drawing-up of a programme for systematic maintenance of the intensity of man-made ionising radiation in the environment within permissible levels;

a) "natural and other disasters" are disasters caused by natural forces, industrial activity and other man-made events, excluding war, which endanger life, property and the environment and significantly worsen the living conditions;

Whereas cultural development, the quality of the natural and the man-made environment, the qualitative and cultural dimension of life and the development of tourism contribute to making regions economically and socially more attractive in so far as they encourage the creation of sustainable employment;

In the field of protection against natural disasters, the aim of cooperation is to ensure the protection of people, animals, property and environment against man-made disasters.

platforms and other man-made structures at sea, provided that material capable of creating floating debris or otherwise contributing to pollution of the marine environment has been removed to the maximum extent, without prejudice to the provisions of the Protocol concerning Pollution Resulting from Exploration and Exploitation of the Continental Shelf, the Seabed and its Subsoil.

Whereas special arrangements should be made to ensure that man, animals, plants and the environment are fully safeguarded against the harmful effects arising from the uncontrolled use of sludge;

achieving the objectives of relevant international agreements, including those which aim to prevent and eliminate pollution of the marine environment, by Community action under Article 16(3) to cease or phase out discharges, emissions and losses of priority hazardous substances, with the ultimate aim of achieving concentrations in the marine environment near background values for naturally occurring substances and close to zero for man-made synthetic substances.

Such measures are aimed at the progressive reduction and, for priority hazardous substances, as defined in the second sentence of point 30 of Article 2 of Directive 2000/60/EC, at the cessation or phasing out of discharges, emissions and losses within 20 years after their adoption at Community level, with the ultimate aim, as recognised in the context of achieving the objectives of relevant international agreements, of achieving concentrations in the marine environment approaching background values for naturally occurring substances and close to zero for man-made synthetic substances.