PROMOTION OF SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT
(20776)
13558/99
COM(99) 557
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Draft Council Decision on a Community framework for co-operation to promote sustainable urban development.
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| Legal base:
| Article 175(1) EC; co-decision; qualified majority voting
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| Document originated:
| 22 November 1999 |
| Forwarded to the Council:
| 23 November 1999 |
| Deposited in Parliament:
| 14 December 1999 |
| Department: |
Environment, Transport and the Regions
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| Basis of consideration:
| EM of 30 December 1999
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| Previous Committee Report:
| None; but see (19522) 12619/98:
HC 34-iv (1998-99), paragraph 10 (16 December 1998)
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| To be discussed in Council:
| During the current Portuguese Presidency
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| Committee's assessment:
| Legally important |
| Committee's decision:
| Cleared |
Background
6.1 In October 1998, the Commission put
forward a Communication "Sustainable urban development
in the European Union", which we cleared at our meeting
on 16 December 1998 as not of legal or political importance. According
to the Communication, there were a number of "clear shortcomings"
in the implementation of environmental legislation at the local
level, and the aim of the present proposal is to address those
shortcomings by encouraging local authorities to initiate, implement
and exchange good practices with regard to sustainable urban development.
Those seeking to do so would be eligible for co-funding of up
to 95% from the Community budget, for which the Commission says
12.4 million euro (£7.8 million) would be available for the
period 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2004.
The Government's view
6.2 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 30
December 1999, the Minister for the Environment (Mr Meacher) says
that the Government generally welcomes co-operation to promote
sustainable development and exchange good practice, and that the
document says "broadly the right things" about participation
at local level. Likewise, he considers that the list of eligible
activity is uncontroversial.
Conclusion
6.3 The underlying aim of this Communication
seems unexceptionable, and the sums it is proposed to make available
are relatively modest. We do not therefore have any problem with
it in purely policy terms. However, we do have concerns over the
proposed legal base, similar to those we raised in 1997 and 1998
on an earlier proposal dealing with the assessment of the effects
of certain plans and programmes on the environment[31].
In particular, we note that on this occasion the Commission has
chosen Article 175 (1), which is governed by qualified majority
voting, whereas it seems to us that this is another instance where
Article 175 (2) — which covers "measures concerning
town and country planning", and which requires unanimity
— would have been more appropriate. Since we would be concerned
to see any creeping extension of Community competence in this
area, we would welcome the Government's view on the correct legal
base, but we do not consider that the proposal is sufficiently
problematic to merit withholding our clearance of it.
31 (18045) 7093/97; see HC 155-ii (1997-98), paragraph
12 (22 July 1997), HC 155-xii (1997-98), paragraph 2 (14 January
1998), and HC 155-xxxiii (1997-98), paragraph 4 (8 July 1998). Back
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