European Union News - Environmnet

The European Commission as brought together all existing EU legislation governing environmental impact assessments in order to create a more compact, clearly translated and user-friendly version which comes into force on 17 February 2012. Thus, the administrative burden is reduced and also it helps Member States' authorities and developers to carry out the assessments.

The strategy and action plan proposed by the European Commission is addressed to shift the European economy towards greater and more sustainable use of renewable resources. According to the Commission, this plan will help to get renewable biological resources for secure and healthy food and feed, as well as for materials, energy, and other products.

The first EU Classification and Labelling Inventory published opens the way to safer use of hazardous substances. The Inventory compiles information from over 3 million notifications for more than 100.000 substances which allows identifying those that are potentially hazardous and may damage health and the environment.

The European Commission presented two reports, one with the political aspects and a second one with the scientific aspects, on the worrying phenomenon of the soil degradation in the EU. The reports show that between 1990 and 2006, at least 275 hectares of soil per day were permanently lost through soil sealing – the covering of fertile land by impermeable material – amounting to 1,000 km² per year, or an area the size of Cyprus every ten years.

The Council adopted a regulation following an agreement with the European Parliament in order to restrict the use of phosphates and other phosphorus compounds in consumer laundry and automatic dishwasher detergents in order to reduce the level of phosphorus poured into the waters. In addition to domestic detergents, the scope of the regulation also includes detergents used in public laundrettes.

The competition organised by the European Environment Agency seeks to award young Europeans born in 1991, 1992 or 1993 which make a video showing their vision of a sustainable future. With this competition, the Agency intends to get young people vision of how we can solve the most pressing environmental problems.

The Joint Research Centre published a report which shows that Member States plan to reach an overall share of 20.7% of energy from renewable sources by 2020. Even more, Member States are planning to exceed their own targets and will therefore be able to provide surpluses for other Member States.

A report approved by the European Parliament addresses the 114 complaints from EU citizens in 2004-2010 alleging breaches of EU law on waste treatment. At the resolution, MEPs ask for major investments to set up proper waste management facilities, and also but more efficient waste processing.

The Commission intends to revise the EU's Consumption and Production policies and that is why it has launched a public consultation, especially in the context that the economies will need to use natural resources in a far more efficient manner. The public consultation will remain open until 3 April.