The Council of Ministers welcomes the Commission’s strategy on urban environment
During the Council Meeting on October 14th, European Ministers of Environment adopted several conclusions on the strategy proposed by the Commission (see EMTA News n° 16).
The Council supports the four priority themes (management, transport, construction and urban design), stresses the need to address also strategic environmental issues to reduce cities’ impact on environment.
As the strategy should contribute to the reduction of air and noise pollution, Community level has to focus on source-related measures, in particular for transport.
Considering further developments, the Council draws attention on the principle of subsidiarity and the diversity of European urban areas.
During this meeting, the Council also reaffirmed its willingness to continue combating climate change under the Convention and its Kyoto Protocol and discussed several items related to sustainable road transport such as NOx emissions standards, noise standards for tyres and EU strategy to encourage more energy-efficient cars.
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Updated : December 31, 2004
