EU Commission to Press ahead on Environment

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The European Union executive said on Wednesday it would press ahead with several environmental initiatives this year despite industry concern about high costs.

BRUSSELS — The European Union executive said on Wednesday it would press ahead with several environmental initiatives this year despite industry concern about high costs.


European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and his commissioners debated overall environmental policy on Wednesday, a move activists had feared could kill a series of strategies on issues such as air pollution and recycling for being too expensive.


The president's spokeswoman said the commissioners supported the strategies and Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas would start presenting them after the group's summer break.


"The Commission has decided to forge ahead and it does indeed intend to adopt these strategies," Francoise Le Bail told a news conference after the debate.


"The environment will remain a central policy subject for the Commission."


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An air pollution strategy was put on hold before the debate, calling into question proposals on pesticides, marine environment, sustainable use of resources, waste prevention and recycling, soil quality and urban environmental management.


Environmental groups said the delay risked damaging the European Union's reputation as a leader on green issues.


European business group UNICE has questioned whether the projected costs of the air pollution strategy alone would be worth the expected benefits.


The Commission predicts the initiative will cost 12 billion euros ($14.49 billion) a year from 2020, though environment chief Dimas says the benefits, including illness prevention, would be four times that amount.


Le Bail said the Commission did not see a contradiction between respecting the environment and boosting the economy.


She said each strategy would be scrutinised later this year, but declined to say whether costs would be cut -- which environmentalists fear would make the policies weaker.


"The question was not to water down anything," Le Bail said.


The EU is well known for its leadership on the environment. But high unemployment and stagnant economies in some member states have fuelled calls by some political and business leaders to cut down on costs to big employers.


Environmental groups WWF, Greenpeace, IFAW and Seas at Risk said they were concerned about the "cautious approach" taken towards the strategies and said they feared the marine strategy in particular would be watered down to pacify industry.


Source: Reuters