On the 25th June in Luxemburg, environment ministers gave political directions on water intended for human consumption and adopted Council Conclusion on the Circular Economy Action Plan. In light of transport sector decarbonisation the Council hold a policy debate on the proposal for setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars and for new light commercial vehicles.
Ministers discussed in the framework of an orientation debate the proposal on recast of the directive of water intended for human consumption. The policy debate focused on two specific issues, namely products in contact with drinking water and provisions aiming at enhancing access to water. On access to water, Institutions recognised that providing access to water for all is essential and committed themselves to the implementation of the relevant Sustainable Development Goal. On the provisions for regulating products in contact with drinking water, similarly to Hungary, most of the Member States expressed that the aim is to provide legislation for products throughout the drinking water supply chain in order to secure the quality of drinking water until the consumer tap.
Following the debate, the delegations adopted the Council Conclusions on delivering on the EU Action Plan for Circular Economy, which represents a collaborative commitment for sustainable development.
Between the AOB points, the Commission provided information on the current legislative proposals, such as regulation on LIFE,-water reuse, environmental reporting obligation, and directive on single use plastics.
The Council hold a policy debate on the Regulation on CO2 standards for cars and vans where the discussion focused on the ambition concerning the 2025 and 2030 emissions reduction targets for cars and vans and the incentives for zero-and low-emission vehicles. Many Member States argued for raising the level of ambition. Hungary emphasized that the automotive industry is a very powerful leading sector in the European Union's economy; it is the engine of economic growth. The automotive industry plays a very important role in the Hungarian economy as well. It is important that we promote and strengthen the competitiveness of the sector in global competition through EU regulation. Hungary believes that achievable, realistic and feasible target is needed. Only a realistic emission reduction target, combined with an appropriate incentive system, will ensure that the competitiveness of the European automotive industry will be maintained.
Commission also presented the initiative on pollinators, and the French delegation supported by Luxembourg drew the Council’s attention to their aims to achieve ambitious results on the COP15 of the Convention on Biodiversity.
The Swedish delegation gave information about their view for the Strategies Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) beyond 2020. They called for Member States to join to a high level global alliance aiming at achieving effective legal regulation and implementation.
The incoming Austrian presidency gave a brief introduction of their planned work programme.
Under the climate-related AOB points, ministers were informed about the new legislative proposal on setting CO2 standards for heavy-duty vehicles, and the recent international climate meetings.
Coordination took place before the Council meeting for V4 countries and Romania, where ministers discussed their positions on the proposal for water intended for human consumption. Slovakia, as the incoming V4 Presidency country gave information on their presidency programme. Water management will be one of the main topics in the field of environment for the next year.
