Confederation of British Industry Quizzes EU Commission

Members and guests of the CBI's Environmental Affairs Committee met with officials of the EU Commission's Enterprise and Environment DGs on 30 June to discuss a range of environmental concerns. Top of the agenda were the REACH chemicals policy, better regulation and the delayed environmental Thematic Strategies. DG Enterprise were keen to receive CBI members views on the Lisbon strategy and the better regulation agenda, both key elements of the UK's Presidency of the EU. On the Thematic Strategies (of which there will be 7 in total) it would seem that the Waste Strategy is likely to be the first to be released, probably in the autumn. Concerns remain about the ambition levels proposed for the Air Quality Strategy, with debates continuing within the Commission over the summer. On REACH, the Commission is monitoring the progress of the Parliament and Council in preparation to give an opinion prior to Common Position. This will not be available until November at the earliest. The Committee also met with the UK Permanent Representative in Brussels to discuss the UK Presidency of the EU and their main environmental priorities of climate change and REACH. Contact: [email protected]