Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-04-02-Speech-1-083"
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"en.20010402.6.1-083"2
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"Mr President, I would like to thank the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy for its report, and, in particular, the rapporteur, Mr Sacconi, for his excellent and balanced contribution to this issue.
The main purpose of the Green Paper was to initiate a broad public debate at European level that would be all-embracing and multi-sectoral in nature. The aim was to get all interest groups involved in the decision-making process at an early stage, in order to ensure that the preparatory work with regard to the issue was transparent.
I, along with my colleague, Margot Wallström, organised a public hearing in October 2000. It was attended by representatives from all interest groups. The Green Paper had also asked for written opinions on the questions put forward. There was a huge number of responses. We received more than 30 000 e-mails, faxes and letters. Most came from employees in the PVC industry and companies in the sector, but many were also received from NGOs and their supporters. In addition, the Commission received official opinions from the majority of Member States.
The draft opinion presented to the European Parliament covers all the essential matters and will be an important guide when the Commission prepares its communication proposing a Commission strategy on PVC. In its assessment, the Commission will mainly concentrate on the use of certain PVC additives, lead, cadmium and phthalates, as well as the treatment of PVC waste in accordance with the commitment the Commission made in its proposal for a directive on end-of-life vehicles. These are two environmental questions requiring action, and the position on them expressed in the Committee’s report is clear.
The Commission notes the view expressed in the report that the use of PVC should be studied thoroughly by assessing with equal precision the life cycle of products made from PVC and alternative materials. The Commission notes with satisfaction the Committee’s proposal that a combination of both legislative and voluntary remedies should be used in any future strategy. Of interest too is the proposal for drafting legislation on PVC that would only enter into force if the players concerned are unable to meet the set objectives through voluntary agreements. This safety mechanism and other methods are to be examined more closely in a communication on voluntary agreements that the Commission is at present drafting.
I would finally like to emphasise that the Commission works on the basis of sustainable development in all three dimensions of society, the economy, and the environment. The European Parliament is kept very much up to date on developments, and in the months to come the Commission will be issuing a communication based on the Green Paper and the opinions received during the consultation procedure, which will spell out the Community’s strategy on environmental issues connected with PVC. This strategy will serve as a framework for future initiatives on PVC."@en1
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