As the Rio+20 Summit is held on 20-22 June, environment and climate change policies are on the top of the agenda. But it is not the only priority issue of the EU for this year. Preparation of the next EU Environmental Action Programme and its financial instrument (LIFE+), review of the REACH directive, and initiatives with regards to biodiversity, air and water quality will also be discussed.

This briefing paper discusses all these initiatives and offers an evaluation from a Green perspective, as well as highlights specific concerns for some Member States in the field of environment policy. It also recalls missing crucial pieces of EU legislation, such as ones related to hydraulic fracturing of shale gas and to offshore drilling.

Similar papers on Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Energy, Fisheries Policy, Climate Change and Transport have already been published. GEF will publish in the upcoming weeks the last report of this series on the reform of the EU budget.