No C 56/20 Official Journal of the European Communities 7. 3. 90 
In the light of the assessments and recommendations 
of the present opinion, the Committee can make further 
Done at Brussels, 15 November 1989, 
1. Introduction 
1.1. Subject to the following comments and pro­
posals, the Fxonomic and Social Committee generally 
approves the Commission's proposal to set up the much 
needed and long-awaited European Environment Agen­
cy. The Committee accordingly urges the Council of 
Ministers and the Member States to adopt the proposed 
Regulation rapidly and effectively implement its pro­
visions at European, international, national and local 
levels. 
The main reasons for the Committee's approval of the 
proposal and its formal request are set out below. 
2. General appraisal and reasons for the proposal 
2.1. Urgent need for an international instrument 
2.1.1. The creation of a Community and transna­
tional instrument for monitoring data and the environ­
ment is now of vital importance. Industrial and natural 
hazards, the major disasters of recent years and both 
good and bad experiences in the field of the environ-and more comprehensive contributions. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alberto MASPRONE 
ment, make it more and more obvious that the present 
and future, as well as our vision of the world and of 
society, are going to be increasingly shaped by ecologi­
cal factors and by the interdependence of, and active 
involvement of individuals and society in, economic 
development and natural cycles. 
2.1.2. Economic growth and protection of the 
environment can no longer be regarded as mutually 
exclusive. Today the view is widely held that the more 
an economy is based on the continuous recycling of 
primary materials the better and the more environment-
friendly it will be. It is now essential (and will become 
increasingly important) for every individual, firm and 
institution to be ecologically minded, something which 
requires full and prompt information. This in turn 
is out of the question unless we have the necessary 
environment monitoring and information instruments. 
Information is also important as ecologically harmful 
production will become more and more costly, just as 
many economic activities will be adversely affected by 
the deterioration of the environment. Opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on the establishment of the 
European Environment Agency and the European Environment Monitoring and Information 
Network 
(90/C 56/07) 
On 24 July 1989 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, 
under Article 130s of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for Protection of the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Affairs, which 
was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 
31 October 1989. The rapporteur was Mr Vercellino. 
At its 271st plenary session (meeting of 15 November 1989) the Economic and Social 
Committee adopted the following opinion unanimously. 
7. 3. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 56/21 
2.2. A balanced solution 
2.2.1. Much credit must go to the Commission for 
having found a reasonable balance between the import­
ant transnational and transfrontier functions of the 
Agency on the one hand, and the political and oper­
ational powers and responsibilities of the Commission 
and Member States on the other. The Agency's function 
is to analyse and find solutions to problems, as well as 
be the driving force of a monitoring and information 
network; to this end it must have legal personality and 
the right to take initiatives in order to stimulate action 
and act as a coordinating element. It must do this 
without impinging on the powers of the Commission 
and the Member States but must see its task as that of 
providing the Community, the Member States and those 
non-member countries who sign agreements to partici­
pate in its activities, with all the objective information 
necessary to enable them to (a) draw up and enact 
legislation and (b) prepare and implement environmen­
tal policies, actions and decisions which will be effective 
and geared to particular needs, priorities and emergency 
situations. 
2.3. Previous views and proposals of the Economic 
and Social Committee 
2.3.1. Over the last few years the Committee has 
repeatedly and forcefully drawn the attention of the 
Commission, the Council and the Member States to the 
need for an environmental information and coordinat­
ing instrument, seeing it as a logical and unavoidable 
consequence of the emergency situation created in the 
field of the environment. 
2.3.2. It is fitting to preface this opinion with a recap 
of some of the main assessments, views and proposals 
already expounded by the Committee in this area, 
especially since such positions explain the call in sub­
sequent chapters of this opinion for clarifications and 
improvements to various passages and Articles of the 
proposed Regulation. 
2.3.3. As far back as 1984 the Committee voiced its 
approval of the first phase of the implementation of an 
information system on the state of the environment and 
the natural resources in the Community, considering 
such an information system to be 'an essential precon­
dition for an effective environmental policy'^) and 
pointing out that 'no attempt has yet been made in any 
part of the world to pool all information relevant to 
environment policy and render it comparable'. 
2.3.4. The Council was therefore invited to 'commit 
itself to ensuring that data on the state of the environ­
ment, which are at present collected by different 
methods in the various Member States, are gathered 
in accordance with uniform rules'. To this end the 
(') OJ No C 140, 28. 5. 1984 (p. 14). Commission would be given 'comprehensive coordinat­
ing powers'. The Committee also underlined the need 
'to introduce rules allocating specific responsibility for, 
and providing a check on, the reliability and compara­
bility of collection methods in all the Member States'. 
2.3.5. The Committee was particularly pleased that 
the Corine programme (2) had been adopted following 
the Council Decision of 27 June 1985. The main purpose 
of this programme, as the fourth environmental action 
programme stated, was to 'ensure the availability of a 
sound base of comparable environmental information 
to economic actors and decision-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' (3). 
2.3.6. In the opinion on the fourth programme the 
Committee also called for the systematic compilation 
of data on the environment, pointing out that 'This 
would require an adequate number of permanently 
operating measuring stations recording the most signifi­
cant damage to the environment at relevant places. To 
enable their findings to be assessed at Community level, 
it will be necessary to standardize the measuring pro­
cedures, assessment criteria and staff training' (4). 
2.4. Availability of data and access to information 
2.4.1. The Committee notes that the report on the 
results of the Corine (5) programme at the half-way 
stage (after two years of operation) reaches the con­
clusion that the need for coherent data at Community 
level on the state of the environment and natural 
resources has grown enormously following adoption 
of the Single Act, partly because of the systematic 
incorporation of environmental aspects in other Com­
munity policies and partly because of the need to take 
specific regional circumstances into consideration in the 
application of environmental policies. 
2.4.2. The same interim report underlines the prob­
lems posed by the 'supply' of information and by the 
huge variations between countries and regions in the 
availability and quality of data; it also stresses the need 
to work out more effective and comparable methods 
of evaluating environmental phenomena. 
2.4.3. The urgent need to do something about the 
disparity of data was also highlighted in the recent 
Committee opinion on the 'freedom of access to infor­
mation on the environment' which says that all Euro­
pean citizens have right of access to information on the 
state of the environment and that the content of such 
(2) OJ No L 176, 6. 7. 1985. 
(3) OJ No C 328, 7. 12. 1987 (point 2.6.6, p. 16). 
(4) OJ No C 180, 8. 7. 1987 (point 2.1.1.3). 
(5) COM(88) 420 final. 
No C 56/22 Official Journal of the European Communities 7. 3. 90 
information must be more or less the same. The opinion 
also emphasizes the need for Community as well as 
national authorities to provide access to information (!). 
2.5. Need for a quantum leap 
2.5.1. Given such a context, the Economic and Social 
Committee considers that the proposed creation of 
a European Environmental Agency is a decisive step 
forward, a genuine quantum leap from the experimental 
coordination phase to a full-scale environment monitor­
ing and information network at European level in which 
the results achieved so far, notably under the Corine 
programme, will be integrated and consolidated. 
2.5.2. The Agency's first and foremost official task 
is to promote the creation of a European environmental 
information network, whilst encouraging alignment of 
national instruments and operational methods, which 
still differ noticeably. 
2.5.3. The Committee also considers that since the 
cross-frontier effects of environmental problems and 
constraints are now being felt further and further afield, 
the Agency needs to make a large-scale contribution to 
the strengthening of international cooperation in the 
field of data collection and risk surveillance. Such coop­
eration will tend to be increasingly extended, either in 
forms provided for under the new instrument or in 
ways yet to be devised, to European countries not 
belonging to the Community and to third-world 
countries—especially those beset by environmental 
calamities and emergencies or which are particularly 
vulnerable and impoverished. 
As far as Europe itself is concerned, maximum attention 
and absolute priority needs to be given to areas and 
situations of greatest risk. Data-recording and environ­
mental monitoring stations and branches therefore need 
to be opened in such areas as soon as possible. 
3. General Comments 
3.1. Contribution by and involvement of the Economic 
and Social Committee 
3.1.1. The Committee notes that the Commission 
does not provide an adequate role for the social partners 
and other representative groups, and does not assign 
the Economic and Social Committee any specific 
function—either during the initial or subsequent stages 
of the Agency's activities—which would be in keeping 
with its previous involvement in environmental protec­tion policies and activities, as well as with its contri­
bution to the establishment of a European environment 
monitoring and information system. Provision could 
have been made for consultations and periodic or spe­
cial meetings between Committee representatives and 
the constituent organs of the Agency, or other forms 
of Committee involvement could have been devised. 
Whatever forms involvement takes, the Committee 
would like to make the following clear: 
3.1.2 In expressing its views as rapidly and practi­
cally as possible on the creation of a European Environ­
ment Agency, and on the Regulation appertaining ther­
eto, the Committe was working on the assumption that 
swift action was needed to make up for the considerable 
delays and to be able to respond as fully as possible to 
the urgent and exceptional state of the environment in 
Europe. The Committee accordingly urges that, on a 
more general level and in tandem with the creation 
of the Agency, emergency environmental measures be 
taken as soon as possible to improve and strenghten 
coordination and political and practical commitments 
at regional, national, European and international levels. 
3.1.3. Given the interdependence and influence of 
environmental policies on all other policies, and on 
socioeconomic, natural and climatic conditions at vari­
ous levels, the Committee would like to make it clear 
that it intends to take a close interest and play an active 
part in the creation and development of the Agency 
whenener it is consulted, or — if appropriate and urgent 
action is deemed necessary — by issuing own-initiative 
opinions or taking other forms of action. 
3.1.4. This applies in particular (1) the start-up and 
running-in phase of the Agence and (2) the more general 
action and commitments of the Commission, the 
Council, the Member States and their respective agen­
cies in identifying, coordinating and developing 
adequate and well-timed environmental policies and 
measures at various levels, with the active and closer 
involvement of various national and local bodies, 
environmental groups and the socioeconomic categories 
and interests concerned. 
3.1.5. The Committee would point out that it is 
likely to ask to be consulted, or carry out own-initiative 
work, under one or more of the following circum­
stances: 
(!) O) No C 139, 5. 6. 1989 (points 1.3 and 2.1.1). — after the European Parliament has taken a stand on 
the Agency, 
7. 3. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 56/23 
— if one or more Member States delay or oppose 
creation of the Agency, 
— if substantial amendments are made to the initial 
Commission proposal on the creation of the Agency 
and/or the Regulation appertaining thereto, 
— if its launch has to be delayed because of difficulties 
Member States have in reaching an agreement on 
the location of the Agency (or for whatever other 
reason), 
— when the initial report on the activities of the Agen­
cy is published — for example in connection with 
important matters such as the collection and classifi­
cation of data; the compilation of updated maps 
on environmental risks; the Agency's track record; 
record of national and local bodies operating in the 
environmental and other fields, 
— when the most important proposals are made, or 
concrete action is to be taken, to improve coordi­
nation and strenghten the Community's environ­
mental policies and actions — action which the data 
monitoring activities of the Agency is called upon 
to facilitate and intensify. 
3.1.6. With regard to one possible form of involve­
ment already envisaged in the Commission proposal, 
the Committee is of the view that the presence of 
technical and scientific experts in the Agency's board of 
management might lead to an overlapping of functions. 
Their presence might heavily influence the activities 
engaged in by the Scientific Committee yet not help to 
solve management problems. Rather, it would seem 
more appropriate, if the aim is to upgrade the activities 
of the Agency and inaugurate a new practice, to include 
at least six other experts in the Scientific Committee: 
three appointed by the European Parliament and three 
by the Economic and Social Committee. 
3.2. System of data collection and coordination 
3.2.1. The standardization of data and of data collec­
tion and coordination systems is essential and urgent. 
Under no circumstances must the task be held up by 
technical, administrative or local difficulties. Efforts 
should be concentrated on standardizing key sectors, 
topics and parameters as soon as possible, so that there 
is no duplication or needless expenditure, no confusion 
and no conflicts of duties and powers. 
3.3. The Agency's functions 
3.3.1. Even though the move to create the European 
Environment Agency is long overdue, it still reflects a 
general environmental awareness and mobilization of 
interested parties and the public at large. A warm 
welcome should therefore be given to the fact that a Directorate-General at the Commission is to be pro­
vided with an instrument which will not make the DG 
itself too unwieldy. A clear distinction will be drawn 
in this way between the making and implementation of 
policy and there will be no overlapping of duties. 
3.3.2. However, it will be necessary to clarify the 
relations of the various Community and national bodies 
with each other, with the Agency and within the Agency 
itself. The powers of the executive director will also 
have to be clarified. 
3.3.3. In particular, it will be necessary to clarify 
the ways in which the Agency can perform services 
commissioned by individual Member States or by third 
parties outside the Agency. 
3.3.4. Control over the actions of the executive direc­
tor is exercised by the management board, the compo­
sition of which is designed to guarantee good relations 
between the Agency and Member State institutions. 
Doubts have arisen in some quarters as to whether the 
management board will be able to exercice effective 
control over the technical activities of the Agency as 
well as over the funds emanating from the Member 
States and the Commission. 
3.3.5. 11 is proposed that, after an adequate running-
in period, the Agency's priority tasks should also 
include: 
— the harmonization of computerized systems for the 
collection and processing of data, 
— the standardization of chemical, physical and bio­
logical monitoring systems; those working for the 
Agency would be advised to use such systems. 
3.3.6. The Agency should collect and classify all the 
information reports on the environment sent in to the 
Commission from various sources. 
3.3.7. Generally speaking, comparisons with the 
United States Environmental Protection Agency are not 
relevant, for the later has much more extensive execu­
tive and supervisory powers. 
3.3.8. It would not be wise to delay setting up the 
Agency until all Member States are in a position to 
supply adequate data. Equally, however, the Agency-
should not be set up with the situation remaining more 
or less as it is at present, i.e. with considerable variations 
from one country to another and in the type of infor­
mation and data supplied. 
3.3.9. The variations are in fact so great that the 
efforts and help of all interested countries and groups 
will be needed to (a) close the gaps as soon as possible 
and (b) ensure that no single country's commitments 
and actions are undermined. 
No C 56/24 Official Journal of the European Communities 7. 3. 90 
It is sufficient to point out that local or cross-frontier 
pollution can be found at very high, medium or low 
levels in the countries and regions of Europe and that 
the situation can range from extremely extensive and 
advanced environmental protection legislation, struc­
tures and measures in some countries (e.g. where agen­
cies and watchdog bodies have long been operating 
environmental monitoring and surveillance networks 
to collect information on the sources and levels or 
pollution in the regions), to highly embryonic or virtual­
ly non-existent legislation and structures in others. Tho­
se countries which have only fairly recently set up 
Ministries of the Environment are still only at the stage 
of examining whether or not to set up agencies or 
watchdog bodies, or whether to compile regional maps 
on the state of the environment. In these cases the 
first objective must be to remove the difficulties facing 
national environment departments in their efforts to 
effectively analyse the air, water and soil — areas which 
come under their jurisdiction. In other countires there 
are still major delays and lacunae, even when it is only 
a question of monitoring the main sources of pollution. 
3.3.10. It is therefore right to concentrate efforts at 
the outset on the rapid establishment of: 
(1) an inventory or map of the present situation in 
the Community as a whole, and in the separate 
countries and regions, in the basis of data already 
collected by the Commission; and 
(2) a catalogue of the most urgent measures to be 
taken by the Agency, the Commission and the 
Member States to launch the work of the Agency 
as soon as possible. 
3.3.11. Noting that the funds earmarked for the 
Agency are relatively modest in view of the scale and 
complexity of the problems to be tackled during the 
initial period, the Committee recommends that checks 
or a stock-taking exercise be carried out as soon as 
possible to analyse the results and make an updated 
assessment of the resources (including financial) which 
will be required for the next phase. 
3.4. Voluntary involvement of and contribution by the 
Member States 
3.4.1. There is an apparent contradiction between 
what is said on page 3 about the voluntary character 
of the national activities and the Member States' obli­
gations under Article 10. So as to avoid any misunder­
standing, it would be advisable to specify how the 
Member States are to cooperate with the Agency and 
what obligations the Agency will have towards the 
Member States and how autonomous it will be. 3.5. Role of socioeconomic interest groups, environ­
mental associations, consumers and other rel­
evant, specialized NGOs 
3.5.1. The role of these interest groups and organiz­
ations, and the contribution they can make or will be 
asked to make in support of the Agency's work, is not 
sufficiently clear. Since they have helped a great deal in 
recent years to further the protection of the environ­
ment, they should be involved in all possible ways in 
the collection of data and information for the Agency 
— at least at national, regional and local levels. 
4. Detailed comments and suggestions 
4.1. The third point of Article 2 (the tasks of the 
Agency) should be amended to read: 
'(iii) to stimulate the development and the application 
within the Agency and the technical and scientific 
institutions of the Member States of...' 
Two new tasks should be added: 
'(v) to collect all information on the environment sent 
by the Member States to the Commission; 
(vi) to provide technical and scientific support for 
environmental initiatives undertaken by the rel­
evant institutions in the Member States, including 
the management of any operational activities 
entrusted to the Agency by such institutions.' 
4.2. In Article 3 (1) replace 'the sensitivity of the 
environment' (second indent) with 'the vulnerability of 
the environment' and add a fourth indent on noise 
pollution. 
4.3. In Article 3 (2) insert a reference to fauna in the 
third indent (the state of the soil and vegetation). 
4.4. In Article 4 (4) add the following sentence: 
'Where the Agency is carrying out specially com­
missioned tasks, a restriction clause may be allowed at 
the request of the commissioning party.' 
4.5. In the interests of clarify, Article 6 should come 
before Article 5, with the tasks of the management 
board being specified first. 
4.6. In Article 6 (management board), delete the 
7. 3. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 56/25 
third paragraph of point 1, allowing alternate represen­
tatives. 
A copy of the management board's annual general 
report (point 6) should also be sent to the Economic 
and Social Committee. 
4.7. Membership of the Scientific Committee (Article 
7) should be increased to include at least three members 
appointed by the European Parliament and three by the 
Economic and Social Committee. 
Done at Brussels, 15 November 1989. 
1. The Committee approves the Commission pro­
posal, which seeks to ban the administration of bovine 
somatotrophin (BST) in the Community until 31 
December 1990. 
2. The Committee feels that the following factors 
demonstrate the complexity of this issue: (1) the socioe­
conomic implications of the administration of BST for 
(a) production structures and (b) production factors 
(particularly labour); (2) the impact on the supply of 
and demand for milk, dairy products and meat; (3) the 
reaction of organizations representing Europe's con­
sumers, producers, industry, science, and animal wel­
fare groups. The Commission's request for more time 
to carry out an in-depth study of the matter is thus 
justified. The Committee supports the European Parlia-
(!) OJ No C 272, 25.10.1989, p. 9. 4.8. Article 8 (finanicial provisions) should be 
redrafted, particularly in respect of the order in which 
the various operations (budget estimate, accounts, etc.) 
are given. 
4.9. In Article 9 (cooperation with other bodies) 
consideration should be given to the possibility of coop­
erating with technical and scientific institutions/organ­
izations in the Member States and with non-govern­
mental bodies operating in this sector. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alberto MASPRONE 
ment's call for the creation of a legal framework to 
cover genetically engineered growth accelerators and 
yield enhancers. 
2.1. In this respect, the Committee welcomes the 
Commission's decision to set up a detailed study, due 
to be completed by October 1990, into the overall 
impact of growth enhancers in animal production, 
embracing not only the economic aspects (in terms 
of productivity), but also socioeconomic factors and 
research and consumer interests. 
2.2. The Commission should publish the facts as 
determined by the CVMP in addition to its next report 
to Council and Parliament. 
3. However, the Committee deplores the fact that 
during the evaluation period the Commission does not Opinion on the proposal for a Council Decision concerning the administration of bovine 
somatotrophin (BST) (l) 
(90/C 56/08) 
On 12 October 1989 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, 
under Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for Agriculture and Fisheries, which was responsible for preparing the Committee 
work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 31 October 1989. The rapporteur was Mr Silva. 
At its 271st plenary session held on 15 and 16 November 1989 (meeting of 15 November) 
the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion with no votes against 
three abstentions.