OPEN LETTER FROM THE GREEN 8 TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CONVENTION ON THE FUTURE OF EUROPE DEFENDING THE ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSION.

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1 OPEN LETTER FROM THE GREEN 8 TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CONVENTION ON THE FUTURE OF EUROPE DEFENDING THE ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSION February 2003 INTRODUCTION We, the Green 8, representing the eight major international environmental organisations in Europe, are alarmed that the environmental dimension is not adequately taken into account in the draft for a new European Constitution, as it has been presented by the EU Convention Presidium. The proposed first 16 articles neglect the shared European value of environmental integrity. This value is enshrined in Article 2 of the present EC treaty, which sets the promotion of a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment as a task of the Community. The proposed Constitution not only omits this sentence, but contains a definition of sustainable development that is only based on social and economic considerations and does not even mention the environmental dimension. The wording of Art. 6 of the EC Treaty, which obliges the EU to integrate, in all its policies, environmental protection requirements, has also completely disappeared. It is encouraging that Members of the Convention have submitted amendments responding to the serious shortcomings of these first draft articles. We call upon you to support these amendments and to further ensure that the protection of the environment retains in the new European Constitution the prominent position it has acquired in the existing European treaties. EUROPEAN VALUE OF ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY Although the environmental movement at it is presently shaped emerged in the 1960 s and 70 s, Europeans have a long tradition of caring for the environment and promoting its protection and improvement. Some of Europe s earliest environmental organisations appeared already at the end of the 19 th and beginning of the 20 th century as a reaction to unbridled industrialisation and urbanisation. More recently, Europeans have joined together to seek to protect their forests from threats including acid rain, unsustainable logging, and forest fires. Jacques-Yves Cousteau has become a European symbol for his battle to protect the world s seas. Most recently, the high value of environmental integrity shared by European citizens was vividly demonstrated by the outcry following the Prestige disaster.

2 Europeans perceive environmental integrity as a public and universal good that transcends national borders. Hence it is not surprising that one of the most well recognised and respected European policies in international fora is the promotion of global sustainable development. EUROBAROMETER RECORDS ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY AS SHARED EUROPEAN VALUE On 5 June 2002, on the occasion of the World Day for the Environment, the Eurobarometer published the results of a survey of European public opinion with respect to environmental concerns. 86% of Europeans wish that the environment becomes a policy area of equal importance to the social and economic policies. In some countries such as Italy, Portugal and Luxembourg this answer was given by more than 92% of respondents. 75% of Europeans think that policymakers do not give adequate consideration to the environment when deciding upon other policies. 73% of Europeans regard the environment as the strongest factor determining their quality of life. Socio-economic factors rank second. 89% of Europeans are concerned about the consequences of environmental pollution on their health; 86% are preoccupied by the unsustainable use of natural resources and waste generation; 82% are particularly concerned with nature conservation; 72% are worried about climate change. CONCLUSION As the European Convention proceeds with the drafting of a new European treaty, the European value of environmental integrity as well as the EU s leadership role on sustainable development must both be confirmed and consolidated. The Green 8, representing the eight international environmental organisations established in Brussels, call on the Members of the Convention to ensure: That the protection and improvement of the environment, which constitutes a central objective of the European Union, is explicitly included in the treaty s definition of sustainable development. That the principle of policy coherence is included among the fundamental principles of the European Union, and in particular that all EU policies are consistent and integrated with the environmental policy objectives ( integration principle Art. 6 EC Treaty). The Union should also ensure that its policies and actions do not negatively impact on the sustainable development and the environmental integrity of developing countries. Ends- For further information please contact: Ioli Christopoulou, IChristopoulou@wwfepo.org Tel direct: (+32) (02)

3 Amendment Article 3: The Union's objectives 1. The Union's aim is to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples. 2. The Union shall work for a Europe of sustainable development based on balanced economic growth, a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment and social justice, with a free single market, and economic and monetary union, aiming at full employment and generating high levels of competitiveness and living standards to meet the needs of the present generation with respect for the rights of future generations. It shall promote economic and social cohesion, equality between women and men, and environmental and social protection, and shall develop scientific and technological advance including the discovery of space. It shall encourage solidarity between generations and between States, and equal opportunities for all. 3. The Union shall constitute an area of freedom, security and justice, in which its shared values are developed and the richness of its cultural diversity is respected. 4. In defending Europe's independence and interests, the Union shall seek to advance its values in the wider world. It shall contribute to the sustainable development of the earth, solidarity and mutual respect among peoples, eradication of poverty and protection of children's rights, strict observance of internationally accepted legal commitments, and peace between States. 5. These objectives shall be pursued by appropriate means, depending on the extent to which the relevant competences are attributed to the Union by this Constitution. Explanatory note 1. All three aspects of sustainable development, the economic, the social and the ecological, need to be expressed in this central statement of the Union s objectives. 2. The wording used is taken directly from the existing Treaty (art. 2, EC Treaty). 3. The wording used on the rights of future generations is taken from the Brundtland Report, the most commonly used definition of sustainable development. The current draft of article 3 omits these key elements on environmental protection. If the Constitutional Treaty does not include these elements, it will be weaker than the existing EC Treaty. Amendment Article 8: Fundamental principles 1. The limits and use of Union competences are governed by the principles of conferral, subsidiarity, proportionality, policy coherence and loyal cooperation. 2. In accordance with the principle of conferral, the Union shall act within the limits of the competences conferred upon it by the Constitution to attain the objectives the Constitution sets out. Competences not conferred upon the Union by the Constitution remain with the Member States. 3. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, in areas which do not fall within its exclusive competence, the Union shall act only if and insofar as the objectives of the intended action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but can rather, by reason of the scale or effects of the proposed action, be better achieved at Union level. 4. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, the scope and form of Union action shall not exceed what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the Constitution. 5. In accordance with the principle of policy coherence, environmental protection requirements must be integrated into the definition and implementation of the Union policies and activities referred to in Part 3, in particular with a view to promoting sustainable development. 6. In accordance with the principle of policy coherence, the Union shall ensure the consistency of its external activities as a whole. In particular, the policies and actions of the Union referred to in Part 3 and which are likely to affect developing countries should take account the objectives referred to in article In accordance with the principle of loyal cooperation, the Union and the Member States shall, in full mutual respect, assist each other to carry out tasks which flow from the Constitution. Explanatory note 1. The integration principle is part of the existing Treaty (article 6, EC Treaty). 2. The integration principle is currently found in the same part of the EC Treaty as the principles of subsidiarity (art. 5), proportionality (art. 5) and loyal cooperation (art. 10). 3. These fundamental principles are all found in a prominent place at the front of the Treaty. 4. The integration principle and the subsidiarity principle were both first found in the environment title of the Treaty. Both have been moved forward to a prominent place in the Treaty, subsidiarity by the Treaty of Maastricht, integration by the Treaty of Amsterdam. 5. The integration principle is an essential support to the Union s objective of sustainable development. 6. To treat the integration principle differently from other established fundamental principles and to give it a less prominent place in the Constitution than it now has in the Treaty would be a giant step backward. 7. The resolution of the environmental questions in the developing countries is inextricably linked with the fight against poverty. The consideration of this link in the whole of the policies and actions of the Union and as they affect developing countries, should be taken into account in the principles of the future treaty of the Union. The principle of consistency is mentioned on Article 3 of the EU Treaty and in article 178 of the EC Treaty.

4 PRESS RELEASE EU CONSTITUTION WOULD LOSE PUBLIC SUPPORT IF IT FORGETS THE ENVIRONMENT Brussels, February 27, 2003 Eight leading environmental organisations (1) have expressed their strong disappointment about the proposal of the Convention Praesidium for the first 16 articles of a new Constitution. "We were shocked to see a definition of sustainable development which is only based on social and economic considerations, and doesn't even mention the environment," the 'Green-8' said. "We hope that this was an unintentional mistake which will be corrected immediately." Moreover, while the existing EC Treaty in Article 2 aims for "a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment," this objective has now been lost in the proposed Constitution. Equally worrying is that Art. 6 of the existing EC Treaty, which obliges the EU to integrate environmental protection requirements into all its policies, has also completely disappeared in the Praesidium draft. This integration principle was a fundamental achievement, consolidated in the Maastricht and Amsterdam treaties, ensuring the coherence of all EU policies with the overall aim of sustainable development. In the view of the Green 8, its deletion would represent an attempt to go 20 years backwards. If the environment is taken into consideration from the very beginning in all policy areas, this will also lead to improved efficiency, innovation and competitiveness, benefiting Europe's economy. It is also critical, added the Green-8, that the new Constitution ensures that the policies and actions of the Union are coherent with the Union s objectives of poverty eradication and promotion of sustainable development, in particular as they affect developing countries. "For a majority of EU citizens, the EU's political initiatives in the field of environment are one of the best reasons to support European integration. A European Constitution that ignores the importance of environmental protection will not find public support, and we believe it would not deserve it," warned the 8 organisations. The Green-8 have suggested Amendments to the draft Constitution to address the above mentioned concerns (2). The proposed amendments have already won the support of several Convention members, including Germany's foreign minister Joschka Fischer. For further information, contact: Lorenzo Consoli, Greenpeace, +32 (0) ; Martin Rocholl, FoEE, ; Ioli Christopoulou, WWF, ; Clairie Papazoglou, BirdLife, Note for the editor: (1) The member organisations of the Green-8 are: BirdLife International, Climate Action Network Europe, European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Friends of Nature International, European Federation for Transport and Environment (T & E), Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE), Greenpeace and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). (2) The proposed amendments can be found at:

5 MISSING From Article 8 of the Draft Constitutional Treaty Provisions on Policy Coherence Current Article 6 of the EC Treaty Environmental protection requirements must be integrated into the definition and implementation of the Community policies and activities referred to in Article 3, in particular with a view to promoting sustainable development. Current Article 3 of the EU Treaty (...) The Union shall in particular ensure the consistency of its external activities as a whole in the context of its external relations, security, economic and development policies. (...) MILLIONS of Europeans represented by our organisations would appreciate it if the European Convention finds the missing articles and intergrates them into Article 8 of the new European Constitution. See proposed amendments overleaf. For further information please contact: Ioli Christopoulou IChristopoulou@wwfepo.org Tel direct : (+32) (02)

6 To: All Members of the European Convention Brussels, 29 May 2003 Concerning: Objective of Sustainable Development (Article I-3) Dear Convention Member, Article I-3 While giving the environment a welcome place in the new Constitution, the Praesidium has failed to include protection and improvement of the quality of the environment in the definition of sustainable development. As a result, the definition of sustainable development remains heavily imbalanced. We urge you to rectify this situation by proposing a simple shift of wording in new article I-3. The first sentence of the article would read: Article I-3.3: The Union shall work for a Europe of sustainable development based on balanced economic growth, [[add: a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment, and]] a social market economy aiming at full employment and social progress. This formulation has three main advantages: (1) the ecological dimension is put on equal footing with the economic and social components of sustainable development; (2) it makes article 3.3 shorter and more readable; (3) it eliminates the phrase It shall aim at which weakens the existing Treaty language on sustainable development (article 2 of the EC Treaty) which used the verb promote. Furthermore, Article I-3.4 refers to sustainable development of the earth in the context of the Union s external relations. For this reference to be meaningful, it needs to be clear that sustainable development includes the ecological pillar. Moreover, the Praesidium responded to our calls to improve Article III-188.2(d) which defines the objectives of the external action of the Union, and includes sustainable development defined on the basis of its tri-pillar structure. In order to ensure internal consistency in the Constitution it is important to revise Article I-3. Yours sincerely, John Hontelez, Secretary General EEB Also for: BirdLife International European Community Office, Climate Action Network Europe, European Environmental Bureau, European Federation for Transport and Environment, Friends of the Earth Europe, Friends of Nature International, Greenpeace European Unit, WWF European Policy Office.