The EU and you – environmental protection Presentation by Claire Bradley – Europe Direct Eastleigh

Why vote? The EU referendum will be the biggest decision any of us will need to make for a generation. The outcome of the decision will be profound, particularly if people vote to leave. Everyone’s vote counts, and every vote is important because the effects will be felt by everybody.

The EU doesn’t affect me…. Oh yes it does! EU law is behind -Your employment rights (rights to a written contract/protection from discrimination at work/maternity rights/equal pay/paternity rights/holidays/breaks at work/hours you work -Consumer rights – product safety/protection from unfair commercial practices/protection from misleading/unfair/misleading commercial practices/protection whilst buying stuff online/consumer credit agreements/toy safety

The EU doesn’t affect me… Environmental protection – safe food and drinking water/ traceable food/ protection of wildlife and beautiful habitats/protection of birds/ air quality/water quality/bathing water quality Travelling across Europe/EHIC/visitors from other EU countries to Hampshire -Jobs and trade -Justice rights

So From the quality of the air you breathe, to the water you drink, the range of foods you eat, the safety of the toys your kids play with, the rights you have at work, and your consumer rights and environmental protection, the EU affects your life!

So how does the EU help protect the environment? The EU helps protect the environment in lots of ways - Very active in helping to create international agreements to combat climate change (which benefits everybody). - Sets environmental standards that apply across the EU. This is important as environmental problems or disasters don’t respect borders.

Cross boundary issues Require cross boundary solutions. Difficult to do in isolation, as cooperation with other countries is usually necessary.

So how does the EU help the environment? The EU protects the environment in the following ways - The EU has strict laws regarding air quality, as poor air quality results in health problems such as asthma, bronchitis, etc - The UK was recently taken to task for the poor air quality in London.

Chemicals Chemicals are a fact of life, and are present in a number of products. However, EU law limits the presence of certain chemicals in certain products, such as food, and also imposes limits on other products. There are also laws on the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals. (REACH) to ensure the environment and human health are protected.

The circular economy The EU is looking very hard at developing a circular economy. economy/index_en.htm

Environmental assessments That take place as part of the planning process are there thanks to EU law. Environmental assessments have as their objective to ensure that buildings are not placed in fragile ecosystems, and environmental considerations are taken into account.

Green public procurement and green public buildings When councils buy products they need to also consider the sustainability of the products they are buying. Publically owned buildings are also supposed to use green energy as far as possible such as solar power.

Industry There is now a strong link between industrial policy, free movement of goods, climate change and environmental policy.

Marine Framework Strategy Directive Aims to protect our seas and oceans by ensuring they meet the standard of “Good environmental status”. Also provides for Marine protected areas

Nature and biodiversity is protected under EU law Two key pieces of legislation are the Habitats Directive Birds Directive EU also protects against illegal trade in wildlife Protects biodiversity through law on genetically modified organisms

The EU also protects the habitats and biodiversity through the creation of nature reserves The Natura 2000 network is the largest collection of nature reserves in the world

Noise pollution Bad for humans and bad for the environment. Environmental Noise directive has three action areas: the determination of exposure to environmental noise ensuring that information on environmental noise and its effects is made available to the public preventing and reducing environmental noise where necessary and preserving environmental noise quality where it is good m

Sustainable development Has been a key and cross cutting environmental objective for a long time Key aim is to ensure that resources are managed in a sustainable way, so that future generations will be able to benefit from the same resources. Linked to free movement of goods rules.

The main EU policies on waste are To reduce the amount of waste generated; To maximise recycling and re-use; To limit incineration to non-recyclable materials; To phase out landfilling to non-recyclable and non-recoverable waste; To ensure full implementation of the waste policy targets in all Member States.

Water – essential to life The EU deals with - Drinking water standards -Bathing water standards -River basin management -Climate change adaptation -Flood risk management -You can find out more at

In the event of Brexit A substantial percentage of these rights and protections would stop applying. This is because EU law applies in the UK in two ways Directives are passed as law at EU level and then the UK Parliament passes an Act of Parliament implementing the EU law. Regulations apply once they are passed at EU level.

This causes a major problem if Britain pulls out altogether As there are many more regulations than directives. Once we pulled out, none of the Regulations would apply any more, unless we introduced them back into the UK legal system.

Any questions?