*******************************************************************************************************************
The EEL News Service will have a short summer break.
Therefore this will be the last letter for the upcoming period.
The next EEL News Service will appear in September.
********************************************************************************************************************
Added to Case Law
* Case C-255/05 Commission vs. Italy
On 5 July 2007, the ECJ ruled that by giving consent for construction of a project by ASM Brescia SpA, without subjecting it to the environmental impact assessment procedure of Directive 85/337/EEC (amended by Directive 97/11/EC), Italy has failed to fulfill its EC obligations. Additionally Italy had failed to make the project known to the public, as stipulated by Directive 2000/76/EC, and had thus hampered the possibility for public commentary.
Sector: waste
* Case C-340/06 Commission vs. Austria
(Only available in French)
On 5 July 2007, the ECJ ruled that Austria had failed to implement Directive 2003/4/EC. According to this Directive, Member States are obliged to provide public access to environmental information, as of February 2005. However, there were several regions in Austria that had not yet implemented this Directive.
Sector: general
* Case C-507/04 Commission vs. Austria
On 12 July 2007, the ECJ ruled that Austria has failed to correctly implement Directive 79/409/EEC on conservation of wild birds. Austria did not transpose properly several articles of the Wild Birds Directive in several different regions. Austria has thus not fulfilled its obligations as laid down in the EC Treaty (articles 10 and 249) and those stipulated in article 18 of the Directive at stake.
Sector: nature
* Case C-326/05 Industrias Químicas del Vallés vs. Commission
On 18 July 2007, the ECJ upheld an appeal by the chemical firm Industrias Químicas del Vallés and overruled the CFI claiming that metalaxyl should be included in the list of EU-approved pesticide ingredients (Annex I to Directive 91/414/EC). According to the Court there is not any real proof that metalaxyl is dangerous for health and environment and therefore the chemical firm, and the Commission should not have excluded metalaxyl from the list just because Industrias Químicas del Vallés did not hand in their request for approval before the set deadline in May 2002.
Sector: dangerous substances
* Case T-229/04 Sweden vs. Commission
(Not yet available in English)
On 11 July 2007, the CFI ruled that the herbicide Paraquat may no longer be used in the European Union. According to Sweden and the three Member States that supported it (Denmark, Austria and Finland), Paraquat may pose a great risk to human health. The Court agreed on this point. It is the first time the ECJ annuls a pesticide approval, since the Plant Protection Products (PPP) Directive.
Sector: dangerous substances
* Case C-90/07 Commission vs. Belgium
(Only available in French)
On 12 July 2007, the ECJ stated that Belgium had not implemented Directive 2004/12/EC on packaging and packaging waste within the set time limit. The final deadline for implementation was 18 August 2005 and by then Belgium had not yet adopted all the necessary laws, regulations and administrative provisions to comply with the Directive.
Sector: waste
Added to Legislation, Energy
* This section has been restructured and a new decision on the Commission’s participation in the biofuels forum (2007/446/EC) of 21 June 2007 has been added to the website.
Added to Legislation, Waste
* Simplified waste shipment regulation
On 12 June 2007, the new EU waste shipment Regulation came into force. The new Regulation 1013/2006 on shipments of waste, was decided on in June 2006, aims to guarantee proper handling from the time it is shipped to the time it is disposed of or recovered. To achieve this goal, the relation between the EU and non-EU countries is stipulated in the Regulation, and even prohibits the export of hazardous waste or waste destined for disposal to certain countries. In support of this Regulation Commission Regulation 801/2007 concerning the export for recovery of certain waste listed in Annex III or III A to Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 to certain countries to which the OECD Decision on the control of transboundary movements of wastes does not apply has been put in place. This agreement was reached on 6 July 2007 and stipulates the way non-hazardous waste must be dealt with in non-OECD countries.
Added to Policy Areas, Climate Change
* Commission decides on ETS NAP amendments
On 13 July 2007, the European Commission decided on the five National Allocation Plan (NAP) amendments for the 2008-2012 trading period of Sweden, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg and Lithuania. It has been the first time that the Commission increased the number of allowances; Ireland’s has been increased by 1.18 million tons and Latvia’s by 0.14 tons. Besides, JI and CDM percentages of Lithuania and Latvia have also been increased, whereas Ireland’s limits have been reduced. The proposed amendments of Germany and the Slovak Republic are still in the pipeline.
Added to Policy Areas, Dangerous Substances
* Progress report on Dioxins, Furans and PCBs
On 10 July 2007, the Commission published a communication on the implementation of the Community Strategy for Dioxins, Furans and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), second progress report (COM (2007) 396 final). This report discusses the context as well as the activities taken in both the practical and research field.
* CoR opinion on Pesticide Strategy
On 30 June 2007, the Official Journal of the European Union published the Committee of the Region’s (CoR) opinion on Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides. This opinion is the result of the 68th plenary session held on 13 and 14 February 2007. The Committee stated that it supports the Commission’s strategy proposal, but fears that the current proposed system will not take adequate account of geological, geographical and hydrological factors within each zone. Additionally, the CoR fears that the current proposal could lead to an increase in pesticide contamination of surface waters.
* MEPs ban Mercury in measuring devices
On 10 July 2007, the European Parliament, during its second reading, banned Mercury in measuring instruments such as thermometers and barometers. First a Directive will come into force soon, restricting the use and marketing of these products, and leaving the manufacturers with one year to one-and-a-half years to stop their production. Antiques will be exempted from this legislation. Up to now, non-electrical devices were not yet banned.
Added to Policy Areas, Energy
* EU and Brazil strengthen their energy relations
On 4 July 2007, during the first EU-Brazil summit, EU representatives and Luis da Silva, the president of Brazil discussed the import of biofuels. Brazil is the most important producer of fuels made from plants and could play a great role in supplying Europe with cheap biofuels. According to the EU Trade Commissioner and the Brazilian president, Europe will not achieve its ambitious goals if it does not drastically increase its biofuels imports from Brazil. Consequently, during the EU’s biofuels conference on 5 and 6 June 2007, the EU energy Commissioner and the Brazilian minister of external relations signed the terms of reference for EC-Brazil Regular Energy Policy Dialogue. The first meeting of this dialogue will be held in autumn 2007.
* Report on electricity consumption
On 16 July 2007, the Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES) published a report on electricity consumption and efficiency. This report concludes that despite the numerous energy efficiency policies, energy consumption continues growing in the EU-27 countries. The policies can not decouple energy consumption from economic growth. The report summarizes the results of an in depth survey held in 2006 on electricity consumption. According to the survey total electricity consumption has grown by 10.8% in the residential sector, by 15.6% in the tertiary sector and by 9.5% in the industrial sector.
Added to Who’s Who
* Our new national editor for the Serbian page: Dragoljub Todic and some updates have been made to the information of our Turkish national editor: Firuz Demir Yasamis
National Pages
* The following national pages have been updated: Israel, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey & United Kingdom
Added to National Pages, The Netherlands
* New subsidy policy for sustainable energy (in Dutch)
On 13 July 2007, the Ministry of Economy approved renewed sustainable energy subsidies. As of 2008, those who invest in renewable energy project will receive subsidies. In August 2006, the last subsidy policy expired. Since then there has not been a subsidy system, because the Netherlands were well on track for the EU renewables targets.
Added to National Pages, United Kingdom
* Voluntary offset code approved
On 13 July 2007, the UK government announced the approval of a voluntary code of best practice for the provision of carbon offsetting to UK customers. This means that offsetting providers or companies that sell offsets will be able to choose whether they want accreditation for their products. The final form of the new voluntary code will be discussed in autumn of this year.
* Gordon Brown’s draft bill
In July 2007, the new Prime Minister Gordon Brown released his draft government programme. In this legislative programme the climate change bill and the energy bill deal with the environment. The purpose of the first is to set up a long term legal framework to reduce the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions up to 2050 and after. In the meantime, the purpose of the energy bill is to help Great Britain to guarantee secure supplies of energy, deal with climate change and address fuel poverty measures more effectively.
Added to National Pages, Switzerland
* Swiss charge levy on fossil fuels
In 2006 the Swiss failed to achieve the set fossil fuel reduction targets. Therefore, on 28 June 2007, the Swiss government announced that they will introduce a levy of CHF 12 per tonne of CO2 (EUR 7.5) emitted, as of January 2008. This levy will apply to all fossil fuels used for heating, and should help Switzerland fulfill its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, as it should lead to more efficient usage of fossil fuels, whilst stimulating development of renewables.
Added to Events
* The ENDS report environmental communications event
The event for environment and CSR professionals on harnessing the potential of marketing to promote your environmental credentials, manage reputation and spread responsible behaviour.
Location: Thistle Mable Arch, London, UK
Date: 27 September 2007
* Legal Masterclass in the Practical Implications of Sustainable Environmental Regulation
This programme will help you to explore both the strategic and tactical implications of changes to the way that businesses and communities operate, based on environmental law in practice, as well as recent and upcoming commitments and legislation in the UK and Europe.
Location: Courthouse Kempinski, London, UK
Date: 13 September 2007
Added to Job Postings
* UNFCCC
UNFCCC is looking for a programme officer to start working on P3, Joint Implementation, Sustainable Development Programme, as soon as possible. In the meantime, they are also looking for another programme officer to work on P3, Clean Develop Mechanisms/Accreditation Unit, and Sustainable Development Programme.
Location: Bonn, Germany
Deadline: 31 July 2007
* The European Commission DG’s Joint Research Centre (JRC)
The JRC Institute for the Protection and the Security of the Citizen is offering a post supporting the MARS-STAT team for its activities in support to the Common Agriculture Policy. The candidate will study climate change impact on food production.
Location: Ispra, Italy
Deadline: n.a. but ad has been published on 17 July 2007
* The European Commission DG’s Joint research centre (JRC)
The JRC Institute for Environment and Sustainability is offering three different internship positions. Firstly there is a traineeship in the field ‘Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe’. Secondly there is a trainee vacancy in the field of ‘Air Pollution and Effects Action’. Lastly, there is an opening in ‘Global Air Pollution and Climate Change’.
Location: Ispra, Italy
Deadline: 6 August 2007.
* European Environment Agency (EEA)
The EEA is looking for a head of administrative services to work for the authority of the Executive Director of the EEA. The successful candidate will be responsible for the management of the Administrative Services Programme.
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Deadline: 7 September 2007
***************************************************************************
Editors-in-Chief:
Wybe Th. Douma (T.M.C. Asser Institute, The Hague)
Jens Hamer (ERA, Trier)
Editors:
Leonardo Massai (T.M.C. Asser Institute, The Hague)
Sara Woods (T.M.C. Asser Institute, The Hague)
Technical realisation:
Marco van der Harst (T.M.C. Asser Institute, The Hague)
e-mail: eelnewsservices@asser.nl