Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-24-Speech-3-322"
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". – Mr President, the oral question from Mrs Jackson and the draft resolution before Parliament today on the same subject are all very timely. One year after our return from Johannesburg we must keep up the momentum and maintain political leadership in the European Union by delivering on our Johannesburg commitments.
On the final part of the oral question dealing with strengthened governance for sustainable development, this is clearly an essential requirement for progress in the World Summit implementation. In this regard, the European Council has stressed the need to reinforce UNEP and to consider its institutional upgrading by creating a UN environment agency. This is an important objective and our interaction with UNEP must be enhanced right away.
In the short term we need to expand UNEP's role in the World Summit implementation. The results of the Global Ministerial Environment Forum in February 2003 should help to achieve this objective. The results were very positive on chemicals, with a decision on the strategic approach to international chemicals management, setting up a process that should culminate in an Intergovernmental Conference in 2006. UNEP was also asked to take an active role in the pursuit of the ten-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, agreed in Johannesburg.
The Global Ministerial Environment Forum will meet again in Korea in March 2004. Water, sanitation and human settlements – the three items on the CSD agenda for 2004 and 2005 – will be the main focus of discussions. Nevertheless, some of the unfinished business on international environmental governance will also need to be addressed, including matters such as UNEP's funding, the reinforcement of its scientific basis and its role in enforcing international environmental agreements.
Let me turn to some of the broader issues associated with the World Summit implementation and reflected in the draft resolution. One year ago I came to Parliament and told you that the European Union could be proud of the leadership role it played during the Johannesburg Summit. I also told you that our slogan for the summit would continue to guide us in the implementation phase: From Words to Deeds. My own assessment is that work is in progress to implement our commitments across the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, both internally and externally, but events, and most recently the failure of the trade talks in Cancún, show the scale of the challenge we still face.
In March 2003 the European Council identified a set of priorities for implementing the sustainable development strategy and the Johannesburg outcomes. Foremost amongst those priorities is policy coherence between external commitments and internal policies. The reform of the common agricultural policy and the fisheries policy is a step in the right direction. However, further efforts are needed in these and other areas, such as energy and transport. Our credibility will suffer if unsustainable trends persist or if our policies have detrimental impacts outside the EU, in particular on the development opportunities of the poorest countries.
On sustainable consumption and production, the EU has been playing a leading role by promoting a broad mix of policies and tools, such as integrated pollution prevention and control, the eco-management and audit scheme and eco-labelling, as well as sectoral instruments in key areas such as energy or agriculture. But we should not try to reinvent the wheel: we are assessing the measures and instruments implemented so far and identifying gaps. We are also working with Member States to provide an overall assessment by the end of 2003.
Poverty eradication has been, and will continue to be, at the centre of our World Summit commitments, as will the development dimension. This is a key issue when working towards the achievement of all internationally agreed development goals.
On the issue of financing for development, the Commission has been asked by Member States to closely monitor the commitments made before the Monterrey Conference. Continued efforts will be needed to stick to our commitments against a background of sluggish economic growth and fiscal austerity.
In concluding, let me welcome Parliament's support in pushing for the EU to be in the forefront when it comes to delivery. Two weeks ago the European Commission adopted a communication on our cooperation with the United Nations. It was entitled: 'The Choice of Multilateralism' and in it we stated that the EU should adopt a determined front-runner approach to the negotiation and implementation of important initiatives in the fields of sustainable development, poverty reduction and international security. We also called upon the UN itself to follow more closely an approach based on benchmarking and clear targets in the follow-up to major conferences, such as the World Summit. I am confident that I can count on Parliament's continued support in pursuing these efforts.
I want to address the specific points in Mrs Jackson's oral question before taking the opportunity to add a few more general points on the Johannesburg follow-up.
Let me start by addressing the last issue raised in Mrs Jackson's question: the Commission's role in making sure that sustainable development becomes a major and regular aspect of forthcoming Spring Councils. I would like to make three points in response to this part of the question. First, by adding an external dimension to the Göteborg strategy, the European Council conclusions mean that the European Union's sustainable development strategy is the main vehicle for the implementation of the Johannesburg commitments. Consistent with this approach, the Commission intends to continue addressing the follow-up of the World Summit in its annual synthesis reports in preparation for the Spring European Council meetings.
Second, the Commission is also undertaking an overall review of the sustainable development strategy to be ready by the time the new Commission takes up office. The review, covering the period up until 2009, will further integrate the World Summit implementation into the revised strategy.
Third, the Commission services are now preparing a stocktaking document on the Summit follow-up that will be submitted by the end of 2003 and that may also include proposals for further action.
We want Parliament to be more closely involved in discussing the implementation of the World Summit commitments.
Let me now turn to the first part of the oral question, reporting specifically on the water and energy initiatives. In our stocktaking paper on the World Summit follow-up the Commission plans to submit to Parliament and to the Council a detailed report on both initiatives. 'Water for Life' aims to bring sanitation and water to those who lack it most. Currently 2.2 billion people die from water-related diseases each year, a figure that is unacceptable. The EU initiative is focused on Africa, but will also cover other regions. A ministerial conference in Addis Ababa in December 2003 should help to develop ownership among all African stakeholders. The Commission has tabled an ambitious proposal to allocate EUR 1 billion from the European Development Fund to set up an EU water fund. This money is already reserved in the budget, but the Council has so far been reluctant to free up the resources.
The European Union Energy Initiative for Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development addresses access to affordable and sustainable energy services. Nearly 30 developing countries from three continents have joined the initiative. To take it forward in Africa the Commission will sponsor a high-level energy event to be held in Nairobi on 20 and 21 November 2003. As in the case of water, ownership and awareness in recipient countries are essential to make progress.
Still on the subject of energy, the EU also launched in Johannesburg the Renewable Energy Coalition. The Commission has agreed to host the Coalition secretariat. We intend to work intensively in the coming months to ensure the Coalition is fully consolidated in time for the 2004 World Renewable Energy Conference in Germany."@en1
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