‘Green’ lobby attacks IGC failures

Date: 12/06/1997

EUROPE's environmental organisations are holding up the yellow card to EU governments for failing to build convincing 'green' guarantees into the new Union treaties.

Just a few days before the crucial Amsterdam summit sets the parameters for future EU policy, a collection of leading green groups has set out a detailed critique of how far treaty negotiators have gone in meeting the demands of environmental campaigners.

Out of 11 main areas of concern, EU governments get the 'thumbs up' in just four where the group says genuine improvements have been made and the 'thumbs down' in the same number, with judgement reserved on the final three issues until after the summit.

Even in those areas where they feel real progress has been made, the group is warning against complacency.

“The text as it stands at the moment is better than it was. But anyone counting their chickens would be a fool. The whole thing could still unravel and turn into a complete thumbs down,” said Ralph Hallo, of Dutch environmentalists Stichting Natuur en Milieu.

Hallo believes three central issues are key to the IGC's success: there must be clear access to the European Courts for citizens wanting to protest at damage to the environment; a wide extension of majority voting, particularly on fiscal matters; and the new treaty must enshrine the 'environmental guarantee', allowing individual countries to go further than the norm to protect their domestic environment.

Despite obvious shortcomings, the lobbies have welcomed changes in the text giving new prominence to the integration of environmental protection in all areas of EU policy, and their score-card highlights efforts to open up decision-making in the Council of Ministers and give the public the right of access to Union documents.

In addition, they have been buoyed up by moves towards reducing the 'democratic deficit' by extending the European Parliament's decision-making power in the environmental field.