The Council approved, on behalf of the Community, the
Convention on the protection and use of transboundary watercourses and
international lakes (Helsinki Convention). This Convention was signed in Helsinki on
18 March 1992. Its main purpose is to establish a framework for
bilateral or multilateral cooperation to prevent and control the pollution of
transboundary watercourses and to ensure the rational use of water resources
in the member countries of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.