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Carlo Ripa di Meana, European commissioner for the environment for the
past four years, has resigned to take up the job of environment minister
in Italy. Under the ‘grim Ripa’, environmental regulation in Europe was
dominated by the Community’s decisions.

His resignation was attributed to German protests over his refusal to
attend the Earth Summit after the Community frustrated his plans for an
energy tax and a European Environment Agency.

The Commission may now scale down its role in the environmental affairs
of member countries. The president, Jacques Delors, has been telling British
and German officials for several weeks that the Community should ‘get out
of the environment’.

There was widespread speculation in Brussels this week that Filippo
Pandolfi, the research commissioner, would also be leaving. He is blamed
for repeated delays in the Commission’s research programme.