Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2006)80 - Conclusion of behalf of the EC, of the Protocol on Soil Protection, the Protocol on Energy and the Protocol on Tourism to the Alpine Convention - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2006)80 - Conclusion of behalf of the EC, of the Protocol on Soil Protection, the Protocol on Energy and the Protocol on Tourism to the ... |
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| source | COM(2006)80  |
| date | 02-03-2006 |
Many environmental problems have a transboundary nature and can be addressed effectively only through international cooperation. For this reason, Article 174 of the EC Treaty establishes that one of the key objectives of European Community (EC) policy on the environment is to promote measures at international level to deal with regional environmental problems.
The Commission supports the objective of promoting a high level of environmental protection by taking into account the diversity of situations in the various regions. As the Alpine region is an ecologically highly sensitive area the EC must pay more attention to that region and must address its problems by an appropriate approach. Priority areas of the 6th Environment Action Programme i - climate change, nature and biodiversity, health and quality of life as well as natural resources and waste – can be promoted and strengthened in the mountain regions by international agreements.
The Convention on the Protection of the Alps, the Alpine Convention, was signed by the European Community at Salzburg on 7th November 1991, and by Council Decision 96/191/EC of 26th February 1996 i the Community ratified the Convention, which finally entered into force on 4th April 1998. The other Contracting Parties are Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia and Switzerland.
The reasons for the Council decision on conclusion are still valid. They are the following:
the conclusion of the Convention forms part of the involvement of the Community in the international activities on the protection of the environment recommended in (…) the fifth Programme of Action (1992) by the European Communities on the Environment and
the protection of the Alps is a major challenge to all Member States owing to the cross-frontier nature of the economic, social and ecological problems of the Alpine area.
Pursuant to Article 2 i and i of the Alpine Convention, concrete measures to achieve these goals are laid down in different Protocols. By ratifying the Alpine Convention, the EC is committed to fulfil the obligations of this Convention. Ratification of the Protocols fits within the framework of the environmental policy of the European Community; in particular Article 174 i of the EC Treaty provides explicitly for international cooperation in the environmental field. They are also consistent with the 6th Environment Action Programme. Finally, the Alpine Convention and the Protocols which complete the Convention, provide a framework for sustainable development based on the principles of subsidiarity, prevention and cooperation, and the polluter-pays principle. These are principles followed by EC policies.
The Convention is clearly covered by the EC environmental policy framework as set out in Article 174 of the EC Treaty. The Protocols can be considered as measures which make the Convention operational. Although each of the Protocols is an International agreement they all derive from the Alpine Convention. Each of them focuses mainly on environmental aspects. Hence it is appropriate to approach them all from an environmental point of view and for them to have a common legal basis, namely Article 174 ff. of the EC Treaty even though they cover specific objectives.
All the Protocols have been signed by all Member States of the Alpine Convention. Austria, Germany, France, Slovenia and Liechtenstein have ratified the Protocols and they have entered into force for them. Italy and Switzerland are currently making efforts to ratify the Protocols.
Contents
The European Community has recently signed the Protocols on Soil Protection, Energy, and Tourism i. Following their signatures these three Protocols should be ratified by the European Community at the present time. The European Commission has already adopted a proposal for the signature of the Protocol on Transport which has still to be signed by the Council. The Protocols on Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development, on Mountain Agriculture, and on Nature protection have already been signed by the European Community. Signature of the Protocols on Mountain Forests, and on Dispute settlement will be considered at a later stage.
The Alpine Convention’s Protocol on Soil protection gives a number of strong indications on soil protection in line with the Commission’s reflections on the strategy for soil protection i, and the European Parliament’s resolution i on it. One of the main goals, set out in article 1 of the Protocol, is the safeguard of the multifunctional role of soil based on the idea of sustainable development. This means that, the sustainable productivity of soil must be ensured in its natural function (as basis of life and living space for human beings, animals and plants, as a crucial element of nature and landscape, as part of the eco-system and as a genetic reservoir), as an archive of natural and cultural history and in order to guarantee its use for agriculture and forestry, urbanism and tourism, other economic uses, transport and infrastructure, and as a source of raw materials.
The Protocol could help to implement appropriate measures at national and regional level as any approach to soil protection must take account of the considerable diversity of regional and local conditions that exist in the Alpine region. The ratification of the Protocol would be a concrete measure to strengthen the Community’s strategy as progress is expected according to the Council conclusions on integrated soil protection i. Indeed several elements contained in the Protocol may be included in a Community policy on soil protection such as soil monitoring requirements, identification of risk zones for erosion, flooding and landslides, an inventory of contaminated sites, and the establishment of harmonised databases.
However, the Commission proposes to introduce a Declaration regarding Article 12 paragraph 3 of the Protocol on Soil Protection on the use of sewage sludge which should be interpreted in the light of the Council Directive on the protection of the environment, and in particular of the soil, when sewage sludge is used in agriculture (86/278/EEC) i. The European Commission is of the opinion that sludge can have valuable agronomic properties and can be used in agriculture provided it is used correctly. Sludge could be used when it presents a value for soil and nutrition for crops and plants. Its use must not impair the quality of the soil and of agricultural products, as outlined in Recital 7 of this Directive, nor give rise to harmful effects on man (direct or indirect consequences on human health), animals, plants and the environment, as it is outlined in Recital 5 and Article 1 of the Directive. In particular, sludge from small urban waste water treatment plants of the region represents little danger.
Another proposed Declaration concerns Article 17 i of the Protocol on Soil Protection. This Article should be read in such a way as to ensure that waste management plans for the pre-treatment, treatment and disposal of waste and residual materials are drawn up and implemented, in order to avoid soil contamination and ensure compatibility not only with the environment but also with human health.
Concerning Article 19 i and Article 21 i a Declaration suggests that the common observation system should be compatible when appropriate with the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) and should take into consideration the database set up by Member States according to EC legislation on observation, data collection and meta data. Earth observation systems consist of measurements of air, water, and land made on the ground, from the air, or from space. Historically these elements were observed in isolation but the current effort is to look at them together and to study their interactions. The GEOSS is envisaged as a distributed system of systems building upon current co-operative efforts among existing observing and processing systems, working with their own mandates, and delivering a system that provides timely, useful and accurate data, information, products and services to any and all legitimate users around the world.
The 6th Environment Action Programme i sets out the European Community’s commitment to combat climate change as well as the sustainable management and use of natural resources. Specific measures must be taken to raise energy efficiency, to promote the use of renewable energy and to guarantee the integration of climate change aspects into other policies.
Contracting Parties to the Protocol on Energy agree to take appropriate measures in the field of energy saving, production, transport, delivery and use of energy to foster conditions for sustainable development.
The provisions of the Protocol are in line with the Community’s policy i and the ratification of the Protocol would also strengthen trans-border cooperation with Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Monaco. This would help to ensure that the goals of the European Community are shared by regional partners and that such initiatives cover the whole Alpine eco-region. The European Community has committed itself to a number of environmental policies which could and should also be promoted at regional level by appropriate (inter-)governmental bodies such as the Alpine Convention.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol require that Parties formulate, implement, publish and regularly update national and regional programmes containing measure to mitigate climate change by addressing anthropogenic emissions by sources and providing removals by sinks of all greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol. Contracting Parties have to take measures to facilitate adequate adaptation to climate change. The EC and Member States, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Monaco, are Parties to the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. The Alpine Convention’s Protocols, in particular the Protocol on Energy, address the need to mitigate and adapt to unavoidable climate change.
However, the Commission suggests introducing a Reservation regarding Article 9 of the Protocol on Energy which concerns questions of nuclear power. So far as the EC is concerned, such requirements are provided for in the Treaty establishing the Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM). The decision by which the Alpine Convention was ratified was not based on the EURATOM Treaty but solely on the EC Treaty. The decision authorising the ratification of the Protocol will have the same legal basis. Consequently, the European Community will not be bound by Article 9 of the Protocol on Energy, when the Protocol enters into force for the Community.
Tourism is an economically highly important sector in most parts of the Alps and it is intimately linked to and dependent on the impacts it exerts on the environment and local communities. Tourist activities are mainly practised by people coming from destinations outside the mountain region; they give a major contribution in maintaining a viable economy and hence a permanent population. However, as the mountain region is a unique and ecologically very sensitive area, a balance between economic interests, local population needs and environmental concerns is extremely important for a sustainable development of the region.
The overall goal of the Protocol on Tourism is to promote sustainable tourism, specifically by ensuring it is developed and managed taking into consideration its impacts on the environment. To this aim, it provides specific measures and recommendations that can be used as instruments for reinforcing the environmental side of innovation and research, monitoring and training, management tools and strategies, planning and authorisation procedures linked to tourism and in particular to its qualitative development.
The recently adopted working paper on “Community measures affecting tourism”[10] clearly shows the wide range of EU policies and community legislation which concern, directly or indirectly, European and international tourism.
With its communication on “Basic orientations for the sustainability of European tourism”[11] the Commission aims at launching an Agenda 21 process for the sustainability of European tourism in order to coherently address problems with the active contribution of all the stakeholders, from the European to the local level. It also recognises that specific additional challenges must be dealt with in particular geographical areas, such as the Alps.
Tourism is a more and more global phenomenon, but at the same time it remains a sphere of primarily local and regional responsibility. The Alpine Convention and its Protocol on Tourism, together with the other Protocols that can have influence on the tourism sector, represent a framework instrument to stimulate and coordinate the contribution of stakeholders at regional and local level in order to make sustainability a major driver in the improvement of the quality of the Alpine region tourist offer.
Ratification of the Protocol would be a strong political signal for the Alpine region, and mountain regions in general, and a concrete step in the follow-up of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, of the International Year 2002 on Eco-Tourism and of the Agenda 21 process for the sustainability of European tourism.
The Alpine Convention i and its Protocols are instruments which enable the European Community to strengthen environmental protection for a large, highly sensitive cross-border zone. The European Community is committed to the objectives of the Convention and the Protocols. The signature of the Protocols i was a clear sign of this commitment. Ratification of these Protocols by the European Community would underline its efforts to promote sustainable development in this important mountain region.