Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2003)331 - Conclusion of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2003)331 - Conclusion of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2003)331  |
| date | 12-06-2003 |
2. The Convention was adopted and opened for signature at a Conference of the Plenipotentiaries in Stockholm in May 2001. The Community and all the Member States signed the Convention on 22 May 2001.
3. The aim of the Convention is to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants. The Convention provides a framework, based on the precautionary principle, for elimination of production, use, import and export of the initial twelve priority persistent organic pollutants, their safe handling and disposal and elimination or reduction of releases of certain unintentional persistent organic pollutants. In addition, the Conventions lays down the rules for the listing of additional persistent organic pollutants in the Convention.
4. To ensure that proposals for listing additional substances in the Convention are justified and have sufficient support in the Community, only joint proposals by the Community and the Member States should be submitted to the Secretariat. Therefore, appropriate provisions on submitting new proposals should be included in the Decision.
5. When Annexes A, B or C of the Convention have been amended, and the Commission has not decided to implement the amendment within one year from the date of communication by the depositary of the adoption of the amendment, the Commission should be obliged to notify the non-acceptance of the amendment in accordance with Article 22(3)(b) of the Convention to prevent a situation of non-compliance.
6. While the main purpose and the content of the Convention concerns environmental protection, the provisions concerning prohibitions and restrictions of intentional production and use of chemicals are relevant to the functioning of the internal market. Therefore, it is appropriate that the Decision on ratification is based on Articles 175 i and 95 i, in conjunction with Article 300.
7. In parallel to this proposed Decision, the Commission has put forward a proposal for a Regulation by the European Parliament and the Council to implement certain provisions of the Convention, which are not yet implemented by the Community legislation.
8. In accordance with Article 25 i of the Convention, regional economic integration organisations must declare the extent of their competence with respect to the matters governed by the Convention. To fulfil this obligation, the Commission has prepared the Declaration annexed to the present proposal.
It is therefore possible for the Community to approve the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.