Document B5R7MXoON10be7oo1KwZyNEzj

 Ms Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission Rue de la Loi 200 1049 Brussels Belgium Brussels, 23 December 2021 Dear President von der Leyen, Re: Environmental Priorities under France's Presidency of the European Union and the Presidency Trio of France, the Czech Republic and Sweden It gives me great pleasure to send you a copy of the European Environmental Bureau's Memorandum to the incoming French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, setting out our hopes and aspirations with respect to the environment-related outcomes of the Council during the next six months. The Memorandum addresses not only topics dealt with under the auspices of the Environment Council but also those dealt with by other Council configurations where these concern matters relating to or affecting the environment. We are also pleased to share with you a second Memorandum for the Presidency Trio of France, the Czech Republic and Sweden, which puts forward our environmental priorities over a slightly longer timeframe in the form of the EEB's `Dozen Demands'. The upcoming French Presidency comes at a crucial moment for the climate, biodiversity and pollution crises as the Council will face key legislative files as part of the Fit for 55 Package, the upcoming Nature Restoration Law and the Zero Pollution Action Plan, to name but a few. The Presidency thus provides a major opportunity for France, its Trio partners the Czech Republic and Sweden, and all Member States to live up to their commitment to the EU, to preventing climate change and to reversing biodiversity loss by ensuring that all files strongly contribute to a healthy, resilient and just Europe, where all generations can thrive, today and tomorrow. 2021, with its floods, fires and the ongoing pandemic, has shown once more the urgency to fundamentally re-think our relationship with nature, the economy and the climate. Instead of continuing business as usual, 2022 can be the year where we listen to the science, take international law commitments seriously and provide all of society with hope for a better future. The Memoranda have been prepared on behalf of a large constituency: the EEB has over 170 member organizations, spread across more than 35 European countries, themselves having a combined individual membership of some 30 million environmentally concerned citizens. We hope that in the coming months these documents will serve as useful points of reference not only for the French Presidency but more widely throughout the Member States and within the EU institutions. We would of course welcome any reflections that you may have regarding the issues addressed in the Memorandum. Yours sincerely, Cc: College of Commissioners European Environmental Bureau Brussels, Belgium eeb@eeb.org www.eeb.org International non-profit association Association internationale sans but lucratif (AISBL) EC register for interest representatives: ID number: 06798511314-27 BCE ID number: 0415.814.848 RPM Tribunal de l'entreprise francophone de Bruxelles