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Position of Ireland's top EU official becoming increasingly untenable—An Taisce printable version

09 Mar 2013: posted by the editor - Environment, European Union, Ireland

The EU's top official—Ireland's Catherine Day, Secretary General of the European Commission—has found herself repeatedly embroiled in controversy over the past months, making her position increasingly untenable, says An Taisce.

Day, sometimes called the most powerful woman in Brussels, intervened twice in 2012 in respect of the regulation of tobacco products, delaying strengthened EU legislation on the subject. This included sending a letter to Paola Testori Coggi, Director General of the Commission's DG for Health and Consumers, which "could easily have been sent by a tobacco industry representative," according to Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, which has obtained a series of internal documents as part of its investigation into the resignation in October 2012 of John Dalli, former EU Commissioner for Health and Consumers. This affair ultimately led to more than 150 questions from MEPs. Appearing before the European Parliament in January, Day sought to justify her interventions on the basis that she did not want the text of the revised Tobacco Products Directive to leak. She has since turned her attention to environmental policy .

In the past weeks, several stories have leaked to the EU press regarding Day's personal interventions in respect of EU environmental policy, an area she knows well having served as head of the Commission's DG Environment from 2002-5. She has reportedly blocked a legislative proposal to cut the use of plastic bags, restricting Environment Commissioner Potočnik's room for manoeuvre to bringing forward a green paper on plastic waste, published on 7 March. She is also said to be behind the delayed publication of a long-expected green paper on the sustainable management of phosphorus, and reportedly wants the Environment Commissioner to postpone proposals on 'green infrastructure', moving beyond GDP as an economic indicator, and environmental inspections. Media reports suggest Commissioner Potočnik is willing to fight for the green paper on phosphorus, at least.

Day is said to believe that the Commission's work should currently be focused on growth and the euro, a spokesperson commenting that the Commission is "often obliged to prioritise between the many proposals made by all of the Directorates-General". As Secretary General, Day has the power to block proposals from any part of the Commission by preventing or delaying them being put to inter-service consultation. Dutch MEP Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy said many in Brussels were unconvinced by the argument that this is not a good time for new environmental measures. Stronger environment policies are "especially needed now, when we are trying to refocus our economy", he said.

On 4 March, it was reported that Day had been behind the European Commission's decision to appeal rulings of the EU's General Court which highlighted deficiencies in the EU's legislation on access to justice. NGOs reacted with fury at the time: "It is pure hypocrisy that on the one hand the Commission proclaims that 2013 will be the European Year of Citizens and at the same time launches appeals against Court rulings that would give those same citizens greater rights to challenge violations of the law," said EEB Secretary General Jeremy Wates. "This comes on the heels of the Commission's equally disgraceful attempts to weaken the transparency requirements pertaining to information held by EU institutions," he added.

"Is this a case of Catherine Day being more spinned against than spinning?" asked An Taisce's spokesperson. "We don't think so; her damaging influence over areas such as health and the environment—issues of central importance to Irish and EU citizens—are of major concern to us, and they are making her position increasingly untenable," An Taisce added.

Notes:

For the tobacco story, see: http://www.maltastar.com/dart/20121203-dalli-tobacco-directive-marginally-changed . For Day's explanation, see: http://www.europolitics.info/institutions/catherine-day-explains-herself-to-meps-art347461-36.html

For the General Court story, see: http://www.eeb.org/index.cfm/news-events/news/ngos-condemn-anti-democratic-move-by-european-commission/

Re the green paper on plastic waste, see: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-201_en.htm?locale=en

Other stories, which are from a subscription service (ENDS Europe), are pasted below.

Green measures blocked by top EU official—sources
1 March 2013
José Manuel Barroso's top official is pressuring environment commissioner Janez Potočnik to delay bringing forward new proposals in a number of areas, ENDShas learned.

The head of the EU civil service, commission secretary general Catherine Day, has blocked a legislative proposal to cut the use of plastic bags.

Mr Potočnik will next week only be able to bring forward a green paper on plastic waste but no specific proposals on plastic bags, which are non-biodegradable and oftenendup in waterways and in the sea.

Ms Day is also behind the delayed publication of a long-promised green paper on the sustainable management of phosphorous.

In addition, she wants the commissioner to postpone proposals on green infrastructure, moving "beyond GDP" as an economic indicator and environmental inspections, a commission official said.

The disagreement centres on Ms Day's belief that the commission's work should currently be focussed on "growth and the euro", he explained.

"The focus is on the economy and jobs. Other things can wait," the official said, adding that the problem is not unique to environmental issues.

The secretary general can effectively block proposals from any branch of the commission by preventing them from being put to inter-service consultation.

MEPs are increasingly concerned about the high number of environmental proposals promised in the commission work programmes for 2011 and 2012 and in the periodic rolling programmes that remain unpublished.

The chair of theEuropeanParliament's environment committee, German MEP Matthias Groote, has written to both Mr Barroso and Mr Potočnik to warn that these "substantial delays" could make it impossible for any of the proposals to be finalised during the current parliamentary term, which expires in June 2014.

Mr Potočnik replied that he was "committed to improving body of legislation, but particularly to ensuring that it is fully and properly implemented".

Speaking at the environment committee earlier this week, he confirmed that the commission was working on proposals on invasive species and endrocine disrupters. Mr Barroso has not yet replied to the letter.

Dutch MEP Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy of the liberal ALDE group said many in Brussels were unconvinced by the arguments coming from top EU officials that this is not a good time for new environmental measures. Stronger environment policies are "especially needed now, when we are trying to refocus our economy", he said.

A spokesman said the commission is "often obliged to prioritise between the many proposals made by all of the directorates-general", adding that "the treatment of some dossiers can therefore sometimes be delayed".

"As with any policy area, there will always be some who regard action as not being fast enough.

However, before they can be adopted by the commission many proposals need to be subject to an impact assessment and inter-service consultation. This can be a complex process and requires time," the spokesman said.

Ms Day, sometimes described as the most powerful woman in Brussels, was appointed to the EU civil service's top job in2005after almost four years at the head of DG Environment, the commission's environment department.

Follow Up:

Letters from ENVI committee chair to environment commissioner and commission president , and response from environment commissioner; spokesman's reply toENDS on behalf of the secretary general

Potočnik to fight for green paper on phosphorus
6 March 2013
EU environment commissioner Janez Potočnik still hopes to publish a green paper on the sustainable management of phosphorus in coming months despite it being blocked by the European Commission's secretary general.

Speaking at the sixthForum for the Future of Agriculturein Brussels on Tuesday, the commissioner said that, although phosphorus supplies were not currently in short supply, the issue was "begging for more attention".

The large swings in prices recently are "a sign that something is wrong", he added. Mr Potočnik is expected to repeat this message at the first European Sustainable Phosphorus Conference (ESPC) in the Belgian city on Thursday.

According to an EU source, the fact that the commissioner is stating his support for the green paper so explicitly in public this week despite the complete lack of certainty over its release shows how willing he is to fight for it.

One possibility if a green paper cannot be secured would be the publication of a Commission Staff Working Document, according to the source. But this would undoubtedly be a major disappointment for both Mr Potočnik and some stakeholders.

The commissioner's short intervention at the ESPC before presenting another long-awaited European Commission green paper on plastic waste will show delegates that they have a strong ally within the European Commission.

"A positive approach on phosphorus would be good for resource efficiency, for the bio-economy, for agriculture, for energy use, for climate change and reduced water pollution," he told the agriculture conference on Tuesday.

The green paper on phosphorus is one of several initiatives from the commission's environment department being blocked by secretary general Catherine Day who is thought to be prioritising the EU executive's agenda for growth and jobs.

Among member states, the Netherlands is also a strong supporter of the green paper. It has a particular interest in phosphorus due to the over-application of manure and fertiliser by intensive farms. This has left high concentrations in its soil. Runoff from this, combined with sewage effluent, contributes to eutrophication .

Follow Up:

Mr Potočnik's speech at Forum for the Future of Agriculture

EC plans new proposal on environmental justice
4 March 2013
TheEuropeanCommission is mounting a new bid to improve access to environmental justice in the EU. An official said its environment unit may table a revision to EU law implementing the Aarhus convention in the fourth quarter of this year.

But before tabling any proposal the EU executive will wait until it receives the results of its appeal to the Court of Justice of theEuropean Union (CJEU) in a related case.

Last June, the EU's general court ruled that the commission had interpreted parts of the Aarhus convention on environmental justice too narrowly, giving NGOs hope that in the future they will be able to challenge EU decisions.

The commission and theEuropeanCouncil both lodged appeals in August. No date for hearing the appeals has been set, a court spokesman said on Monday, adding that the average time for an appeal in 2011 was 15-16 months.

DG Environment, the commission's environment unit, made its appeal at the behest of the EU executive's secretary general,

The commission previously proposed improving access to environmental justice in 2003 as part of a set of measures on Aarhus but member states did not reach agreement on this element of the proposal.

A report for the commission in November recommended that the commission propose a common legal framework that would bring all member states in line with the Aarhus convention and provide legal certainty and a level playing field in the EU.

At present there are "great disparities" across the bloc, found professor Jan Darpö of the Aarhus Convention Access to Justice Task Force.

The report on 17 member states found that the possibilities to challenge in court large-scale projects such as nuclear plants is "weak or non-existent". And in some countries including Germany and the Czech Republic, the courts have been "quite reluctant to widen access to justice on behalf of the environment".

Costs are also a major barrier, with legal proceedings in the UK and Ireland often exceeding €50,000. In most countries, legal aid is not available to green groups.

Provision is made for improved access to justice, particularly at national level, in the commission's proposed seventh environmental action plan (7EAP).

"EU citizens will gain better access to justice in environmental matters and effective legal protection, in line with international treaties and developments brought about by the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and recent case law of theEuropeanCourt of Justice," states the 7EAP plan published last year.

It also suggests setting up "consistent and effective" mechanisms at national level for handling complaints about EU law implementation and "ensuring that national provisions on access to justice reflect the case law of the CJEU".

Follow Up:

Commission page on Aarhus and access to justice studies

Tags: Aarhus Convention, Catherine Day

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EC plans new proposal on environmental justice 4 March 2013 TheEuropeanCommission is mounting a new bid to improve access to environmental justice in the EU. An official said its environment unit may table a revision to EU law implementing the Aarhus convention in the fourth quarter of this year.

EC plans new proposal on environmental justice
4 March 2013
TheEuropeanCommission is mounting a new bid to improve access to environmental justice in the EU. An official said its environment unit may table a revision to EU law implementing the Aarhus convention in the fourth quarter of this year.