RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL of 19 October 1987 on the continuation and implementation of a European Community policy and action programme on the environment (1987-1992) (87/C 328/01)

RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL of 19 October 1987 on the continuation and implementation of a European Community policy and action programme on the environment (1987-1992) (87/C 328/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

Note that the projects to which the appended programme will give rise should in some cases be carried out at Community level and in others be carried out by the Member States;

With regard to the projects to be carried out by the Member States, the latter will supervise their proper execution, it being understood that for these projects the Council will exercise the coordinating powers laid down in the Treaties;

With regard to the projects in the programme to be carried out by the institutions of the European Communities:

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Community,

Having regard to the draft from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),

(1) Opinion delivered on 14 May 1987 (not yet published in the Official Journal).

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),

(2)Opinion delivered on 14 May 1987 (not yet published in the Official Journal).

Whereas the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, as amended by the Single European Act, provides for the development and implementation of a Community policy on the environment, and lays down the objectives and principles which should govern such policy;

Whereas the Declaration of the Council of the European Communities and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 22 November 1973 (3) calls for the implementation of a European Communities programme of action on the environment; whereas the action programme was extended and supplemented for the period 1977 to 1986 by the resolutions of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 17 May 1977 (4) and of 7 February 1983 (5); whereas the programme of action is still valid and whereas it should be updated, further implemented and supplemented for the period 1987 to 1992 by new tasks which prove to be necessary;

(3) OJ No C 112, 20. 12. 1973, p. 1.

(4) OJ No C 139, 13. 6. 1977, p. 1.

(5) OJ No C 46, 17. 2. 1983, p. 1.

Whereas it is necessary, in accordance with the Treaty as amended by the Single European Act, to avoid the adoption by the Member States of divergent measures likely to bring about economic and competition distortions in the common market;

Whereas the European Year of the Environment, which begins on 21 March 1987, offers a welcome opportunity of initiating the changes of attitude and promoting the action necessary to give practical effect to these perceptions;

RECALLS that the Single European Act, which constitutes a new legal basis for Community policy on the environment, lays down that action by the Community relating to the environment shall have the following objectives:

- to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment,

-to contribute towards protecting human health,

-to ensure a prudent and rational utilization of natural resources;

RECALLS that the Single European Act lays down that:

-action by the Community relating to the environment shall be based on the principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source, and that the polluter should pay,

-environmental protection requirements shall be a component of the Community's other policies,

-within their respective spheres of competence, the Community and the Member States shall cooperate with third countries and with the relevant international organizations;

RECALLS, in conclusion, that the Single European Act also provides that in preparing its action relating to the environment, the Community will take account of:

-available scientific and technical data,

-environmental conditions in the various regions of the Community,

-the potential benefits and costs of action or of lack of action,

-the economic and social development of the Community as a whole and the balanced development of its regions;

RECALLS, moreover, that the Single European Act provides that the Community shall take action relating to the environment to the extent to which the above objectives can be attained better at Community level than at the level of the individual Member States; that, without prejudice to certain Community measures, Member States shall be responsible for financing and implementing other measures;

RECALLS, finally, that the Commission, in its proposals on health and environmental protection, takes as a basis a high level of protection as laid down in the relevant provisions of the Single European Act;

RECOGNIZES that the protection of the environment can help to improve economic growth and facilitate job creation;

WELCOMES the Commission's intention of working closely with industry, trade unions and interested non-governmental organizations in the drawing-up and implementation of environmental policy and programmes;

UNDERLINES the particular importance it attaches to the implementation of the Community legislation and INVITES the Commission to review systematically the application and the practical effects of existing Community policy and to provide regular reports on this to the Council and the European Parliament so that an assessment of the effectiveness of such a policy can be made and, inter alia, useful guidelines for future proposals determined;

DECLARES that, in view of the foregoing, and on the basis of past achievements, it is important for Community action to concentrate on the following priority areas while observing the respective powers of the Community and the Member States:

Pollution prevention

(a) reduction at source of pollution and nuisance in various areas:

- combating air pollution, inter alia by effective implementation of existing Council Directives on air quality and air pollution from industrial plants, and by adopting and implementing measures concerning emissions from large combustion plants and motor vehicles,

-combating fresh-water and marine pollution from specific or diffused sources, inter alia, by the implementation of Council Directive 76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community (6), and by the general improvement of the Community's aquatic environment in particular the North Sea and the Mediterranean,

(6) OJ No L 129, 18. 5. 1976, p. 23.

-combating soil pollution, among others caused by agro-chemical products and toxic wastes,

-harmonized implementation of the existing Directives on toxic and dangerous wastes, in particular the transfrontier transport thereof.

In this context, Community action shall take particular account of the need to:

-prevent the transfer of pollution from one part of the environment to another,

-combat transfrontier pollution;

(b)control of chemical substances and preparations:

-evaluation, in particular through greater use of multi-environment studies, of risks to the environment and human health caused by chemical substances and preparations,

-identification and implementation of the most efficient and economical control measures for these substances which are a potential hazard for the environment and consumers' health;

(c)prevention of industrial accidents:

Measures for the general prevention of industrial accidents and an effective response and restriction of the consequences of accidents which might nevertheless occur, by:

-more effective implementation of Council Directive 82/501/EEC of 24 June 1982 on the major-accident hazards of certain industrial activities (7),

(7) OJ No L 230, 5. 8. 1982, p. 1.

-review of this Directive, if necessary, to include, inter alia, a possible widening of its scope,

-greater exchange of information on the matter between Member States;

(d)combating noise pollution at source;

(e)measures concerning the evaluation and best use of biotechnology with regard to the environment;

(f)effective action to protect the health of the population and the environment from harm through nuclear radiation both as a result of normal operations and in the circumstances of an accident;

Improvement in management of resources

(g)measures to protect and enhance Europe's natural heritage, in particular:

-implementation of Council acts in force such as Regulation (EEC) No 3626/82 of 3 December 1982 on the implementation in the Community of the Convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora (8) and Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds (9),

(8) OJ No L 384, 31. 12. 1982, p. 1.

(9) OJ No L 103, 25. 4. 1979, p. 1.

-the protection, as laid down in the Treaty, of areas of importance in the Community, inter alia, in the framework of Directive 79/409/EEC, or of areas which are particularly sensitive environmentally, and encouragement of the revival of areas which are environmentally impaired,

-protection of forests against atmospheric pollution and forest fires, including the implementation of the measures laid down in Council Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 of 17 November 1986 on the protection of the Community's forests against atmospheric pollution (10) and (EEC) No 3529/86 of 17 November 1986 on the protection of the Community's forests against fire (11);

(10) OJ No L 326, 21. 11. 1986, p. 2.

(11) OJ No L 326, 21. 11. 1986, p. 5.

(h)measures relating to natural or man-made hazards or disasters affecting public health and the environment, including both evaluation of risk and adequate response;

(i)encouragement of agricultural practices which are environmentally beneficial;

(j)protection of the soil, in particular by combating erosion, by conserving plant cover, by the prevention of damage caused by certain industrial and agricultural activities and by combating such damage while bearing in mind the various geomorphological characteristics of the different areas;

(k)improving water resources and the management of water, in particular by reducing water pollution, protecting catchment areas and encouraging the re-use of waste water;

(l)the development of improved waste management in relation to reduction of quantities, treatment, recycling and re-use;

(m)overall and integrated environmental protection of the Mediterranean region, taking particular account of all the specific aspects of that region when giving practical application to the action programme;

International activities

(n)support and, where appropriate, active participation by the Community and the Member States in the activities of international organizations concerned with environmental protection within the framework of their respective powers;

(o)cooperation with developing countries on environmental matters and on protection of natural resources, having particular regard to questions of desertification and water supply, tropical forests and the production and use of dangerous substances or products and technological cooperation;

Development of appropriate instruments

(p)improving the scientific bases of environment policy, inter alia, through appropriate research programmes;

(q)effective implementation of Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (12) and the integration of the environmental dimension in other Community policies;

(12) OJ No L 175, 5. 7. 1985, p. 40.

(r)implementation of appropriate standards in order to ensure a high level of public health and environmental protection;

(s)development of efficient economic instruments such as taxes, levies, State aid, authorization of negotiable rebates with a view to implementing the principle that the polluter pays, in accordance with the Council Recommendation 75/436/Euratom, ECSC, EEC of 3 March 1975 regarding cost allocation and action by public authorities on environmental matters (13) (the 'polluter pays' principle);

(13) OJ No L 194, 25. 7. 1975, p. 1.

(t)encouraging the development, dissemination and distribution of clean technology, notably in the case of heavily polluting industries;

(u)improved access to information on the environment;

(v)increased effort to promote environmental education and training at appropriate levels, and greater public awareness;

NOTES the action programme set out in the Annex to this resolution and approves in general the guidelines;

UNDERTAKES to act on the Commission proposals wherever possible within nine months of the date on which they are submitted or, as the case may be, of the date on which the opinions of the European Parliament and of the Economic and Social Committee are submitted;

STATES that the decision to make available the financial resources necessary for implementing this resolution and the action programme attached thereto will be taken in accordance with the usual procedures, in compliance with Article 130 R of the Single European Act, and in particular paragraph 4 thereof.

EEC FOURTH ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PROGRAMME

(1987-1992)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction //6

2.General policy orientations

2.1. Amendments to the Treaty of Rome //7

2.2.Implementation of Community Directives //8

2.3.Integration with other Community policies //9

2.4.Economic and employment aspects //14

2.5.Economic instruments //15

2.6.Information and education //15

3.Approaches to the prevention and control of pollution

3.1.General Principles //17

3.2.Multi-media pollution controls //18

3.3.Substance-orientated controls //19

3.4.Source-oriented controls //19

3.5.Product standards, emission limits and environmental quality objectives and standards //20

3.6.Conclusions to be drawn //21

4.Action in specific sectors

4.1.Atmospheric pollution //21

4.2.Fresh and sea water //23

4.3.Chemicals //25

4.4.Biotechnology //26

4.5.Noise //28

4.6.Nuclear safety //28

5.Management of environmental resources

5.1.Conservation of nature and natural resources //29

5.2.Protection of the soil //31

5.3.Waste management //32

5.4.Urban areas, coastal and mountain zones //34

6.Research //35

7.Action at international level

7.1.Action within international organizations and with third countries //36

7.2.Cooperation with developing countries on environmental matters //37

8.European year of the environment //39

9.Conclusions //40

Annex 1: Objectives and principles of a Community environment policy //40

Annex 2: Environment provisions of new Treaty //43

FOURTH ENVIRONMENT ACTION PROGRAMME

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. The Community's First Environmental Action Programme adopted in 1973 (1), having spelled out the objectives and principles of environment policy, went on to list a large number of essentially remedial actions that were seen to be necessary at Community level. The objectives and principles remain valid (2) and some of the specific actions remain to be completed, but meanwhile the Community's approach to environmental protection has evolved very considerably.

(1) OJ No C 112, 20. 12. 1973

(2) OJ No C 139, 13. 6. 1977, see Annex 1

1.2. The Second Environmental Action Programme adopted in 1977 essentially updated and extended the First but by 1983, when the Third Environmental Action Programme came to be adopted, the progress in policy thinking and in the approach to environmental protection had already become clear. The preventive approach - i.e. an approach requiring economic and social developments to be undertaken in such a way as to avoid the creation of environmental problems - had become central. The resources of the environment were recognized as constituting the basis of, but also setting the limits to, further economic and social development. Prevention was to be achieved through the integration of environmental requirements into the planning and execution of actions in many economic and social sectors, and stress was placed on prior environmental impact assessment as a crucial tool for ensuring such integration.

1.3. Now, as the Community adopts a Fourth Environmental Action Programme for the six-year period 1987-1992, the context has again changed. It is no longer seriously contested that environmental protection policy has a central part to play in the whole corpus of Community policies and that environmental protection needs to be taken into account as a fundamental factor when economic decisions are taken. Continuing - and in many cases growing - problems of environmental deterioration have convinced the Commission that the establishment of strict standards for environmental protection is no longer merely an option; it has become essential. Moreover, the Commission is also convinced that, when account is taken of the growing public demand for improved standards of environmental protection and for environmentally friendly goods - both within the Community and worldwide - Community industry will not be successful unless it increasingly gears itself towards the meeting of such standards and the production of such goods. High standards of environmental protection have thus become an imperative - and an economic imperative at that.

1.4. These new perceptions as to the importance and as to the role of environmental protection policy for the Community have been strongly reinforced by two recent conclusions of the European Council which, in a sense, provide the agenda and the terms of reference for the Commission's proposals for the Community's Fourth Environmental Action Programme.

1.5. The first of these two conclusions was, of course, the decision of the European Council - on the recommendation of the Intergovernmental Conference - to propose the inclusion in the amended Treaty of Rome of a chapter on the environment. This decision plainly recognizes the need for a developed Community environmental policy at the heart of the Community's other policies and sets out guidelines for its content. It is particularly significant that, alone amongst the common policies included in the amended Treaty, it will be laid down in relation to environment policy (Article 130R) that its requirements shall constitute a component of other Community policies; and that in relation, in particular, to standards established on the basis of Article 100A of the amended Treaty, it is laid down that Commission proposals concerning, inter alia, environmental protection, will take, as a base, a high level of protection. The Article also provides that national provisions applied in the name of environmental protection should not be used as a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade between Member States. A copy of the proposed Treaty modifications that are relevant to environment is set out in Annex 2 to this programme.

1.6. The second conclusion of importance for environmental policy is the recognition by the European Council in March 1985 (3) that environmental protection policy can contribute to improved economic growth and job creation. In the past environmental requirements have often been seen as merely imposing regulations and costs on industry, agriculture, transport, etc. Now, in a worlds where higher environmental standards are more and more being required, the achievement of such standards must increasingly be seen as an essential element in the future economic success of the Community. The European Council went on to affirm its determination to give policy the dimension of an essential component of the economic, industrial, agricultural and social policies implemented by the Community and by its Member States.

(3) 'The European Council considers that a Community environmental protection policy must be based on the following considerations:

(i) having acknowledged that this policy can contribute to improved economic growth and job creation, it affirms its determination to give this policy the dimension of an essential component of the economic, industrial, agricultural and social policies implemented by the Community and by its Member States;

(ii)it acknowledges the need for the Member States to take coherent action in the Community framework to protect the air, the sea and the soil, since isolated action is unlikely to prove effective and may even be harmful. It requests the Council to expedite its proceedings and to make every effort, together with the Commission, to ensure that the years to come are marked by significant progress in Community action for the protection of the environment in Europe and throughout the world. In this connection, the European Council has decided that 1987 will be designated ''European Environment Year''.' Bulletin of the European Communities, March 1985

1.7. This then is the agenda for and the orientation of the Community's Fourth Environmental Action Programme. The challenge - which is also an opportunity - is to find the means of making further progress in environmental policy in such a way that the economic and employment benefits foreseen by the European Council can also be achieved.

2. GENERAL POLICY ORIENTATIONS

2.1. Amendments to the Treaty of Rome

2.1.1. The EEC Treaty, as it will be amended by the Single European Act, envisages the pursuit of environment policy in two ways at Community level. First the Treaty will contain a specific chapter (Title VII) on environment policy (Articles 130R to 130T), which fixes the objectives and principles of such policy, in particular the necessity of preventive action which is placed side by side with the requirement of protecting and improving the quality of the environment. Furthermore the Treaty will expressly stipulate that the requirements of environment policy constitute a component part of the other Community policies.

2.1.2. In addition, the Treaty recognizes that environmental protection actions may be important for the achievement of the internal market - a principal Community objective for the coming five years. It is evident that environmental actions taken at Member State level alone might easily lead to new barriers to intra-Community trade or distort competition. In this context it is noteworthy that Article 100A - which deals with the adoption of measures of the approximation of the provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States which have as their object the establishment or functioning of the common market - not only lays down that such measures shall be adopted by qualified majority voting but also provides that the Commission, in its proposals laid down in Article 100, paragraph 1, concerning health, safety, environmental protection and consumer protection, will take as a base a high level of protection.

2.1.3. The Commission intends to make full use of the provisions of the new Treaty, and in particular Article 100A. It acknowledges the need to combine, by way of actions which effectively protect the environment, two of the main objectives of the Treaty, i.e. the achievement of the internal market and the development of a high level of environmental standards within the Community. The Commission is moreover convinced that the development of high environmental standards is consistent with, and sometimes necessary for, the protection and improvement of the future competitive position of Community industry.

2.1.4. It is also important to note that Article 130B of the Single European Act places stress on the promotion of economic and social cohesion within the Community and on the reduction of regional disparities. Moreover, the chapter dealing with environment policy makes plain that the Community, in preparing its action relating to the environment, is to take account inter alia of environmental conditions in the various regions of the Community; and of the economic and social development of the Community as a whole and the balanced development of its regions. It is clear therefore that a particular importance will attach, during the period of the Fourth Environmental Action Programme, to close cooperative action in the implementation of the Community's environmental and regional policies. The Commission will take the necessary steps to ensure that this occurs.

2.1.5. Actions to ensure the consolidation of Community environment policy with the Community's other policies for which the amended Treaty calls, will be accompanied by a number of other actions of a broad-ranging character during the next five years. Thus the Commission will carefully and critically assess the policy pursued in the different environment sectors in order to ceck whether the experience of past legislation and its implementation sould suggest new strategies, why parts of the previous environment action programmes have not been implemented, and what lessons can be learned from the past and used in the future.

2.1.6. The Commission will re-assess the obligations of Member States under existing Directives to report on the application of those Directives. To that end it will submit a proposal for a Directive which will standardize and rationalize the general obligation to submit reports; and will link them more effectively to the production, on a three-yearly cycle, of Community state of the environment reports. The Commission also proposes to give greater publicity to reports on the different environmental Directives and to Commission reports on the effects on the ground of Community environmental legislation.

2.1.7. Under the Information Agreement of 1973 (4) Member States agreed to notify the Commission of their intentions to introduce environmental legislation at national level. In view of the provisions of the amended Treaty concerning both environment policy and the completion of the internal market by 1992, which imply the necessity to elaborate any necessary Community-level, product-related environmental standards on the same timescale, the Commission considers that the time has come to transform the Information Agreement into a binding Community instrument. The Commission will accordingly submit a proposal for a Directive to render obligatory the notification of proposed environmental legislation, in so far as this is not already covered under the provisions of Directive 83/189/EEC (5) and thus make possible a more systematic assessment of the necessity to take environmental action at Community level.

(4) OJ No C 9, 15. 3. 1973; OJ No C 86, 20. 7. 1974

(5) OJ No L 109, 26. 4. 1983, p. 8

2.2. Implementation of Community Directives

2.2.1. The effective implementation of Community environmental legislation by all Member States will be of primary importance for the Community.

2.2.2. The transposition of Community legislation into national law is usually achieved within a reasonable time, although sometimes later than the dates laid down in the Directives; it is clear that the new Member States, in particular, will have to make special efforts in the coming years. The Commission has, however, in the past identified a considerable number of omissions and deviations in national laws, sometimes of considerable importance, and has been obliged to initiate infringement procedures against Member States, in order to bring national legislation into line with the requirements of Community law.

2.2.3. In the future the question of the transposition of Community Directives into national law is likely to receive greater attention from the interested public, since the Commission has decided to allow public access to its data base which stores information on the national legislation - whether specially adopted or already in existence - which formally implements Community law.

2.2.4. Looking beyond the question of legal action, the further questions of the practical implementation at national level of the requirements of Community legislation and its effectiveness in reality in improving the quality of the environment, also both raise considerable problems.

2.2.5. In theory the Commission has the power to check whether Community acts and the national laws which are based on them are actually fully complied with in practical terms at local or regional levels. This power erives from Article 155 of the Treaty and, furthermore, from Articles in the individual Directives which provide that Member States shall report to the Commission on the implementation of Directives. However, national reports are not always submitted regularly and often do not give sufficient details to allow the Commission to assess sufficiently will the practical implementation.

2.2.6. To address both of these aspects - i.e. formal legal compliance and practical implementation - the Commission intends to intensify the dialogue with national (or, as the case may be, regional) administrations from Member States so as to promote a more fully harmonized understanding of and approach to both legal and practical questions concerning implementation; and to persuade them to ensure the effective implementation of Community acts and the national laws based on them. Such discussions might assist some administrations by enabling them to benefit from experience gained by administrations in other Member States. They should also have the effect of avoiding, to the greatest extent possible, the necessity for the Commission to resort to infringement procedures.

2.2.7. The Commission also intends to take further actions in order to promote both better compliance with the requirements of Community environmental legislation and its more effective implementation. These actions will include:

- an examination of the question whether, in appropriate cases, Community environment inspectors should be appointed to work with national officials so as to ensure the harmonized and effective implementation of Community law,

-better publicity for the Community's environment policy and its impact at local, regional and national level, in order to increase public awareness of the need to protect the environment effectively,

-encouraging private persons, non-governmental organizations or local authorities to bring instances of non-compliance or of inadequate compliance to the attention of the Commission, in order to have remedial action started,

-organizing seminars, workshops and other forums which allow the exchange of experience among interested persons and organizations as to how Community law is applied; and how effective it is in improving the environment,

-initiating infringement procedures under Article 169 of the Treaty against Member States, in order to ensure that Member States actually honour their obligations under Community law.

2.2.8. The Commission is convinced that complete and effective implementation of the Community environment acts by all Member States is a matter of priority concern; and that it will lead to a considerable improvement in the quality of the environment, contribute to better integration of national environment policies and actions, and strengthen the cohesion of the Community. Therefore it will consider implementation as a priority under the Fourth Environmental Action Programme.

2.3. Integration with other Community policies

2.3.1. Whilst it is true that there can be no sound environmental policy unless, at the same time, there is progress on the economic and social front, it is equally true that there can be no lasting economic and social progress unless environmental considerations are taken into account and are indeed seen as an essential part of economic and social development. This has been clearly recognized by the European Council when it affirmed its determination to give to environmental protection policy the dimension of an essential component of the economic, industrial, agricultural and social policies implemented by the Community and its Member States.

2.3.2. It will accordingly be a central part of the Commission's efforts during the period of the Fourth Environmental Action Programme to make major progress towards the practical realization of this objective - initially at the level of the Community's own policies and actions; secondly at the level of the policies implemented by Member States; but as soon as possible in a more generalized way so that all economic and social developments throughout the Community, whether undertaken by public or private bodies or of a mixed character, would have environmental requirements built fully into their planning and execution.

2.3.3. In relation to these broad-ranging initiatives an obvious priority will be given to projects and to ensuring that the practical carrying into effect of developments of whatever kind, takes adequate account of environmental requirements. But the Commission's concern will also be extended, as rapidly as possible, to cover policies and policy statements; plans and their implementation; procedures; programmes (including both their overall objectives and their sub-elements), as well as individual projects.

2.3.4. So far as concerns the Community's own policies a special importance already attaches to projects and programmes financed from the structural funds and other Community funds. The recent establishment of standing arrangements for the close coordination of operations under the aegis of all the structural funds will clearly greatly assist in taking full account of environmental needs. Within the framework of those coordination arrangements, the Commission is already working on the development of effective internal procedures to ensure that environmental requirements are built into the processes of assessing and approving proposals for all developments to be financed from such funds. These procedures will be based closely on the content of the Directive on environmental impact assessment (85/337/EEC) (6). They will also foresee the obligation to undertake environmental impact assessments in appropriate cases. Once these procedures have been established in relation to the Community's own policies, the Commission will consider the question of their wider application and will make appropriate proposals.

(6) OJ No L 175, 6. 7. 1985

2.3.5. However, the environmental assessment of development proposals is not by itself sufficient to ensure the adequate integration of environmental requirements into other policy areas. By way of illustrating the nature of the initiatives that need to be undertaken to ensure the full integration of these requirements into the planning and execution of economic and social activity within the Community, the following paragraphs indicate the Commission's intentions in relation to particular policy areas where, in the Commission's view, specific actions are necessary.

2.3.6. Agriculture - Europe's much admired landscape has been formed and shaped by agriculture over the centuries. However, the development of modern farming practices poses questions which require an urgent response. Inappropriate land use damages landscapes' quality and areas of special interest for conservation; misuse of chemicals and the uncontrolled disposal of agricultural wastes pollute water supplies and damage wildlife. The Commission has already announced its initial proposals (following publication of its Green Paper on 'Perspectives for the Common Agricultural Policy' (7) and its subsequent communication 'A Future for Community Agriculture' (8) to ensure that agricultural policy and practice in the Community will do more to respect the environment and to conserve the priceless heritage of landscape and species. They focus on measures 'to support agriculture in areas where it is essential for land use planning, maintenance of the social balance and protection of the environment and landscape' and on the needs 'to make farmers more aware of environmental issues'.

(7) COM(85) 333, 13. 7. 1985

(8) COM(85) 750, 18. 12. 1985

2.3.7. The Commission has also in COM(85) 750 made clear its view that to establish a proper balance between agricultural development and the sometimes conflicting needs of conserving the natural environment, a series of actions related in particular to the use of agro-chemicals, the treatment of agricultural wastes and the conservation of species, habitats and landscapes is necessary. In relation to large-scale agricultural and forestry projects and programmes the Commission has made plain on many occasions in the past that it will require the use of environmental impact assessments. As indicated in the Commission's recent communication to the Council on Community action in the forestry sector (9), an increase in the forest area of the Community is desirable for a number of reasons, including the contribution that this could make to environmental protection and improvement. On all these matters the Commission will make appropriate proposals as soon as possible.

(9) COM(86) 26, 31. 1. 1986

2.3.8. Moreover the systematic monitoring of forest die-back is an essential measure to accompany measures to control atmospheric pollution; proposals on this (and also to control forest fires) have long been before the Council; the Commission urges the need for their early adoption.

2.3.9. Industry - The integration of environmental considerations into industrial policy has to be seen in a much wider context than pollution prevention or control and environmental impact assessment procedures. The siting and design of industrial installations; industry's choice of product and process; and its approach to the management of its wastes, must all be influenced by environmental considerations. In turn, the role of industry in generating the wealth which inter alia makes possible the necessary environmental investments and improvements must be recognized.

2.3.10. It is the Commission's clear policy to develop proposals for environmental protection legislation in close consultation with industry. A further objective is, whenever possible, to give advance warning of likely changes in legislation laying down stricter environmental standards or requirements sufficiently far ahead to give industry time to adjust and to enable the new standards to be taken into account in its forward investment, policy and product planning.

2.3.11. Legislation, however, is not the whole story. It is clear that environmental standards will become progressively stricter and that the public demand for improved environmental quality will grow. It is, therefore, most important that industry should, on its own initiative and in its own interest, increasingly take steps to integrate environmental considerations into its own policies and operating procedures and practices. Many industrial companies have already taken important steps in this direction; and the same is true of certain banks, insurance companies, etc. The necessary full integration of environmental requirements into all economic and social activities will not, however, have been achieved until this approach becomes generalized. To this end the Commission will, during the period of the Fourth Environmental Action Programme, work in close consultation with industry in the development of suitable guidelines and codes of practice, so as to encourage such an evolution as rapidly as possible.

2.3.12. In doing so it will be necessary to recognize that the need for increasingly strict standards poses the greatest problems for the older industries that are involved in restructuring and have a lot of old plant. By contrast some of the new industries which are replacing them involve innovative technologies which are, by their very nature, less polluting and less environmentally troublesome than some of the old ones that they replace. Moreover, some of the innovative techniques can be and are being used in environmental management industries (such as pollution control equipment) thus bringing together improved environmental management and technological innovation.

2.3.13. Whether or not it is easy for a particular industry to respond to the demand for stricter environmental standards, the Commission is convinced that, overall, the competitivity of Community industry on world markets in the 1990's will depend partly on its products reaching environmental standards at least as high as those of competitors. If such progress is not made, then Community producers will lose market share not only on international markets, but also on the internal market. Moreover it needs to be recognized that pollution represents a waste of resources and is often linked with obsolete technologies. On both these counts the imposition of ambitious environmental standards in the remainder of the 1980's, which stimulate technological innovation in order to meet them, will protect markets and jobs in the long-term. These developing standards will be real challenges for industry; but will offer real opportunities as well.

2.3.14. Stricter environmental standards are likely to provide growth opportunities especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. The Community has recognized the importance of such companies for overall economic and employment growth in Europe. The very specific demands on product development, innovation and manufacturing which result from higher environmental standards are likely to be met above all by smaller firms which have the flexibility necessary to meet such demands. The resulting creation and development of small and medium-sized enterprises will be a significant contribution to the European economy in coming years. On the other hand, small and medium-sized enterprises cannot be exempted from meeting increasingly severe environmental standards although they may find difficulty in doing so. In some cases it may be necessary for the public authorities to assist these firms in carrying out the investment required to meet such standards. At the same time it is incumbent on legislators, both at the Community and national level, to consider the costs which legislation imposes on such enterprises. High environmental standards should be achieved in the least bureaucratic and most cost-efficient way.

2.3.15. Competition policy - In recognition of their importance in terms of the common European interest, state aids designed to promote the protection of the environment have been authorized by the Commission, under certain conditions, since 1974. The aim of allowing limited state aids for this purpose is to promote the introduction of, and industrial adaptation to, regulations which ensure effective environmental protection and to lead eventually to the promotion of the 'polluter pays' principle. The framework governing approval of such aids expires on 31 December 1986 and the Commission is currently studying the possibility of extending it.

2.3.16. Regional policy - One of the most important of the Community's policies is its regional development policy which seeks to promote the economic development of those regions of the Community that are less developed or are economically disadvantaged; and thus to promote economic convergence. Many of the projects financed from the regional fund are relatively large-scale infrastructure projects; many of the assisted areas contain environmentally important or sensitive zones, hence the integration of environmental requirements into the planning and execution of regional development policies and programmes (and of individual projects) is of particular importance. The procedures referred to in paragraph 2.3.4 above should satisfactorily ensure such integration.

2.3.17. The interaction between regional policy and environmental policy goes further than this essentially preventive aspect however. Amongst the less economically advanced areas of the Community cases can arise in which necessary environmental improvements may be delayed because of their financial impact on existing enterprises. In addition, public authorities in certain areas of the Community already face economic problems - applying Community measures, especially in relation to the installation of basic environmental infrastructure. In order to overcome these difficulties the Commission will make a proposal for a Community programme, within the framework of the regional fund, which will have as its objective to assist disadvantaged areas of the Community to implement Community environment Directives thus promoting both socio-economic development in such areas and Community environment policy. Further reference to this intention, which was announced in COM(86) 76, is made in paragraphs 2.5.4 and 5.4.6 below. The Commission hopes to be able to put forward precise proposals during the first half of 1987. In accordance with the framework of the Council's resolution of 17 February 1983, adopting the Third Community Environmental Programme (10), the Commission intends to be guided, inter alia, by the need to take account of the differing economic and ecological conditions and the differing structures in the Community.

(10) OJ No C 46, 17. 2. 1983

2.3.18. Energy - The production of energy is heavily dependent on the use of fossil fuels and thus energy policy is inevitably concerned by atmospheric pollution issues. Environmental requirements in turn affect energy costs and the competitive position as between different energy sources. The balanced pursuit of environmental and energy policy objectives is therefore of special importance, as stated in the Commission's recent communication on new Community energy objectives (11). Energy conservation and alternative non-fossil energy sources will help improve air quality. Technologies exist that can achieve significant reductions in polluting emissions from fossil fuel power-stations at reasonable costs; the Commission's proposals for the reduction of emissions from large combustion installations (see section 4.1.4) took account of this.

(11) COM(85) 245, 28. 5. 1986

2.3.19. The safe use of nuclear power in particular within the Community will certainly be fully discussed in the course of the far-reaching review that is currently being undertaken as announced in the Commission's communication to the Council on the follow-up to the recent accident at Chernobyl (12), within the context of that review certain measures of an environmental protection character will be examined and appropriate proposals made (see paragraphs 4.1.7, 4.2.2, 4.3.8, 5.3.7 and 7.1.6 (second item)); they concern the possible applicability to nuclear installations of approaches developed in relation to non-nuclear industry on emission standards and safety criteria: dumping of wastes at sea; and the transport of dangerous materials (including nuclear materials).

(12) COM(86) 327, 12. 6. 1986

2.3.20. Looking further ahead into the future it is clear that difficult problems could arise from the use of fossil fuels if the build-up of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and the 'Greenhouse effect' are shown (as certain scientists fear) to have serious impacts on climate and agricultural productivity worldwide. In case further scientific research should confirm the likelihood of such impacts, the Community should already be thinking about possible responses and alternative energy strategies. The Commission will continue its studies in this context.

2.3.21. In general therefore it is evident that all actions taken in the field of energy policy need to be considered from an environmental as well as economic standpoint (and vice-versa). A degree of integration has already been achieved but, as has been indicated, there may be real problems ahead. The management of nuclear waste, which is the subject of a Community research programme, as well as of a Community plan of action (1988-1992), remains a central issue of environmental concern. It will be necessary to strengthen the Community policy by building on the results of work already in hand, particularly within the framework of the Community's research programmes, with a view to developing clear orientations or guidelines at Community level for the disposal of such waste.

2.3.22. Internal market - The completion of the internal market by 1992 is an established Community commitment and one of the most important challenges facing the Community. The achievement of this goal requires the active support and assistance of all other Community policies. In the field of environment policy the main potential impact of the completion of the internal market will be in relation to product standards. In important cases, national standards could differ widely, particularly on the protection of the environment. It is essential in that case to seek at an early stage and at Community level any harmonization of these standards which may be necessary for environmental reasons. The Single European Act lays down that the approximation of laws on environmental protection will be based on a high level of protection (see paragraph 1.5). The Commission will make appropriate proposals during the period of the Fourth Environmental Action Programme between now and 1992.

2.3.23. Transport - The interaction of transport and the environment is a wide-ranging one. Transport, in the widest sense, is at the root of many environmental issues (noise, air pollution, impact on landscape, etc.), but it can also contribute directly and positively to the creation or improvement of certain environments. Improved accessibility widens opportunities for people to experience and appreciate environmentally important areas. On the other hand there is no doubt that badly planned transport links can be very destructive of environmental quality. Improving the environmental acceptability of vehicles is important and as is mentioned elsewhere action to this end is well in hand. Major transport infrastructure links, however, require particular attention with a view to minimizing adverse environmental impacts and maximizing benefits; in virtually all cases they will of course be subject to prior environmental impact assessment under the terms of Directive 85/337/EEC. The Commission will ensure that increasing attention is paid to all these interactions which will have a growing importance particularly given the new impetus to develop the common transport policy.

2.3.24. Tourism - Similarly, the impact of tourism on the environment and vice-versa is a matter of great concern, particularly having regard to the need to maintain and improve the quality of Europe's natural and architectural heritage.

2.3.25. Social policy - The essential part played by environmental protection policy in the field of social policy has to be recognized. There are numerous links especially in the field of worker protection, professional education and general labour conditions. The whole field of training in environmental skills and the extent to which environmental policies can generate employment (see paragraphs 2.4.6 and 2.4.7) are of clear relevance to social policy. The execution of the social policy and environmental action programmes have therefore to be coordinated as much as possible. New actions in the field of environmental protection policy of considerable importance for social policy may need to be taken, especially concerning the function and the status of those responsible in industrial plants for the correct application of environmental protection regulations.

2.3.26. Consumer protection - Action in the field of consumer protection has a considerable potential to build in the environmental dimension and thus to support Community environment policy. Programmes of consumer education and information, some of them promoted via Community instruments, should concern themselves with the environmental aspects of products and services as well as with consumer aspects. The legitimate emphasis on product safety, e.g. in the field of cosmetics, also has an environmental dimension. So too do such typical consumer interests as the quality of drinking water and the design and durability of products. The Commission will take steps to ensure a closer coordination of policies in these areas.

2.3.27. Development cooperation - A special importance is attached to the integration of environmental requirements into the Community's development programmes. This is so because so many of the Third world's problems are in essence environmental problems; policies which very directly seek to protect and improve the environment and to create the conditions for sustainable economic growth are therefore essential if the problems of development are to be effectively tackled.

2.3.28. General - In general the Commission will seek to ensure that steps are taken to integrate environmental requirements into the planning and execution of all economic, industrial, agricultural and social policies, as required by the European Council conclusions referred to in paragraph 2.3.1. Initially, as indicated in paragraph 2.3.2, emphasis will be placed on the Community's own policies; to this end the Commission will develop internal procedures and practices to ensure that this integration of environmental factors takes place routinely in relation to all other policy areas. The Commission will also work, during the period of the Fourth Environmental Action Programme, on the development of guidance, procedures and other tools that could contribute to a similar integration at the level of policies implemented by Member States; and by both public and private economic operators.

2.4. Economic and employment aspects of environmental policies and actions

2.4.1. Environmental measures are an integral component of the Community's economic activity, because environmental protection improves the quality of life and safeguards natural resources, thus permitting full realization of the benefits of economic acitivity, in the form of better patterns of economic growth and employment, with consequent beneficial effects on the competitiveness of industry. The Commission is, however, aware of the difficulties of drawing up a balance sheet of the positive and negative economic and employment effects of environmental policies and actions. For such a balance sheet to be valid it is essential that the benefits (as well as the costs) of environmental measures should be taken fully into account in decision-making procedures, whether or not they are amenable to measurement in money terms.

2.4.2. Against this background it is of great importance that the amendments to the Treaty of Rome agreed by the Governments of Member States envisage inter aliathat Community environment actions shall take account of the potential benefits and costs of action or of lack of action. The Commission will endeavour to develop methods of assessment which will facilitate this task and which will, so far as possible, ensure the preparation of an adequate cost-benefit analysis as a basis for environmental proposals.

2.4.3. Such assessments will clearly have to take into account both short- and long-term effects. The Commission, of course, recognizes that the economic gains from the pursuit of strict environmental requirements may not be without cost in the short-term. In some cases therefore they may pose short-term problems in terms of financing and competitivity. In other cases the rate of return on investment will be such that there will be short-term economic (as well as environmental) gains. In yet other cases the short-term costs of implementing environmental measures can be offset by longer term economic gains (if for example there is a stimulus to the development and introduction of cost-saving technologies or a competitive gain in markets with strict environmental regulations).

2.4.4. Even if the economic benefits to be derived from environmental measures can only be achieved in the longer term, there may still be sound environmental and economic reasons why the necessary investments should be undertaken. OECD has concluded that 'the benefits generated by environmental measures (including the damage costs avoided) have generally been greater than their costs'. In all cases it is essential that the damage costs of failing to take environmental action should be calculated and available for comparison.

2.4.5. It is also important, however, to bear in mind that the short-term costs resulting from the introduction of new environmental standards may have adverse effects on the competitiveness of certain enterprises that have to comply with them. This calls for close attention not only to the type and levels of environmental standards to be introduced but equally important to the timescale of implementation. The Commission will therefore aim, in its development of environmental measures, to ensure that the objectives and means are made clear to industry and that enterprises are allowed a reasonable time to adjust to the new standards. Adjustment to new environmental standards can in some circumstances be facilitated by financial support (see Section 2.5).

2.4.6. So far as concerns employment the Commission takes the clear view that a strengthened environment policy will in general have positive effects on job creation through environmental infrastructure and investment and through the manufacture of new products that are directly related to the improvement of environmental quality. Even though in some cases when environmental regulations increase industrial costs, there can be short-term negative impacts on employment, there is on the other hand much evidence that, in the past, environmental policies have probably had a marginally positive impact overall on employment. What is certain is that there are many environmental measures that can have direct and indirect positive job-creating effects (such as those designed to tackle inner city decay or to re-use derelict land or to repair landscape damage in areas of natural beauty) but which have hitherto been quite inadequately used. In general, environmental measures should be structured in such a way that the impact on employment is as positive as possible.

2.4.7. The Commission will accordingly shortly propose a five-year Community-wide programme of 'demonstration projects' in all Member States designed to demonstrate how environmental actions and the implementation of environmental policies can generate jobs; and to create a large body of experience and information on which industry and all Member States can draw in the future.

2.5. Economic instruments

2.5.1. A variety of different measures and procedures can be used to improve or maintain environmental quality. These, of course, include the legal regulation of products, processes, emissions and wastes; but they also include various economic instruments (such as taxes, charges, state aids, tradeable discharge permits); and agreements with polluters. The choice of the most appropriate instrument or instruments to use in any particular case will depend on circumstances, the legal and administrative framework and on the nature of the environmental problem being tackled.

2.5.2. The Community has an important role in the development of pollution control instruments of an economic character; and in devising guidelines for their use in the implementation of Community legislation. Any such measures must, of course, be used in ways which are consistent with the principles of Community environmental policy - notably the 'polluter pays principle' and the preventive approach.

2.5.3. The 1975 recommendation on cost allocation (13) provides for the use of charges, in circumstances where this is deemed appropriate. The Commission intends to undertake further work in this area with a view to developing the use of economic instruments in support of Community legislation. The 1975 recommendation also provides for state aids for pollution control measures when it is considered that exceptions can be justified to the 'polluter pays principle'. Member States are permitted, under a framework established by the Commission, to provide limited financial assistance to ease the introduction of new pollution control regulations for plants already in existence; this framework expires on 31 December 1986 and the Commission is presently considering the desirability of extending it.

(13) OJ No L 194, 25. 7. 1975

2.5.4. The Commission is also considering further provision for assistance towards pollution control measures and will (see paragraph 2.3.16 above) make a proposal for a Community programme, within the framework of the regional fund, to improve environmental infrastructure and to aid the implementation of Community environment Directives in disadvantaged areas of the Community.

2.5.5. Finally the Commission intends to consider the scope for the better definition of responsibility in the environmental field (including the possibility that the polluter should assume extended liability for damage caused by products or processes); and to devote attention to the question of the coordination of instruments where there are significant transboundary effects associated with product standards or transfrontier pollution.

2.5.6. More concretely the Commission intends to consider the use of economic instruments as a possible means of implementing Community policy in the fields of air pollution (see Section 4.1), water pollution (see Section 4.2), protection against noise (see Section 4.5), nature protection (see Section 5.1), and waste management (see Section 5.3).

2.6. Information and education

2.6.1. Mention has been made of the need to render the whole process of regulation and application of existing rules more transparent, particularly as far as public information is concerned. In this context it is important to improve the opportunities given by national regulations to individuals and groups to defend their rights or interests in administrative procedures. In the Commission's view particular attention needs to be given to situations where access to information is an element for the better protection of man or the environment, whether through the better application of regulations or otherwise. Comparable attention needs to be given to access to information in cases of transfrontier pollution.

2.6.2. In the Commission's view it should be possible to devise ways of improving public access to the information held by environmental authorities, whilst at the same time giving protection to information which can legitimately be regarded as confidential. The Commission will study the need for, and desirability of, a Community 'Freedom of Environmental Information Act' and will make appropriate proposals.

2.6.3. Quite apart, however, from the question of establishing rights of access, there is no doubt that the widespread diffusion of information on the environment and on environmental problems, policies and programmes can powerfully support both the evolution and public acceptance of necessary environmental measures. Not enough efforts have been made to this end, although it is important to note that a number of Member States now regularly publish national 'State of the Environment' reports. The Commission for its part will in future publish Community 'State of the Environment' reports on as three-yearly cycle starting in 1987, drawing for this purpose on information supplied by Member States under the provisions of Community Directives and on information available through the progressive development of the Community Information System on the State of the Environment and on natural resources (CORINE) (14) (see paragraph 2.6.6 below).

(14) Decision 338/85/EEC; OJ No L 176, 6. 7. 1985.

2.6.4. More generally the Commission intends to review its whole approach to the diffusion of information on environmental issues. Much more could be done to inform the public and thus influence public opinion in favour of strict environmental policies. As indicated in Section 2.2 the Commission intends to ensure the wider availability of information on the implementation of Community environmental legislation. The Commission will also take steps to ensure that many more of the numerous reports on scientific, technical and economic aspects that are prepared for the Commission's service in the course of developing policy proposals (but which may be of wider interest) are published in appropriate ways. The Commission is also supporting the launch of a new review on Community environmental policy and law. In addition, in order to enhance the efficacity of the actions on information, the Commission will ensure a better coordination between the Directorate-General for Information, Communication and Culture, and other concerned services.

2.6.5. The European Year of the Environment (EYE) (see Section 8) - the central aim of which is to convince every individual throughout the Community of the importance of the environment and thereby to change attitudes (both of society and of individuals) to the need for strict standards of environmental protection - offers both an opportunity and a challenge to improve dramatically on past performance in putting across relevant information on environmental issues and problems - and to put it across in ways that make it accessible to all elements in society; and that offers the chance of convincing them of the necessity to commit themselves to action (both during EYE and beyond) to achieve practical improvements.

2.6.6. At the level of hard data on environmentally significant parameters, the Community information system on the state of the environment (CORINE) will be of growing value and importance. The main purpose of CORINE is to ensure the availability of a sound base of comparable environmental information, to economic actors and decison-makers throughout the Community as an aid to the processes of policy-making, implementation of legislation and integration of the environmental dimension in other policy areas. The practical implementation of the CORINE programme is in hand and work on its continuous development will be undertaken during the period of the Fourth Environmental Action Programme. At the end of the phase of work covered by the Council Decision the Commission will report to the Council and present proposals which will ensure the availability throughout the Community of a wide range of up-to-date and comparable environmental and natural resource data, capable of being presented in ways and combinations likely to be of the greatest assistance to decision-makers.

2.6.7. Simultaneously and with a view to complementing the information produced in the framework of the CORINE programme, the Commission intends to reinforce the environmental component of the statistical programme of the European Community; in this connection it is in particular proposed to develop better information on the relationships between the economy and the environment.

2.6.8. Environmental education has a particular significance in strengthening public concern on environmental matters. As already noted everybody has to acknowledge that he can contribute, by his own behaviour, to better environmental conditions; and the stage at which this awareness can best be inculcated is during the period of education. Environmental education, which has already featured in earlier action programmes, will therefore continue to deserve support at Community level. The Pilot Schools Network has been successfully implemented (first at primary and then secondary levels) over the past eight years and has been strongly supported by Member States. Much valuable experience has been gained. The Commission intends to publish, during the European Year of the Environment, a full report on the work to date of the Pilot Schools Network and on the lessons learned. It will also send a communication to the Council indicating the basis on which it is intended that the network should be consolidated and extended to tertiary level, drawing on the experience to date and the latest developments in the field of educational science.

2.6.9. The function of non-governmental organizations in the development of environmental policy and thinking is a fudamental one. The development and application of environmental policy often necessitates difficult arbitration between the important but different interests of social and economic groups. The interests of specific branches of industry, including both management and unions, have to be taken into account as well as the different situations in the Member States. So too do the views of pressure groups defending specific or sectoral interests.In such complex situations the existence of non-governmental organizations who may be considered to represent general environmental interests and can act as partners of the policy-making organs, is of great importance. It is for that reason that the Commission will continue its constructive and permanent contact and exchange with representative environmental organisations at European level, especially with the European Environment Bureau.

2.6.10. Industrial federations, (e.g. UNICE) and trade union bodies (e.g. ETUC), are making increasing efforts to collaborate at both national and European level in the formulation and execution of environmental policy. The Commission believes that it is very important to strengthen and to organize more efficiently its cooperation with both the industrial federations and the unions and will make continuing efforts to this end. In this connection, the Commission intends to make the maximum possible use of the contributions made by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Working and Living Conditions.

3. APPROACHES TO THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF POLLUTION

3.1. General principles

3.1.1. Environmental policies are conceived and implemented in stages, moving from the perception of an environmental problem (either an actual problem or - preferably - at the stage at which it is still only potential) to the institution and enforcement of necessary measures whether remedial or preventive. The basic objective of all such measures is to prevent harm to man and to the environment or, where damage has already occured, to correct it.

3.1.2. The nature of the measures that need to be taken to deal with pollution problems in practice inevitably shows a considerable degree of variation, depending inter aliaon the nature of the adverse effects perceived or anticipated, their causes, and the sources of the problem. Thus, for example, a pollution problem might to varying degrees be:

- acute or chronic,

-localized or geographically dispersed,

-related primarily to a single pollutant or to combinations of pollutants,

-concentrated in one medium (air, water or land) or affect several, and/or involve the movement of pollutants between media,

-moreover the source of any given pollution problem may be a point source (or sources) or diffuse, may be fixed or mobile, and may be linked principally with one industrial sector, or with several.

3.1.3. Given this complexity it is natural - and appropriate - that the approaches to pollution control that are encountered in practice will differ in their emphasis, depending on technical, administrative and legal possibilities for control measures, as well as on the way in which the effects of pollution and control measures are distributed. However, it is important to recognize that these different approaches do not reflect any difference in fundamental principles. Thus, for example, a measure which concentrates on a single pollutant can be justified if (in the particular circumstances and in the light of available scientific evidence) it appears that there are no significant interactions with other pollutants; but this special case does not negate the general principle that pollution control policies should take account of such interactive effects.

3.1.4. The first stage in the control of a pollution problem is research and detailed study to investigate the factors involved and their interrelationships. In general, pollution problems may be characterized by four main factors - the pollutant, the sources of the pollutant, the environmental medium or media into which the pollutant is discharged or in which it appears or through which it is transported, and the target organism or environment. Control action may be directed towards any one or more of these elements of the problem.

3.1.5. The pollutant may be a single chemical substance or a mixture; it may consist of organic or inorganic substances or both; it may be a physical entity such as noise or heat. Control action directed at the pollutant aims to prevent or reduce emissions of a specific substance or type of pollution from all sources into the relevant environmental media. Source-based controls aim to reduce emissions for the major sources into all media where the pollutant has a significant impact.

3.1.6. If the focus is placed on the environmental media concerned, then it is clear that one or more may be involved in the discharges and transport of pollutants; the most significant are air, water, soil, sediments and biota. Controls based on the environmental medium usually aim to reduce emissions of a specific substance from all major sources into one medium.

3.1.7. Finally turning to the target of pollution, this is usually a living organism but it can be inanimate - the soil or a building for instance. Target-base controls aim to protect the organism or environment from damage i.e. an environmental quality objective in the form of target-based controls.

3.1.8. When an environmental problem has been identified and investigated an appropriate control strategy can be decided upon. The control strategy selected may include biological standards, exposure limits, environmental quality objectives or standards, emission standards, process or operating standards, product standards, limits on total emissions ora range of preventive controls, at national or regional levels; (such as the application of environmental impact assessment procedures or testing and notification requirements for new industrial processes and products) - or some combination of these.

3.1.9. The control strategy adopted may clearly require various forms of action at Community level, depending, for example, on the spread and nature of the environmental problem, the effects of possible measures on the operation of the common market in goods and services and interactions with other Community policies.

3.2. Multi-media pollution controls

3.2.1. When problems are caused by the emission of pollutants from many sources into a single medium (with no significant cross-media effect) an approach based on emission limits or on environmental quality standards for that medium may be the most appropriate. Up until now Community environmental policy has tended to follow this approach. Although the Third Environmental Action Programme referred to the neeed to 'avoid any transfer of pollution that might arise from only partial measures', the tendency has been to concentrate on pollution problems as these arise in the different media: air, water, soil has predominated. There have of course, been some important horizontal instruments, for example the Sixth Amendment (15) and the recently adopted Directive on environmental impact assessment (16), but, in the main, the view taken has been a sectoral one and this view has been reflected in the structure of the Commission's own departments dealing with the environment.

(15) OJ No L 259, 18. 9. 1979

(16) OJ No L 175, 5. 7. 1985

3.2.2. Thus, early on, quality objectives for certain uses of water were defined at Community level; these were followed in turn by Community emission standards as far as the discharge of certain dangerous substances to water were concerned (though the so-called 'parallel' approach of Directive 76/464/EEC (17) meant that these standards were at the same time accompanied by quality objectives). In tackling air pollution too, certain air quality standards were defined at Community level to be followed by the adoption of a framework Directive on emissions from certain industrial installations (18) which envisaged the establishment of Community-wide emission limits; and by Commission proposals for emission limits on the discharges to the atmosphere from large combustion installations. The problems of waste were attacked through a series of Community Directives, aimed at establishing a general framework for the disposal of waste to land, in particular toxic and dangerous waste. The dumping of waste at sea is the subject of a recent Commission proposal (19).

(17) OJ No L 129, 18. 5. 1976

(18) OJ No L 188, 16. 7. 1984

(19) OJ No C 245, 26. 9. 1985

3.2.3. One inevitable consequence of the sectoral approach to pollution is that, as standards are tightened in one area, so the pressures may increase in another area. If discharges to air or water are restricted, then disposal to land may seem the preferred solution. But if the controls on the disposal of waste to land (and at sea) are in turn tightened, other difficulties may arise. The Commission's clear view is that the Community needs to move to increasingly strict environmental standards in all sectors. In these circumstances it is at least arguable that a sector by sector approach to pollution problems is not necessarily the most economically efficient solution, i.e. it does not necessarily achieve the maximum pollution reduction (taking all media into consideration) for a given economic cost.

3.3. Substance-oriented controls

3.3.1. A review of Community legislation reveals that the approach so far adopted to pollution in the different environmental sectors has not always been entirely consistent. Where interactions between polluting substances are not, for the purposes of environmental management, perceived as a significant consideration, a coherent strategy would seek to:

(a) assess the exposure by a particular pollutant through the various pathways (air, water, soil) of a particular target;

(b)assess the effects of such exposures, including the risks for health and the environment;

(c)set standards designed to limit the impact of pollution where this is appropriate.

3.3.2. Because of its largely sectoral orientation previous Community action has tended to concentrate on discharges of a particular pollutant, to one medium (for example, water) in isolation from impacts on other media such as air or soil. In some circumstances this approach is open to criticism on the grounds that cross-media effects are not negligible. In earlier Community action programmes on the environment and in various instruments already adopted by the Council, there are already to be found various 'priority listings' of substances. But on the whole these listings are sector-specific (e.g. the 'black list' and 'grey list' of substances whose discharge into the aquatic environment is to be controlled under the provisions of Directive 76/464/EEC) (20). There has not yet been a coherent attempt within the Community to assess substances on a cross-media basis or to devise control strategies on such a basis, although in practice in certain cases the aggregation of different standards which may have evolved haphazardly over a period of time in different sectors relating to a particular substance may in fact have led to more or less effective control.

(20) OJ No L 129, 18. 5. 1976

3.3.3. An integrated substance-oriented approach to chemicals will:

- take account of the occurrence of a particular substance from whatever source,

-proceed towards an integrated risk assessment, which takes into account the different routes through which people and the environment are exposed,

-lead to choices regarding the most effective and efficient solution to the problems caused.

3.3.4. Such an integrated approach to chemicals management will lead to the selection, at Community level, of a provisional list of priority substances for environmental policy. Further evaluation and assessment may result in a definitive list of priority substances which in turn should lead to consideration, at Community level, of relevant control strategies for individual substances such as PCBs, cadmium, lead, phosphates, arsenic, copper, mercury, asbestos, dioxins, etc; such strategies would, of course, need to take account of controls that already exist at Community level in certain fields.

3.3.5. The Commission has already begun to work on the basis of a substance-oriented approach in certain particular cases. An example of one possible application of this approach is contained in the Commission's proposal to reduce environmental pollution by asbestos (21).

(21) OJ No C 349, 31. 12. 1985

3.3.6. Other ways of applying the same principle are possible. The Commission is carefully reviewing, on an 'across the board' basis, the environmental problems caused by cadmium. This review will lead to conclusions as to whether existing Community legislation restricting discharges to the environment of this substance, by whatever route, are sufficient or whether gaps exist; and, if so, what is the most cost-effective control strategy to ensure an adequate degree of protection. In these circumstances, appropriate proposals would be made.

3.4. Source-oriented controls

3.4.1. Environment management should ideally take into account interactions between sources of pollutants (where for example a limited absorptive capacity is shared between several discharges). In some cases, however, it may be reasonable to focus controls on a single type of source (especially where there are no other significant sources of pollutant or pollutants concerned). To some extent Community Directives (adopted or proposed) on automobiles and large combustion installations represent such a source-oriented approach in the sense that they deal with a group or class of polluters (traffic, power plants). But they do not set out deliberately to look at the totality of the polluting discharges (including waste generation) of the particular class or group. The 'source-oriented' approach as defined in Chapter 5 of the First Environment Action Programme (actions specific to certain industrial sectors and to energy production) has not made much progress at least at Community level even though 15 key industrial ectors were identified in that programme and numerous studies were undertaken.

3.4.2. In fact, proposals were made for only two industrial sectors - titanium dioxide (where a multi-media approach was adopted) and pulp-and-paper (where the emphasis was on discharges to water). The pulp-and-paper proposal remains unadopted, and even unconsidered, by the Council, whilst the history of the titanium-dioxide proposal has not been encouraging. Nevertheless a source-oriented approach (aimed at individual industries or target groups of industries, and covering all discharges to air, land, or water and including the generation of solid as well as liquid or gaseous wastes) is appropriate in certain circumstances and is one of the alternative approaches available that may be worth considering again.

3.4.3. To

support such an approach a better, more comprehensive knowledge of the emissions into air, water and to soil in the form of wastes from major sources of such emissions would certainly be needed, as well as knowledge of their likely evolution. Emission inventories should be set up and kept up to date; the state of the art of technologies to control emissions should also be regularly maintained and disseminated to those concerned and to the public, together with the costs entailed. Such action is clearly desirable in any event, whatever approach to pollution control is adopted and the Commission will take the necessary steps to make progress in these directions in cooperation with Member States and with the industries concerned.

3.4.4. The Commission will reflect further on these questions and will undertake the necessary studies and discussions to enable thinking on the matter to be carried forward. In doing so it will be important to acknowledge the difficulties that have prevented progress to date - such as the sense of apparent 'discrimination' against particular industrial sectors; and the problems of overlap where pollutants covered by a source-oriented approach are also regulated through sectoral legislation. It will also be important to recognize that for a global multi-media, multi-pollutant approach to work effectively would require a highly sophisticated control mechanism; the capacity to make valid judgements as to the optimum package of control actions which would enable wastes to be reduced, managed or distributed in ways which cause the least damage to, and yet provide the best use of, the environment (thus securing the greatest environmental benefit at the lowest economic cost); and the power to enforce such judgements. This in turn would ineviably have institutional implications in Member States - a powerful unified control authority, able to arbitrate as between different environmental sectors to secure optimum solutions, would seem to be an unavoidable corollary of such an approach. There are of course many other reasons for arguing the desirability of such agencies.

3.5. Product standards, emission limits and envirommental quality objectives and standards

3.5.1. Environmental regulations setting standards for products or emissions can be based on the technical characteristics of the industry or product subject to regulation and/or on a formally specified quality objective or standard for the receiving environment. A wide variety of approaches has in fact been used.

3.5.2. In legislation adopted to date the Community has, for example, fixed limits for gaseous emissions from motor vehicles and in the case of certain air pollutants, the Commission has proposed that emission limits should be set for some fixed sources. At the same time for some air pollutants, e.g. SO2, particulates and lead, environmental air quality standards have been agreed at Community level. As far as the discharge of dangerous substances to water is concerned, the Community has agreed on the so-called parallel approach for 'black list' substances, under which Member States are free to choose either the environmental quality objective or the emission limit approach, while insisting that for discharges of 'grey list' substances (as for the Directives dealing with particular uses of water) the quality objectives approach should be followed.

3.5.3. As far as the pollution of the soil is concerned, the first Directive adopted - on the use of sewage sludge in agriculture (22) - provides for both quality standards and emission limits (spreading rates and quantities) to be observed simultaneously; whilst in certain other Directives requirements have been expressed in general terms only.

(22) OJ No L 181, 4. 7. 1986.

3.5.4. In many important cases (e.g. lead in petrol, the sulphur content of gasoils) product standards have been laid down with the dual objective of protecting the environment and avoiding artificial barriers to trade or distortions of competition. In other cases other approaches have been adopted - such as the requirement to establish programmes (e.g. the Directive on drinks containers (23), or agreed reductions in the level of use (e.g. the Decisions on CFC's (24)). In some of the water Directives guide values as well as mandatory values have been laid down; and plainly other forms of guidance as to good practice could have a part to play.

(23) OJ No L 176, 6. 7. 1985.

(24) OJ No L 329, 25. 11. 1982.

3.5.5. Another important element in establishing standards at Community level is the 'state of the art', in terms of available technology. The question arises of how to translate this general concept into concrete values. It is noteworthy that in recent Community environmental legislation (especially in relation to atmospheric pollution and water pollution) reference is increasingly made to best available technology. Against this background arrangements made at Community level to promote a more efficient exchange of information between Member States and with the Commission regarding their own experience and knowledge of applicable technologies would be of value. The Commission intends to make proposals as to how such an information exchange could best be achieved.

3.6. Conclusions

3.6.1. The Commission does not take the view that any one approach is necessarily to be preferred to others. Much depends on the circumstances of the case. Accordingly future proposals will set standards in the manner which is most appropriate, in the light of environmental protection requirements and the Community's responsibilities. Thus Community measures (for example product noise regulations) whose main purpose is to avoid trade distortions arising from unilateral actions by Member States will tend to emphasize technical conditions for the maintenance of environmental quality; on the other hand measures to combat cross-frontier pollution such as acid rain will need to take into account both environmental quality standards and the technical requirements for remedial action.

3.6.2 However, the Commission considers that the Community has had sufficient experience of the many different approaches to environmental protection that have been adopted in Community legislation to date - and have been described and discussed above - to make it desirable and worthwhile for the whole matter to be reviewed. The aim of such a review would be to determine whether any rationale can be worked out which would provide useful guidance as to the preferred approaches to be adopted in future Community legislation. The Commission will accordingly, in close cooperation with Member States, take the necessary steps to set in hand a general review of the value and efficacy of the approaches to standard-setting adopted to date, coupled with consideration of possible future developments, (including the role of economic instruments (see paragraph 2.5.6 above).

4. ACTION IN SPECIFIC SECTORS

4.1. Atmospheric pollution

4.1.1. Although the Community has already made some progress in dealing with traditional causes of air pollution, such as smoke, particulates and sulphur dioxide in industrialized urban areas, new problems have emerged recently, linked inter alia to increased traffic and to acid depositions which are likely to remain of major concern. The air pollutants involved, especially sulphur, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and photochemical oxidants, are known to act individually, collectively or synergistically to acidify the soil and surface waters, to inhibit plant growth and to damage monuments, buildings and structures; they are also potentially detrimental to human health.

4.1.2. Industrial processes, waste incineration and other human activities giving rise to emissions to the air of identified or suspected persistent, dangerous or toxic substances (e.g. heavy metals, PCBs, asbestos) may not only contaminate the air but lead to the transfer of the pollution to other parts of the environment and there produce deleterious effects on human beings and ecosystems. This is an added reason for reducing emissions to air.

4.1.3. The European Council at its Stuttgart meeting in June 1983 called for the acceleration and reinforcement of action at national, Community and international level with the aim of combatting the pollution of the environment and in particular of the air. As a first response the Commission forwarded to the Council a number of proposals aimed at the limitation and reduction of emissions from major stationary and mobile sources (25); in parallel a major effort was deployed on research into the causes and effects of the air pollutants designed to elucidate the causal mechanisms associated with the damage observed.

(25) See 17th General Report on the Activities of the European Communities, 1983, paragraphs 377-381.

4.1.4 The Commission also made plain that it was adopting a strategic approach which involved requiring a substantial overall decrease of emissions of acidifying substances from all major sources. This will be pursued. In this connection it is of prime importance that the Commission's proposal for reducing emissions from large combustion installations, which is still under discussion in the Council, should soon be adopted, hopefully before the Fourth Environmental Action Programme begins (26). Similarly, the finalization and implementation of the new 'European Standards' for motor vehicle exhaust emissions will lead to further reductions in nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and other pollutants. But these measures by themselves are unlikely to be sufficient.

(26) OJ No C 49, 21. 2. 1984.

4.1.5. The Commission is currently working on the development of an overall longer-term strategy to reduce air pollution within the European Community as well as beyond its boundaries, with the aim of defining an adequate and comprehensive approach in response to the challenge given by the Stuttgart European Council. This overall strategy will be published as a communication to the Council during 1987.

4.1.6. Major objectives within this strategy will be:

- to identify the atmospheric pollutants (outdoor and indoor) which are currently and potentially of greatest concern from the standpoint of the protection of human health and of the environment,

-to determine the most appropriate means - whether substance and/or source-oriented - for dealing with the pollution problems already identified or likely to become important, whilst taking care that air pollution is not simply transferred to water or soil,

-to set and implement Community-wide objectives for substantial reductions of total emissions from all relevant sources into the air, in order to combat acid deposition and associated damages including corrosion and forest die-back,

-in the longer term to reduce the ambient air concentrations of the most important pollutants down to levels considered acceptable for the protection of sensitive ecosystems,

-to define and implement preventive measures against indoor pollution from a growing number of substances,

-to develop and put in place related instruments which can assist in achieving these objectives, including:

- an inventory of emissions and major source categories,

-an inventory of best available pollution abatement technologies and associated costs,

-new low polluting technologies,

-monitoring networks,

-modelling techniques,

-economic instruments to prevent pollution.

4.1.7. In continuation of work already initiated under the preceeding action programmes, the major plant categories listed in the Directive on air pollution from industrial plant (27) (Directive 84/360/EEC) which warrant Community-wide emission standards will have to be dealt with. Moreover Community emission standards, based on best available technology, may also be needed for sources not yet covered by this Directive, (in particular for nuclear installations and for installations burning fuel oil and solid fuels) so as to achieve, over a reasonable period of time, a framework within which all the major air pollutants from the main categories of installations are controlled on a coherent basis. On all these matters the Commission will make appropriate proposals.

(27) OJ No L 188, 16. 7. 1984, p. 20.

4.1.8. Further measures will be proposed for reducing air pollution from transport categories not yet covered by Community legislation. Air quality standards may also be required for certain pollutants such as photochemical oxidants, of which ozone is suspected to play a key role because of its synergistic effects in connection with acid depositions. Consideration will be given to developing ecological air quality standards at Community level, covering, for example, acid deposition in forests and other sensitive ecosystems.

4.1.9. Outside the Community, the need for coordinated international action on atmospheric pollution will remain paramount, even when the Community has put its own house in order; it will still need, if real progress is to be achieved, to continue to play an active and constructive part in the work of international bodies such as the Economic Commission for Europe, and the International Atomic Energy Agency and through relevant international conventions, whnever or wherever air pollution problems are identified and discussed

4.2 Water and sea water

4.2.1 The Third Environmental Action Programme noted that the Commission would continue with the measures begun under the first two programmes and would implement the Directives and Decisions adopted by the Council with a view to preventing and reducing water pollution. These Directives and Decisions related in particular to the setting at Community level of quality standards for particular uses of water (to date, surface water, drinking water, bathing water and groundwater are covered together with waters used for fish and shellfish raising); and to reducing pollution caused by the discharge of certain dangerous substances to the aquatic environment. The third programme noted that the main areas of activity were:

- the control of pollution by dangerous substances,

-the control of pollution from oil spills,

-monitoring and control with a view to improving water quality and reducing pollution.

4.2.2. These priorities remain valid in the context of the Fourth Environmental Action Programme and the Commission will make appropriate proposals in relation to all these areas. In addition, however, it needs to be stressed that the priority attributed to marine pollution is steadily increasing and that, in that context, the Commission will pay considerable attention to other dangerous substances transported by sea, as well as to noil. The Commission has also indicated in COM(86) 327 its intention to consider the case for proposing Community emission standards, based upon best available technology, for nuclear installations and to make proposals for Community adherence to the London Dumping Convention.

4.2.3. As far as concerns the questions of water pollution caused by the discharge of dangerous substances to the aquatic environment, there may be a case for reviewing the advantages and limitations of the so-called 'parallel' approach established by Directive 76/464/EEC as indicated in Section 3.3 above. The two approaches are not equally well adapted to tackling either point or diffuse sources of pollution. The Commission will reflect on the possiblity of developing proposals for a more coherent pollution control policy covering both types of pollution source and involving the more discriminating use of either one or both of these parallel approaches.

4.2.4. Meanwhile the Commission intends to continue with the detailed implementation of Directive 76/464/EEC. Now that the general framework Directive for fixing emission limits and quality objectives for dangerous substances has been adopted (28), the task of establishing values in respect of substances featuring amongst the 129 'black list' (Annex I) substances published by the Commission in 1982 (29) can be much accelerated. The Commission will make proposals for value