euratom) n° 354/83 du Conseil du 1er fevrier 1983 concernant l'ouverture au public des archives historiques de la Communaute economique europeenne et de la Communaute europeenne de l'energie atomique (JO L 43 du 15.2.1983, p. 1), tel que modifie par le reglement (CE, Euratom) n° 1700/2003 du 22 septembre 2003 (JO L 243 du 27.9.2003, p. 1), ce dossier est ouvert au public. Le cas echeant, les documents classifies presents dans ce dossier ont ete declassifies conformement a l'article 5 dudit reglement.
In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983 concerning the opening to the public of the historical archives of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L 43, 15.2.1983, p. 1), as amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1700/2003 of 22 September 2003 (OJ L 243, 27.9.2003, p. 1), this file is open to the public. Where necessary, classified documents in this file have been declassified in conformity with Article 5 of the aforementioned regulation.
In Obereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom 1. Februar 1983 uber die Freigabe der historischen Archive der Europaischen Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und der Europaischen Atomgemeinschaft (ABI. L 43 vom 15.2.1983, S. 1), geandert durch die Verordnung (EG, Euratom) Nr. 1700/2003 vom 22. September 2003 (ABI. L 243 vom 27.9.2003, S. 1), ist diese Datei der Offentlichkeit zuganglich. Soweit erforderlich, wurden die Verschlusssachen in dieser Datei in Obereinstimmung mit Artikel 5 der genannten Verordnung freigegeben.
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
C0MC85) 86 final Brussels, 19 March 1985
A_EUROPEIWIDE_ENVIRONMENI_POLICY
(Communication from the Commission to the European Council on 29 and 30 March 1985)
COM(85) 86 final
A_iUBQPirWIDE_ENVIRONMENT POLICY
1. The environment in which the citizens of the Community, and of many other parts of the world, live and work is deteriorating, in town and countryside alike. This is the more regrettable since the natural resources and facilities exist for making Life better and more livable. Protection and improvement of the environment therefore must be a top Community priority.
2. The European Council acknowledged this need when it decided at its last meeting in Dublin to devote part of the next session to the subject of environmental protection.
3. Urgent action is imperative on several fronts.
(i) Ai r_gol lut ion from the burning of fossil fuels is causing the destruction of forests, the pollution of lakes, the erosion of buildings and of our architectural heritage, and, sometimes, hazards to human health.
(ii) Mari ne_ggllut ion is reaching alarming proportions in the Mediterranean and some areas of the North Sea. The absorptive capacity of the sea, where pollution discharged to water, air or land finally ends up, could be swamped if action is not taken soon.
(iii) The handling_of_dangerous_chemicals has given rise to serious and tragic accidents in Europe and elsewhere. Though rare, these can be utterly devastating.
Modern farming methods sometimes cause grave ecological damage, even though agriculture, which has moulded the European landscape over centuries, still offers the best assurance of preserving landscape features.
(iv)
(v) The scale of environmental^deterioration in some parts of the Third World is such that they may well become permanently unable to support life: desertification, tropical deforestation and the loss of wildlife, and hence genetic diversity, are among the worst problems of all.
4. The seriousness of these problems is such that the Commission has given them prominence in the action programme it recently submitted to the European Parliament, in which it states its intention of laying before the Council a number of proposals concerning legislation, scientific and technical research, the orientation of common and national policies and the use of the financial armoury at the Community's disposal.
5. The Commission would like to see decision-making in this area of policy prompted and influenced by policy guidelines from the European Council. Without going into detail, it asks the European Council to endorse three main guidelines for Community environment policy:
(i) protection of the environment is to be treated as an integral part of economic and social policies both overall (at macroeconomic level) and by individual sector (agricultural policy, industrial policy, energy policy ...), the point must be made that an active policy for the protection and improvement of the environment can help economic growth and job creation;
(ii) Member States must recognize the necessity of coherent actions within the Community framework, since piecemeal and isolated action would risk to be ineffective and even harmful to the cohesion and continuity of its policies;
(iii) signal the importance the European Council attaches to Community policy for the protection and improvement of the environment by deciding that the year 1987 wilt be the European Year of the Environment, and by inviting the Commission and Council to make every effort to ensure that the year is marked by major progress in the Community drive for the protection of the environment in Europe and the world.