Local authorities play an important role in the accession process, especially when it comes to the environment. The reason is simple. While the laws and regulations need to be made at the national level, most of the implementation of the legislation is done at the local or regional level. In order to encourage local authorities on their path towards compliance with EU environmental legislation - and highlight the importance of active local environmental policy - the European Commission's Directorate-General for Environment in 1999 instituted the City Towards EU Compliance Award. The present competition is the second, and this year the focus is on environment and health.

Participation in the Award Competition is an excellent way for local authorities in Candidate Countries to show their environmental achievements, and to get a clear view of the challenges that lie ahead in their preparations for participation in the EU environmental policy.

The City Towards EU Compliance Award programme is managed by the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC), in Hungary.

The City Towards EU Compliance Award 2000 - Towards a Healthy Environment will focus on environment and health, because health is an underlying principle of environmental policy. The first principle of the Rio Declaration states: "Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature."

European Union environmental policy tries to make this statement a reality. The health aspects of that policy are underlined by the 1997 Amsterdam Treaty, which states that "the activities of the Community should include a contribution to the attainment of a high level of health protection." Health is one of the four objectives for EU environmental policy as outlined in article 174 in the consolidated Treaty establishing the European Community. Accession to the EU and implementation of EU environmental legislation will result in a healthier environment for Europe's citizens.

This year's competition aims to raise awareness and to investigate the extent to which local authorities in Candidate Countries comply with the EU legislation on:

• urban air quality;
• hazardous waste;
• drinking water; and
• Wastewater.

Improvements in these fields represent a major investment in public health. Air pollution causes a number of respiratory problems (such as asthma and bronchitis) when particular exposure levels are exceeded. Water can be polluted in two ways: chemically, leading for example to lead poisoning, or microbiologically, leading to diseases such as gastroenteritis, typhoid and parasitic illnesses. Poorly managed waste - both liquid and solid waste - pollutes our aquatic and soil environments, and because of complexity of our ecosystem this is a serious threat to health.