European Union News - Environmnet

The European Commission presented a project of Directive aimed at establishing a common European framework for maritime spatial planning and integrated coastal management in EU Member States, with a view to ensuring that the growth of maritime and coastal activities and the use of resources at sea and on coasts remain sustainable.

The European Commission published a Green Paper in which invites the stakeholders to contribute with their views on whether, and how, existing legislation should be adapted to deal with plastic waste and promote re-use, recycling and recovery of plastic waste over landfilling.

According to Eurostat, 503 kg of municipal waste was generated per person in 2011, while 486 kg of municipal waste was treated per person. Denmark, with 718 kg per person, had the highest amount of waste generated in 2011, while values of below 400 kg per person were recorded in Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Estonia.

On 3 March, the new EU Timber regulation that prohibits the placing of illegally harvested timber on the European market in an effort to tackle the problem of illegal logging across the world, entered into force.

The Environment Committee at the European Parliament backed a proposal to suspend temporarily the EU CO2 Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for intercontinental flights, so as to enable International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to agree worldwide measures. The ETS will continue to apply to flights between EU airports.

The informal agreement reached between the Council and the European Parliament on safety of offshore oil and gas operations was backed by the Permanent Representatives Committee of the Council. To enter into force it still needs to be formally approved by the Parliament and by the Council - after the plenary vote in the Parliament.

The latest report published by the Joint Research Centre highlights the lack of harmonised reporting on oil and gas offshore accidents across the EU, and the poor access of information for researchers, consultants and the public. The statistical analysis also reveals that offshore accidents with severe and long-lasting consequences are not extremely rare events as initially thought, at least concerning failures, causes and chain of events.

Ministers were invited to answer two questions raised by the presidency, one focussing on whether the draft directive adequately fulfils its objectives of addressing indirect land-use change emissions and encouraging the transition to advanced biofuels, and the second relating to its support for the achievement of the existing energy and climate change objectives in the EU.