12th Session of the European Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional Planning, Hanover, 7-8.9.00 . European Regional Planning Ministers adopt guiding principles for Europe-wide sustainable development. European Regional Planning Ministers refuse backing for mountain regions’ problems

European Regional Planning Ministers, meeting in Hanover on 7 and 8 September 2000 for their 12th conference, have refused to back a draft European Outline Convention on Mountain Regions proposed by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) and the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly. The ministers decided simply to adopt a set of non-binding “Guiding Principles for Sustainable Spatial Development of the European Continent”, refusing to commit themselves to the principles contained in the draft Outline Convention on Mountain Regions.