1992R2158 — EN — 22.02.1997 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)No 2158/92
of 23 July 1992
on protection of the Community’s forests against fire
(OJ L 217, 31.7.1992, p. 3)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1 Council Regulation (EC) No 308/97 of 17 February 1997 L 51 11 21.2.1997
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COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)No 2158/92
of 23 July 1992
on protection of the Community’s forests against fire
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Articles 43 and 130s thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas forests play an essential role in maintaining basic equilibria,
particularly as regards the soil, water resources, climate, fauna andflora;
Whereas forests therefore contribute towards the safeguarding and
development of agriculture and the countryside, which may be greatlydependent on the presence and good upkeep of the surrounding forests;
Whereas, espcially in the southern parts of the Community, this role of
forests is under threat from fire, which damages vast tracts of forestedland every year;
Whereas the protection of forests against fire is an urgent and important
issue for the Community and whereas the Community must make agreater contribution to the efforts of Member States to improve suchprotection;
Whereas, in order to reduce the number and extent of fire outbreaks and
areas burnt, the Community’s contribution must be directed towards theneed to combat the causes of fire and to provide fire prevention andforestsurveillance measures;
Whereas the Community’s contribution must be concentrated primarily
in the areas which face a permanent or cyclical fire risk; whereas theterritory of the Community must therefore be classified according to thedegree of risk of forest fire and the contribution must vary with thedegree of risk in a given area;
Whereas, especially in areas of high fire risk, the Community must
contribute to the implementation of integrated forest fire protectionplans, comprising measures to eliminate causes and to institute orimprove systems of prevention and monitoring;
Whereas the setting-up of a data bank covering the Member States and
the Community can constitute an important tool for improving thesystem of forest fire protection;
Whereas, in order to facilitate the implementation of the measures
contemplated, close cooperation must be established between theMember States and the Commission; whereas such cooperation may beachieved through the Standing Forestry Committee;
Whereas provision should be made, for the purposes of this Regulation,
for a programme with a duration of five years;
Whereas an amountof ECU 70 million is deemed necessary for t he
implementation of that multiannual programme; whereas, for 1992, inthe context of the present financial perspective, the amount deemednecessary is ECU 12 million;
(1) OJ No C 312, 3. 12. 1991, p. 7.
(2) Opinion delivered on 10 July 1992 (notyetpublished in t he Official
Journal) .
(3) OJ No C 106, 27. 4. 1992, p. 1.
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Whereas the amounts to be committed for financing the programme forthe period after the financial year 1992 will have to form part of theCommunity financial framework in force,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. In order to provide increased protection for forests and in partic-
ular to step up efforts undertaken to maintain and monitor forest ecosys-tems and to safeguard the various functions which forests fulfil for thebenefit of rural areas, a Community scheme for the protection of forestsagainst fire, hereinafter referred to as ‘the scheme', is hereby instituted.
2. The purpose of the scheme is:
— to reduce the number of forest fire outbreaks,
— to reduce the extent of areas burnt.
3. The scheme shall comprise:
(a) measures to identify the causes of forest fires and the means of
combating them, and in particular:
— studies to identify the causes of fires and the background
thereto;
— studies to devise proposals for schemes to eliminate such causes
and background;
— campaigns to inform and educate the public;
(b) measures to set up or improve systems of prevention, with partic-
ular emphasis on the launching of protective infrastructures such asforest paths, tracks, water supply points, firebreaks, cleared andfelled areas, the launching of operations to maintain firebreaks,cleared and felled areas and preventive forestry measures, withinthe framework of a global strategy for the protection of forestedland againstfire;
(c) measures to set up or improve forest monitoring systems, including
deterrent monitoring, with particular emphasis on the installation offixed or mobile monitoring facilities and the purchase of communi-cations equipment;
(d) accompanying measures, including:
— training of highly specialized personnel;
— analytical studies and pilot or demonstration projects to try out
new methods, techniques and technologies and intended to boostthe effectiveness of the scheme.
Article 2
1. Member States shall classify their territory according to the degree
of forest-fire risk. An area classified by degree of risk must normallycorrespond to an administrative area at least equivalent to NUTS levelIII.
2. Only areas where t he permanentor cyclical risk of forestfire
presents a serious threat to the ecological balance and the safety ofpersons and goods or constitutes a factor which is hastening the processof desertification of rural areas may be classified as areas of high risk.
Only areas situated in:
— Portugal,
— Spain,— France, (in the regions of Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrénées, Corsica,
Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and the depart-ments of Ardèche and Drôme),
— Italy (in the Mezzogiorno, Lazio, Tuscany, Liguria, Umbria,
Marche, Emilia-Romagna, the provinces of Cuneo and Alessandriain Piedmontand t he province of Pavia in Lombardy, and in affor-ested mountain areas in the north of the country),
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— Greece;
may be classified as areas of high risk.
Where a Member State submits a substantiated request to that effect,
areas in regions of the Community other than those referred to in theprevious subparagraph may be recognized as areas of high risk.
3. Areas where t he forestfire risk is notpermanentor cyclical but
presents a significant threat to forest ecosystems may be classified asareas of medium risk.
4. The other areas of the Community shall be classified as areas of
low risk.
5. Member States shall send the lists of areas classified by degree of
risk to the Commission not later than six months after the entry intoforce of this Regulation.
The Commission shall decide to approve the lists in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 9.
Article 3
1. Member States shall forward to the Commission forest-fire protec-
tion plans for the areas classified as high risk and medium risk and shallalso provide information on forest-fire protection measures alreadyimplemented with a financial contribution from the Community,together with an assessment of the effectiveness of the different types ofmeasures.
2. For areas of high risk the plans shall comprise:
(a) a description of the present situation in the area or sub-area in
question as regards the system of prevention and monitoring and theavailable means of fire control, together with the methods andtechniques used to protect forests against fire;
(b) an account of fires over the previous five years and a description
and analysis of the principal causes identified;
(c) an indication of the objectives to be attained by the end of the
plan’s duration as regards:
— elimination or reduction of principal causes,
— improvement of systems of prevention and monitoring,— improvement of control systems;
(d) a description of the measures contemplated for achieving the objec-
tives;
(e) particulars of the partners associated with the protection of forests
against fire and the procedures for coordinating their participation.
3. For areas of medium risk the plans shall comprise at least:
(a) a description of the present situation in the area or sub-area as
regards the system of prevention and monitoring and the methodsand techniques used to protect forests against fire;
(b) an indication of the objectives to be attained by the end of the
plan’s duration as regards:
— the elimination or reduction of the principal causes, and
— the improvement of systems of prevention and monitoring;
(c) a description of the measures contemplated for achieving the objec-
tives;
(d) particulars of the partners associated with the protection of forests
against fire and the procedure for coordinating their participation.
4. After consulting the Standing Forestry Committee set up by
Decision 89/367/EEC (
1), the Commission shall deliver an opinion on
(1) OJ No L 165, 15. 6. 1989, p. 14.
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the forest-fire protection plans within three months of their beingforwarded.
5. From 1 January 1993, Community financing of forestry measures
in areas classified as high risk or medium risk shall be subject to theadoption of forest-fire protection plans and the implementation of meas-ures in accordance with such plans.
Article 4
1. Before 1 November each year Member States shall submit to the
Commission their projects or programmes for improving the protectionof forests against fire.
2. Projects and programmes may concern:
— for high-risk areas, measures as specified in Article 1 (3) (a) to (d),
— for medium-risk areas, measures as specified in Article 1 (3) (b) and
(d), and campaigns to inform and educate the public.
3. From 1 November 1992 only projects and programmes covered by
plans as referred to in Article 3 which have received a favourableopinion from the Commission may be submitted.
From 1 November 1992 priority shall be given to programmes.4. Detailed rules for applying paragraph 1 shall be adopted in accord-
ance with the procedure laid downin Article 9.
5. The multi-purpose programmes willcontain particulars of the
breakdown of costs to be allocated to the various protection measurescontemplated.
Article 5
1. The Commission shall see to the coordination and monitoring of
the forest-fire protection scheme covered by this Regulation. In partic-ular, it may seek the assistance of research institutes and scientific andtechnical advisers.
2. Coordination and monitoring of the scheme shall also cover assis-
tance by the Community to help Member States set up a system ofinformation on forest fires with the following aims:
— encouragementof exchanges of informat ion on forestfires,
— ongoing evaluation of the impact of measures taken by Member
States and the Commission to protect forests against fire,
— evaluation of the periods, degree and causes of risk,— development of strategies for the protection of forests against fire,
with particular emphasis on the elimination or reduction of causes.
3. Detailed rules for the application of paragraph 2 shall be adopted
in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 9. They shallcover, in particular, the type, comparability and collection of data andthe procedures for access to the data gathered.
4. Member States may confine the collection of data to areas classi-
fied as high risk and medium risk.
5. In preparation for the setting-up of information systems as referred
to in paragraph 2, the Commission may finance pilot projects to explorethe feasibility of the various objectives of the system. Projects shall beset up in consultation with the competent authorities of the MemberStates.
Article 6
1. The Commission shall decide on the Community’s financial
contribution to the projects and programmes submitted by the MemberStates and defined in Article 4. The granting of the financial aid shall bedecided after the Standing Forestry Committee has been consulted.
2. The Community’s financial contribution towards the measures
referred to in Article 1 (3) (a) to (d) shall be:
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— not more than 50 % of the expenditure approved by the Commission
in high-risk areas;
— not more than 30 % of the expenditure approved by the Commission
in medium-risk areas.
3. Expenditure on coordination as referred to in Article 5 (1) shall be
borne by the Community. However, the Community’s financial contri-bution towards the expenditure of the Member States on setting up theinformation system referred to in Article 5 (2) shall be:
— not more than 50 % for operations in respect of highrisk areas;
— not more than 30 % for operations in respect of medium-risk areas;— not more than 15 % for operations in respect of other areas.
4. Projects and programmes receiving aid under another Community
financial instrument shall not be eligible for financial aid under thisRegulation.
Article 7
Member States shall designate the departments and agencies authorized
to implement measures taken pursuant to this Regulation and the depart-ments and agencies to which the Commission departments are to reim-burse the sums corresponding to the Community’s contribution.
Article 8
Member States shall take the necessary measures, in accordance with
national laws, regulations and administrative provisions, in order to:
— ascertain the effective and regular nature of the operations financed
by the Community,
— preventirregularit ies,— recover sums lostas a resultof irregularit ies or negligence.
Member States shall make available to the Commission all the informa-
tion necessary for the purposes of the first subparagraph and shall takeall appropriate steps to, facilitate any checks the Commission may deemfit to make in connection with the management of Community funding,including on-site verifications. Member States shall inform the Commis-sion of the measures taken to this end.
Article 9
1. Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to be followed,
the matter shall be referred by its Chairman to the Standing ForestryCommittee, either on his own initiative or at the request of the repres-entative of a Member State.
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shalldeliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the Chairmanmay lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shallbe delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treatyin the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on aproposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of theMember States within the Committee shall be weighted in the mannersetoutin t hatArt icle. The Chairman shall notvot e.
3. (a) The Commission shall adopt the intended measures when they
are in accordance with the Committee’s opinion.
(b) Where the intended measures are not in accordance with the
opinion of the Committee, or in the absence of any opinion, theCommission shall forthwith submit to the Council a proposalrelating to the measures to be taken. The Council shall act by aqualified majority.
If, on the expiry of three months from the date on which the matter was
referred to it, the Council has not adopted any measures, the Commis-sion shall adopt the proposed measures and apply them immediately.
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Article 10
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1. The scheme shall run for 10 years from 1 January 1992.
2. The financial reference amount for the implementations of the
scheme shall be ECU 70 million for the period 1997 to 2001.
The annual appropriations shall be authorized by the budgetary
authority within the limits of the financial perspective.
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3. Before expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 1, this Regula-tion shall be reviewed by the Council on a proposal from the Commis-sion and on the basis of a progress report, supplemented in particular byinformation on the assessment of the effectiveness of measures,described in Article 5 (2), relating to the sector covered by this Regula-tion.
Article 11
Council Regulation (EEC) No 3529/86 of 17 November 1986 on protec-
tion of the Community’s forests against fire (
1) shall remain applicable
to projects or programmes submitted before 1 January 1992.
Article 12
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
Itshall apply from 1 January 1992.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all Member States.
(1) OJ No L 326, 21. 11. 1986, p. 5. Regulation last amended by Regulation
(EEC) No 1614/89 (OJ No L 165, 15. 6. 1989, p. 10).