The Commission this week postponed a discussion

Date: 23/01/1997

on whether the EU should introduce common rules on environmental liability. The issue will now be debated next Wednesday (29 January), at the earliest. The paper prepared by Environment Commissioner Ritt Bjerregaard puts forward three alternatives for an EU-wide approach to ensuring the protection of industrial sites and the clean-up of contaminated land. Officials claimed the debate was delayed because of a lack of preparatory work at a weekly meeting of advisers. But the plans have been racked with controversy since they began their journey through the various departments within the Commission.