European Council wants provisions for sustainable development in FP6
As part of the new sustainable development strategy agreed by the European Council in Gothenburg on 15 and 16 June, the European Council asked the Research Council to take due account of energy, transport and the environment in the Sixth Framework programme. Building on the Commission communication on sustainable development, the Sixth Environmental Action Programme and the sector strategies for environmental integration, the European Council singled out a number of objectives and measures as general guidance for future policy development in four priority areas: climate change, transport, public health and natural resources. The Council agreed that the Commission will present a report on using environment technology to promote growth and employment at the spring European Council in 2002. The environment was also on the agenda at the EU-US summit, also in Gothenburg, on 14 June. Leaders from the EU and the USA promised to work together on environmental research, despite disagreements over the Kyoto Protocol. 'We agree on the importance of intensifying cooperation on climate-related science and research. We disagree on the Kyoto Protocol and its ratification, but we are determined to work together in all relevant for a to address climate change and will participate constructively in the resumed COP 6 in Bonn,' asserts the 'Gothenburg Statement'. In addition to the new sustainable development strategy, the Gothenburg Council also added an environmental dimension to the Lisbon process for employment, economic reform and social cohesion.
Countries
Sweden