The 5th Environmental Action Programme and the Cardiff Process constitute fundamental components in European environmental policy that will shape the architecture of European environmental policy in the coming years. Against this background the project "Assessing the 5th Environmental Action Programme and the Cardiff Process" traces the development of these initiatives and evaluates them from an environmental perspective.

In the course of the project two studies are produced to evaluate the Global Assessment [pdf, 134 KB, German] of the 5th Environmental Action Programme (cf. 5th Environmental Action Programme) and to conduct an analysis of the Cardiff Process [pdf, 325 KB, English]. In order to evaluate the Global Assessment a hearing [pdf, 68 KB, German] was held, the outcomes of which were incorporated into the present study. The study concerning the 5th Environmental Action Programme examines and assesses the Global Assessment and sketches some proposals both for the 6th Environmental Action Programme and for the European Sustainability strategy. The study on the Cardiff Process analyses and evaluates the results achieved by the Cardiff Process with a proposed deadline of the end of 2000 and develops different options for its further development. The study was presented at a meeting in Brussels.