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EUROPEAN REVIEW

ISSUE 17 - Page 7

UK beaches improve, cities still pollute

OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS there has been good news and bad news on the water pollution front. In November the annual EU bathing water statistics were issued. They showed that British beaches had again improved their cleanliness in 2001. Ninety-eight per cent of them now meet minimum European standards compared with 91% in 1999. The biggest improvement has come in the North-West where the Blackpool coast qualifies for the first time and this has encouraged the European Commission to drop a pending court case against the UK.

'Better quality levels have been achieved through hard work and heavy investment by the water industry in improving sewage systems. This has been aided by the Urban Waste water Treatment Directive, and work by the Environment Agency to identify and tackle problem areas' said Chief Executive Barbara Young. However the directive has not been complied with in another crucial area: sewage treatment in towns and cities. Passed in 1991, the directive stipulates different deadlines for primary sewage treatment and secondary treatment in cities with more and less than 10,000 inhabitants. Sensitive areas should also be identified which require higher levels of treatment.

Better news on beaches but what's going into the rivers ?

At a 'naming and shaming' session in March, EU Commissioner Margot Wallström released figures which showed UK urban areas to be the worst offenders against the directive. These included major northern cities without any waste treatment, such as Sunderland and Middlesbrough as well as south coast resorts like Brighton and Hastings. However Barrie Clarke, of Water UK, which represents the water industry said: 'The commission seems to be plain out of date. Water companies have an excellent record in implementing the directive, with huge targeted capital spending'.

Despite this there is still a court case outstanding against the UK because of the failure to identify sensitive areas under the directive. According to Ms. Wallström 'The environment of the EU would look different if legislation was enforced in Member States. Waste water treatment...makes the difference between good and bad bathing water and thereby directly affects people's health'.

Czech-Austria nuclear plant agreement pleases EU

THE ROW OVER THE CONTROVERSIAL nuclear plant at Temelin, on the borders of Austria and the Czech Republic, seems to have been settled, at least for the moment. The facility was planned during communist times but, after long consideration, the post-1989 Czech government decided to go ahead with it in the face of fierce opposition from Austria. Austria, whose border is only 60 kilometres from the plant feared that its crumbling Soviet technology would endanger its nuclear-free status. The situation was not helped last year when the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) entered the Austrian government and demanded a veto on the Czechs joining the EU if Temelin was not shut down.

Despite several leaks, the latest of which, in May, was dismissed: 'the water was slightly radioactive. The levels of radiation did not reach even the lowest classification of a radiation event', by a spokesman, an agreement was reached between Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and his Czech counterpart Milos Zeman. Twenty-one measures including the installation of US-built safety		equipment will form a 'protocol' which will be attached to the accession treaty when the Czech Republic joins the EU. The EU subsequently 'signed off' the energy chapter of the treaty although Austria reserved the right to come back to it if the terms of the agreement were not fulfilled. Enlargement Commissioner Verheugen said the pact was 'an example of how neighbouring countries should deal with their disputes'.
	Green party activists are strongly against the plant

Not all interested parties were as pleased however. The FPÖ rejected the deal, Susanne Riess- Passer, Austria's vice-chancellor, complaining that 'the agreement is in our view not complete' and was not 'enough'. Green party spokespersons also described the measures as inadequate and were preparing for elections in Austria on the basis that the coalition between the FPÖ and Schüssel's People's Party would collapse over the issue.

New publications from TUTB

There are two new publications from the Trade Union Technical Bureau which is the health and safety research body linked to the European Trade Union Confederation. Towards a European trade union perspective on sustainable development explores the ways in which trade unions have incorporated environmental concerns into their demands over the last ten years. A New Impetus for Community Occupational Health Policy stresses the importance of occupational health with the intensification of work and deterioration in the conditions of some workers.

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