Spain-U.S. Joint Statement on Environmental Cooperation

We, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States of America and the Minister of the Environment of Spain, met in Madrid on 23 January 2003 to discuss enhancing cooperation between our organizations. We have many common goals, and we recognize that we may be able to acheive our goals more quickly and efficiently by working together and sharing experiences.

This cooperation will be built on the foundation established by President Aznar and President Bush in their four meetings over the past two years, most recently in December 2002 in Washington where President Bush hosted President Aznar. We have such a strong foundation because:

The United States and Spain are committed to addressing global, regional, and local environmental threats. Our governments are firmly committed to protecting the safety and health of our citizens, and we plan to work together to assist governments in other countries to protect the environmental health of their citizens by implementing the initiatives that were announced at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa;
The United States and Spain share strong traditions in environmental and health research, and have a long history of collaboration, which is coordinated under the Science and Technology Agreement of 1994 between the two governments; and
The United States and Spain recognize that joint actions to protect human health and the environment will effectively contribute to shaping prosperous, secure, and sustainable economies and will also benefit future generations.

At this time, we have identified environmental issues relating to air pollution; waste management; mercury; water quality; integrated coastal zone management; marine pollution; legal, institutional and economic aspects of environmental management; and the exchange of experts and officials from our respective organizations for sharing information and best practices.

We intend to cooperate at the technical level on these matters, and on other matters as appropriate, consistent with our respective domestic procedures and processes.

_/signed/_________________________
The Honorable Jaume Matas Palou
Minister
Ministry of the Environment
Kingdom of Spain

_/signed/_________________________
The Honorable Christine Todd Whitman
Administrator
Environmental Protection Agency
United States of America

Madrid, Spain, 23 January 2003

Spain-U.S. Joint Statement on Environmental Cooperation

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