Welcomes, in particular, the HLWG’s recommendation that the EU and the US address the environment and labour aspects of trade and sustainable development; considers that the experience of previous EU trade agreements and the long-lasting EU-US commitments should be taken into account in order to strengthen the development and enforcement of labour and environmental laws and policies and promote the core standards and benchmarks laid down by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), as well as decent jobs and sustainable developmen ...[+++]t; encourages the harmonisation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) standards; recognises that achieving common standards is likely to present both technical and political challenges, and emphasises that the common goal should be to ensure that there is no diminution of environmental ambitions;

(Return tabled) Question No. 845 Ms. Kirsty Duncan: With regard to children’s health and the environment: (a) what action has the government undertaken to integrate children’s environmental health into existing public health programs; (b) what specific action is the government undertaking to advocate for the consideration and assessment of hazardous environmental influences on children’s health and development, (i) in Canada, (ii) internationally; (c) what specific action is the government undertaking to raise the political profile of children’s environmental health, (i) locally, (ii) regionally, (iii) nationally; (d) in relation to i ...[+++]ts contaminated sites, (i) what specific action is the government undertaking to raise awareness about children’s environmental health, (ii) what are all contaminated sites where action has been taken to raise awareness, (iii) what was the risk; (iv) what was the action taken; (e) what are all government activities focused on children’s environmental health; (f) what are all existing government activities focused on prevention of environmental exposures aimed at protecting children's health; (g) what governmental action has been undertaken to prevent (i) pre-conception, prenatal, and childhood exposures, (ii) air, consumer products, food, soil/dust, water, and other physical environmental exposures, (iii) biological, chemical, and physical hazards; (h) how has the government taken children's vulnerabilities into account in developing environmental and health policies, regulations, and standards; (i) what targeted environmental and health policies, regulations, and standards have already been put in place to protect children's health, and what policies, regulations, and standards are currently under consideration; (j) what action is being undertaken by the government to measure the extent to which pregnant women and their babies are exposed to common environmental chemicals, and what health risks, if any, are associated with th ...

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Conseil d’État (Belgium) — Assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment — Protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources — Annulment of a national rule found to be contrary to Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment (OJ 2001 L 197, p. 30) — Possibility of maintaining, for a short period, the effects of that rule

In view of the sufficient experience gathered in the application of the Community guidelines on State aid for environmental protection, investment aid enabling undertakings to go beyond Community standards for environmental protection or increase the level of environmental protection in the absence of Community standards, aid for the acquisition of transport vehicles which go beyond Community standards or which increase the level of environmental protection in the absence of Community standards, aid for early adaptation to future Community standards by SMEs, environmental aid for investment in energy saving, environmental aid for investm ...[+++]ent in high efficiency cogeneration, environmental aid for investments to promote renewable energy sources including investment aid relating to sustainable biofuels, aid for environmental studies and certain aid in the form of reductions in environmental taxes should be exempt from the notification requirement.

The aid amount is based on the extra investment costs necessary to achieve the level of environmental protection compared to e.g. an installation fulfilling the mandatory standard or a method of production which is less environmentally friendly in the absence of standards. If this was not the case, any investment that increases the level of environmental protection would be eligible for environmental aid, even if the investment is not more costly than the alternative.

Thus aid may be permitted which provides incentives to upgrade Community-registered ships to standards which exceed the mandatory safety and environmental standards laid down in international conventions and anticipating agreed higher standards, thereby enhancing safety and environmental controls.