• Return to Previous Menu

When talking about the environment, the question of sustainable development cannot be ignored. At EU level, the European Summit held in Gothenburg in June 2001 completed the Lisbon Strategy by adding an environmental dimension to it. This “third pillar” of the Lisbon process, the others being economic and social reform, places a new emphasis on the protection of the environment and the achievement of a more sustainable pattern of development. The aim is to “decouple environmental degradation and resource consumption from economic and social development by 2010”.

The main priorities of this strategy are:

• Combating climate change
• Ensuring sustainable transport options
• Addressing threats to public health, and
• Managing natural resources in a more responsible manner.

According to the mid-term review of the Gothenburg Strategy carried out in 2005, the EU will now pursue a “stronger focus”, a “clearer division of responsibilities, wider ownership, broader support, a stronger integration of the international dimension and more effective implementation and monitoring” of the environmental policy in general, and the Gothenburg goals in particular.

The Gothenburg Strategy

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/summits/pdf/got1_en.pdf