10/01/07
Europe will nurture the seeds of membership with Bulgaria and Romania on water and environment matters following their entrance into the EU. There will be new legislation aimed at refining the European approach to protection of water resources.
The other daughter directive of the Water Framework Directive (alongside the Groundwater Directive, adopted by the European Parliament last month), the so-called Priority Substances Directive, has great potential for aligning environmental protection with economic impacts and affordability, but will continue to stimulate lively debate.
The challenge for 2007 will be to ensure that debate on all the directives put forward – Pesticides, Regulation on Plant Protection, Soil, Priority Substances, Marine Strategy – remains focused on integration of the benefits that existing directives have already achieved or will produce. Duplication or 'gold-plating' at this stage would be further blows to the EU's ailing credibility with citizens.
Contact: Gaetane Suzenet
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