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50 years of protecting Europe's environment

Today the European Union has the most environmentally friendly arsenal of rules in the world and has done more to tackle pressing ecological problems, such as climate change, than any other major power. But it has not always been like this. Caring for the environment did not feature in the Treaty of Rome, the document that gave birth to the modern day EU. Yet environmental problems were never far away. Europe’s love affair with the car was moving into top gear, industry was busy belching out pollutants and raw sewage was being pumped into our rivers and seas.

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Time:: 11:10
Media Type:: Video
Author:: DG Environment
Published:: 27 Feb 2008

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Filed under: first environmental policies, electronic waste, Rhine, emission trading scheme, climate change, recycling, acid rain, Stavros Dimas, natura2000, sea, natural parc, air quality, begining of environmental policy, hazardous waste, nature, REACH, river basin management, bathing water, smog, waste, Kyoto protocol, 2010 biodiversity target, waste management, asbestos, biodiversity loss, fine dust, global warming, coast, ultrafine particle, biodiversity, rubbish, freshwater pollution, green economy, recycled material, chemicals, low-carbon economy, fossil fuel, raw materials, river, EU ETS

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