Urban development, ecology and environmental technology were the main
subjects for debate, proposed by Josef Pröll, the Austrian Minister for the
Environment, during the informal meeting of Environment Ministers which
he hosted in Eisenstadt on 20 May. EIS reports that the meeting was
attended by ministers for the environment from all member states and the
candidate countries (Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Croatia) and
Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas. Based on the principle of the
exchange of information on best practice and innovative technology
projects as a means of highlighting the contribution that eco-technologies
can make to sustainable urban development, the primary outcome of the
debate was to provide the Commission and the Council with an opportunity
to confirm their commitment to the EU's Environmental Technology Action
Plan (ETAP) and to emphasise the potential of these technologies in
terms of job creation and economic growth.
The debate was part of a wider discussion on a future strategy for urban
development. Ministers singled out certain urgent ecological problems:
reducing and keeping a check on air pollution, noise reduction, urban
congestion, energy efficiency of buildings. Commissioner Dimas also
pointed out the importance of 'green' markets as instruments for
promoting and developing the market for these technologies. But the
Ministers were adamant that a Community strategy with guidelines and
recommendations was more than enough and that matters relating to
urban development should remain under national, even local authority. In
other words, no EU intervention, let alone legislation would be welcome.
Taken from Resource Recovery Forum News http://www.resourcesnotwaste.org/
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