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Introduction & Socio-economic Context
5
Environmental Policy
Context
A broad range of European Union
directives and regulations are in place
that provide a framework for the
management of the environment.
These legally binding instruments
and their implications for Ireland
are outlined in more detail in each
of the thematic assessments in the
following chapters.
One of the key findings in the EEA’s
state of the environment report
(EEA, 2010) was that existing EU
environmental policy is effective in
tackling the major environmental
issues, but more needs to be done
to implement policy fully across
all Member States. Furthermore, it
found that EU policy must be more
adaptable and flexible to tackle
today’s more complex, systemic
challenges in a global context.
The Sixth Environmental Action
Programme (EAP), adopted by the
European Parliament and Council
in 2002, sets out the framework
for environmental policy making in
the European Union for the period
2002–2012 and outlines the actions
that need to be taken to achieve
them. It identifies four priority areas:
n
climate change
n
nature and biodiversity
n
environment and health
n
natural resources and waste.
The final assessment of the Sixth
EAP was conducted by the European
Commission and was adopted in
August 2011. It found that the
vast majority of actions set out in
the Programme were, or are, in
the process of being completed.
However, it also found that progress
was still required in implementing
agreed EU objectives and rules and in
improving biodiversity protection, soil
and water quality. The assessment
also showed that environmental
policy would continue to benefit
from a coherent overarching policy
framework.
The European Commission is
planning to publish a Seventh EAP
in 2012, which will address a number
of issues, including:
n
the rapidly changing external
conditions and the increasingly
interlinked nature of
environmental, economic and
social challenges
n
increased growth in the demand
for natural resources and
the impacts this has on the
environment
n
the enlargement of the EU and
the increased diversity of national
characteristics and circumstances
n
pressure on ecosystems,
biodiversity loss, waste generation
and air quality in urban areas
n
the uneven implementation of
environmental law across Europe.
In March 2012, the European
Commission published a consultation
document on the proposed
environmental policy priorities to 2020,
which need to be included in the
Seventh EAP, and on the most
effective tools for the EU to employ
in addressing the main environmental
challenges facing Europe (EC, 2012).
A proposed blueprint to safeguard
Europe’s water, also due in 2012,
will be based on an EU assessment
of the river basin management plans
in each Member State and will focus
on water scarcity, drought and the
effects of climate change. It will also
focus on how to better integrate
water into other policy areas such
as the Common Agricultural Policy
and will cover the time period up
to 2050.