EPA Collaboration with Europe
The United States and Europe enjoy strong and long-standing economic and political relationships and face similar environmental opportunities and challenges. Working together enables us to address environmental impacts of joint concern, achieve common goals on both sides of the Atlantic and demonstrate leadership to help create a cleaner global environment.
EPA encourages and benefits from the exchange of experiences and expertise with European partners -- including the European Commission, EU Member States, other European countries, and multilateral organizations -- to strengthen transatlantic institutions, networks, and relationships and build capacity to solve environmental problems.
Highlights
EPA and Government of Flanders, Belgium Sign Statement of Intent
August 2022: EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance signed a Statement of Intent (SOI) with representatives from the Government of Flanders, Belgium pledging to share publicly available information on enforcement and compliance assurance issues related to PFAS and other fluorocarbon chemicals.
The objective of the SOI is to promote bilateral cooperation, as appropriate, on critical environmental enforcement and compliance assurance issues of mutual interest. The Participants cooperate bilaterally in the exchange of publicly available, non-privileged information and enforcement and compliance assurance experiences regarding PFAS and other fluorocarbon chemicals.
EPA and German Environmental Institutions Sign a Statement Regarding Joint Cooperation
May 2022: EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan met with Steffi Lemke, the German Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, and Professor Dirk Messner, the President of the German Environment Agency on May 25, 2022, to sign a joint statement regarding environmental cooperation among these institutions. The joint statement highlights commitments to enhancing cooperation, through technical exchanges and experience sharing, on environmental issues relevant to the United States, Germany, as well as the international community.
Areas of cooperation include, but are not limited to, just transition to a zero-carbon economy and environmental justice, pollution of air, water and soil, solutions for combatting marine litter, circular economy and resource efficiency, green procurement, as well as opportunities and risks for the environment posed by digitalization. The joint statement was issued while Administrator Regan was attending the G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers’ Meeting in Berlin.
EPA Administrator meets with EU Commissioner Sinkevičius
February 2022: EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan met with European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius in Washington, D.C., to strengthen bilateral cooperation. The two leaders agreed to cooperate broadly on a framework of activities, recognizing the importance of policies that support global environmental goals, promote sustainable economic growth, and protect vulnerable communities. The United States and the European Union identified climate change, circular economy, environmental justice and just transition, marine litter and plastics, water management, lead and mercury management, and air quality as areas of cooperation.
View the Working Arrangements document:
US-EU framework of activities (pdf)
Key activities with Europe focus on:
- Improving Air Quality
- Increasing Resource Efficiency and Building a Circular Economy
- Strengthening Chemicals Management
- Enhancing Research Cooperation
Improving Air Quality
Vehicle Emissions: EPA is working with European and other international partners to reduce vehicle emissions and improve air quality and public health through policy dialogue and by strengthening regulatory programs for cars and trucks.
The United States, represented by EPA Administrator Regan, and the United Kingdom are the co-chairs of the Zero Emission Vehicle Transition Council, which was launched in November 2020 and is comprised of 17 governments. This Council convenes political leaders from many of the world’s largest and most progressive automotive markets, to discuss steps they can take that are mutually beneficial and accelerate the international transition to zero emission vehicles, in line with the Paris Agreement. On May 24, 2023, the Deputy Administrator co-chaired the 7th Zero Emission Vehicle Transition Council (ZEVTC) Ministerial meeting, on behalf of EPA Administrator Regan. This 7th ZEVTC Ministerial was held at the International Transport Forum in Leipzig, Germany.
Additionally, through an international dialogue, EPA and counterpart regulatory agencies in Europe and around the world have been discussing the importance of vigilant and comprehensive approaches to oversight and compliance with vehicle emissions standards, including varied and rigorous test cycles throughout a vehicle’s lifecycle. Engagement was recently restarted, post COVID, and the 6th International Summit on Vehicle Emissions Compliance Testing and Enforcement was held in South Korea in September 2024. Planning is currently underway for the 7th Summit which is expected to be held in Europe in 2025. As part of this cooperation, European and other international partners have benefited from visits to EPA’s National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory (NVFEL) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a state-of-the-art facility that provides a wide array of analytical testing and engineering services for EPA’s motor vehicle, heavy-duty engine, and nonroad engine programs.
Transboundary Pollution: Since air pollution transcends geographic boundaries, EPA works closely with European partners to address transboundary impacts. The United States currently chairs the Executive Body of the UNECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution. EPA, on behalf of the United States, co-chairs the Convention’s Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (TF HTAP) along with Germany. In addition to participation in the Convention, EPA also uses its strong partnerships with European experts to share approaches on technical, regulatory and policy aspects of effective air quality management.
Global Methane Initiative: Methane is a greenhouse gas that is over 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The Global Methane Initiative (GMI) is a voluntary, multilateral partnership that aims to reduce global methane emissions and to advance the abatement, recovery and use of methane as a valuable clean energy source. GMI focuses on methane mitigation projects that reduce emissions from animal waste, coal mines, landfills, wastewater treatment plants, and oil and gas operations.
The United States is a founding Partner of GMI, and EPA serves as the primary U.S. and administrative focal point for the global effort. The European Commission became a GMI Partner in 2007 and other European GMI Partners include Albania, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
Methane experts and policy-makers from around the world met at the most recent Global Methane Forum in Geneva, Switzerland in March 2024 to discuss options for methane reduction and abatement activities.
Increasing Resource Efficiency and Building a Circular Economy
EPA cooperates with European and other international partners to promote the sustainable use of resources and minimize waste streams in a variety of areas, including efforts to:
Strengthening Chemicals Management
Regulatory Cooperation: An ongoing regulatory cooperation dialogue aims to help reduce risks from toxics in the U.S. and Europe. EPA and its counterparts in the European Commission and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) share scientific and technical experience and expertise to enhance the sound management of chemicals. The dialogue also promotes regulatory best practices and information-sharing on areas of mutual interest. A Statement of Intent to enhance this cooperation was signed in December 2010. This Statement of Intent is supported by a rolling workplan that is updated periodically.
Legislation: Regulatory developments in Europe and the U.S. have made transatlantic cooperation on chemicals management more important than ever. The updated version of the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that was passed in June 2016 will enhance chemicals management efforts in the U.S. The EU’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) program has been in force since 2008.
Productive discussions between U.S. and European experts also take place in key international fora such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Learn more:
Enhancing Research Cooperation
Implementing Arrangement: EPA and the European Commission coordinate research and technical cooperation under an Implementing Arrangement which was signed in February 2007 within the framework of the U.S.-EU Science and Technology Agreement managed by the U.S. Department of State. The Science and Technology Agreement was extended for a five-year period on October 14, 2023. The Implementing Arrangement provides a framework and foundation for technical cooperation in a wide variety of fields, including air quality management, sustainable chemistry, nanotechnology, environmental health, and development of environmental indicators to measure and track environmental quality.
- In February 2019, a European Union delegation toured EPA’s Research Triangle Park facility and learned about EPA’s research in a number of areas including chemical testing, PFAS, decontamination, lead and arsenic at Superfund sites, microplastics, as well as next generation air quality monitoring.
Computational Toxicology: One area of particularly strong cooperation involves complementary research on computational toxicology, which ranks chemicals more efficiently based on risks to humans and the environment and provides an alternative to animal testing. EPA maintains ongoing technical relationships with experts at the European Commission, with EU Member States such as France, and within the OECD to facilitate data exchange and sharing of methodologies and approaches.
Air Quality Management: EPA air quality researchers have been working for many years with their counterparts from the Environment Agency and Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in the United Kingdom within the framework of the US-UK Collaboration Agreement on Air Pollution Exposure Science. The purpose of this long-standing collaboration, which was formalized in 2008, is to share approaches and expertise to ensure that the most recent and scientifically credible knowledge is available in the U.S. and the UK for predicting future air quality, as well as assessing, developing and implementing environmental regulations and decisions. The 16th technical meeting of this EPA-UK cooperative effort took place virtually in November 2023 and the 17th session is planned for November 2024.