Summary: February 20, 2002: EU Presidency statement: Europe considers the agreements reached at the Third Global Ministerial Environment Forum to represent firm progress
Over 120 countries have met in Cartagena de Indias to reinforce and lend new impetus to the system of international environmental governance and to work on their contribution to the World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in August in Johannesburg.
The European Union believes the agreement which has been reached will serve to enhance International Environmental Governance, helping to integrate it into the process of sustainable development, and intends to continue working firmly in this direction in the future, targeting more ambitious objectives.
Efforts were made at the meeting to give the Global Ministerial Environment Forum a leading position in relation to other international instruments dealing with the environment at world level, such as the many conferences of the Parties to the multilateral Conventions.
In this way, the Forum would draw up policy guidelines and advise the various countries, allowing a better response to be formulated to successive challenges and threats to the environment at world level.
The meeting also looked at the question of the funding of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). A system of contributions was approved, though the reinforced system advocated by the EU is to be looked at again within the next two years.
During the long negotiation process, the EU has demonstrated flexibility and a constructive approach. The results can be considered a first step leading to the gradual improvement of the system.
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