On May 15, the European Commission released its evaluation of the 7th Environmental Action Programme (EAP), which entered into force in 2014 and runs until 2020. This programme is crucial for the health and wellbeing of all Europeans especially those living with allergy, asthma and COPD, given that it marks the priorities and tempo to improve the quality of the air we breathe and the food we eat.
Nine priority objectives for environmental action: air quality
The EAP consists of a strategic framework towards a more sustainable and environment-friendly EU, through nine priority objectives for environmental action. These include making the EU a resource-economy, limiting the environmental risks to health and wellbeing, better implementation of laws, and making the European Union’s cities more sustainable.
While noting some progress points, especially when it comes to the likely achievement of the targets for greenhouse gas and renewable energy for 2020, the evaluation points out at areas where EU action has not been sufficient.
First and foremost, the evaluation report stresses the failure of Member States to commit to legally binding air quality standards, as ambient air pollution continues to be a major environmental threat to human health.
Although we welcome that the report highlights the mismatch between air quality law and implementation at national level, we regret that it just stops at outdoor air quality. Unfortunately, the European Commission has not delivered on the issue of indoor air quality, which is part of the 7th EAP, a point highlighted by EFA in our response to the public consultation held by the European Commission and leading to this evaluation report.