The European Commission adopted on December 3 its first review of environment policy, the aim of which is to assess the progress and/or problems encountered since 2001 and to highlight current priority issues in the EU and national environmental policies.

EIS reports that the Review emphasises the need to speed up the pace of reforms to improve the state of the environment in Europe and internationally. The key message is the need to achieve a decoupling of economic growth from environmental pressures in line with the objectives set in the 6th Environment Action Programme - the EU's environmental policy agenda until 2012 - and the EU Sustainable Development Strategy.

These efforts should focus on: ensuring efficient implementation of existing environmental legislation; strengthening policy coherence and integration, including through increased use of market-based instruments; ensuring that EU policies are based on sound knowledge and information; continuing to promote sustainable development on a global scale; and making a success of enlargement