17 June Joint Transport and Environment Council

Date: 25/06/1998

ENVIRONMENT and transport ministers held a joint debate on ways to tackle the environmental impact of the Union's transport policies. They adopted a set of conclusions at the end of the meeting and agreed to hold further similar sessions “from time to time”.

CONCERN was expressed that significant increases in the provision and use of transport were having an adverse effect on the environment. Ministers cited, in particular, the problems of climate change, air quality, acidification, noise, the degradation of seas and coastal areas, and poor use of land resources. They stressed that the principle of sustainable development should be observed when EU governments were planning new transport projects, and added that the 'polluter pays' principle should also be applied.

MINISTERS argued that it would not be possible to come up with many EU-wide solutions to transport and environment problems. They stressed that it was important to take note of the differences in geography and the levels of economic and transport infrastructure development in each of the 15 EU member states when planning future national strategies. But they did agree that it would be desirable for all Union governments to try to encourage people to take to more environmentally friendly modes of travel such as walking, cycling and public transport, wherever possible.

ENLARGEMENT of the Union into central and eastern Europe is likely to prove a particular challenge in the transport and environment fields, ministers agreed. They stressed that enlargement negotiations with the countries applying for EU membership should take into account the need for sustainable transport polices and to avoid the distortion of competition by ensuring appropriate harmonisation between would-be Union entrants and existing member states.

MINISTERS warned that current growth in demand for private and commercial road transport was unsustainable. They agreed the environmental impact of congested roads and railways was becoming less and less acceptable in the eyes of the general public and had a high economic cost. They also noted that uncontrolled development of transport infrastructure to cope with expected future demand could have a serious and detrimental impact on both the Union's cities and its countryside.