Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Firstly I would like to congratulate our colleague Aneli Hulthen for the immense work she has put into this report.

Action to tackle ozone layer degradation is considered to be one of the very few success stories of international environmental legislation. Indeed, since the "discovery" by legislators of the ozone layer "hole" over Antarctica in the 1980s and the subsequent adoption of the Vienna Convention in 1985 and the Montreal Protocol in 1987 which scheduled the phase out of CFCs and halons, this issue has remained high on the international political agenda.

Since the mid 1990s, ozone depletion seems to have slowed down - mainly due to efforts to reduce emissions of ozone depleting substances. The Copenhagen amendments adopted in 1992 added limitats to the production of HCFC's and further amendments included other ozone depleting substances.

But let us not be complacent, we are a long way from achieving our goals on this issue. According to the European Environment Agency, in the Summer of 1998, the ozone over Antarctica reached a record low level over an area which was the equivalent to the size of Europe, and the same thing is happening in the Northern hemisphere.

As far south as Strasbourg, UV radiation increased by 13% between 1980 and 1997, and we all know the impact an increase in UV radiation has on skin cancer rates.

Most developing countries are not part of the Protocol and they continue to produce and emit ozone depleting substances despite assistance programmes. This is a very worrying trend.

Ambitious targets must be set, and must be met, in order to speed up the phasing out of the production and use of Ozone depleting substances. The existance of ozone friendly alternatives means thst this goal is achievable.

The Commission's original proposal goes in the right direction in tightening up HCFC and methyl bromide production and phase out. However, we believe that the Council weakened the text, especially in the definition of "critical use" which opens up numerous loopholes.

After very productive work by the committee, we believe that the amendments proposed would improve the Common Position and contribute significantly to the challenge of halting ozone depletion.

This challenge is not out of reach : All environmental organisations, from the United Nations Environmental Programme to the European Environment Agency and environmental NGOs, believe that this battle can and must be won. If the Montreal Protocol and its amendments were fully respected and implemented everywhere, the ozone layer could recover before the end of the next century.

The outcome of the meeting in Beijing 2 weeks ago could be seen as a positive sign particularly with regard to the trade in ozone depleting substances, but the priority now must be to quickly phase out these substances everywhere.

I would finally like to call on all my colleagues, especially those from the EPP, to take their responsibility and support the amendments adopted in committee to improve this Common Position. International co-operation against ozone depletion is a test case on whether we can really tackle global challenges and do away with short sighted national egotism. Colleagues, let's make this a success story !