Opinion on the proposal for a Council Decision establishing a reciprocal exchange of information and data from networks and individual stations measuring ambient air pollution within the Member States ()

(95/C 110/02)

On 11 October 1994 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 130s of the Treaty establishing the European 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 January 1995. The Rapporteur was Mr Gafo Fernandez.

At its 323rd Plenary Session (meeting of 22 February 1995), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following Opinion by a large majority vote with two abstentions.

1. Introduction

1.1. This Decision follows on from two earlier Decisions (1975 and 1982) which set up a reliable Community data bank on emission levels for a limited number of atmospheric pollutants.

1.2. Although it is true that experience with these exchanges of information has been favourable, there were problems caused by the fact that the measurement, data processing and dissemination procedures were inadequately aligned and the station networks in each Member State were not equally representative.

1.3. This was because pollution measurement stations are not spread evenly throughout the Community; some areas have a very large number, others fewer.

1.4. This draft Decision is closely linked to another proposal for a Directive which endeavours to systematize and supplement the existing Directives on ambient air quality.

1.5. The Committee therefore endorses this proposal in that it represents an important step both in establishing effective and comparable checks on ambient air quality and in making more information available to the EU citizen.

1.6. The Committee would, however, like to make a number of observations intended to improve the drafting of the proposed Decision.

2. General comments

2.1. Firstly, the list of 34 pollutants in Annex 1 is far longer than that in the proposed Directive on air quality which covers only 14 of these 34 pollutants. Hence this list may be regarded as too ambitious, even more so as the Decision makes a distinction between data which will have to be provided - those linked to the aforementioned Directive - and other data which the Member States may provide voluntarily.

2.2. Furthermore, the sheer quantity of exchangeable data, especially in those Member States with a dense network of air quality measurement stations, could be enormous and make this exchange unworkable. Consequently the second observation is that the Member States should operate a 'pyramidal' selection of measuring stations so that the exchange and assessment will be carried out first at local and regional level prior to the Community dimension. On this basis the Member States should facilitate the exchange of data between a sufficient number of stations which are representative of the different geographical situations and regions in that Member State; this would be the most cost-effective way to achieve the objective.

2.3. By the same token the Committee considers it more advisable to draw up separate Annexes. The first would set out those substances which had to be measured under Community Directives, the second the rest of the pollutants not covered by Community Directives on air quality. In the case of the second group, the Member States could be required to measure all the pollutants, but not to guarantee that their coverage was fully representative; it would, however, help in the ongoing development of a collection and processing infrastructure which would eventually enable these pollutants to be gradually incorporated into the first group.

2.4. In the ESC's view this approach would also be more consistent with the designation of measuring stations as provided for in Article 3, which grants considerable discretion to the Member States in determining the stations to be incorporated in the network. This discretionary power should square with the comments in point 2.2.

2.5. Article 5 should be amended to take account of the separate Annexes 1A and 1B proposed in point 2.3.

2.6. The ESC considers that the technical committee set up under the Directive on ambient air quality assessment and management should be responsible for approving, jointly with the Commission, the adaptation of the present Decision to scientific and technical progress.

2.6.1. The European Environment Agency, as part of its remit, will have to assist the Commission in formulating the proposals to be submitted to the technical committee.

2.7. Finally, the ESC considers that, in the sectoral programmes for 1993-1997 of the Joint Research Centre in Ispra, in the section 'measuring and testing' (with a budget of ECU 105 million) and in the actual sectoral programme Standardization, measurement and testing, a specific budget line should be established for improving and standardizing the measuring and testing methods for some of those pollutants contained in Annex 1, the measurement of which at the moment is very expensive and in some cases not sufficiently reliable.

3. Specific comments

3.1. Insert the following new recital:

'Having regard to the objectives of the Directive on ambient air assessment and quality'.

3.2. Amend Article 2 to read as follows:

'The reciprocal exchange shall cover the pollutants listed in Annex 1A. The Member States shall also try to exchange sufficiently representative information on the pollutants listed in Annex 1B.'

3.3. Replace 'Annex 1' by 'Annex 1B' in Article 3.

3.4.

Article 5

3.4.1. Amend paragraph 1(a) to read as follows:

'... those stations must be distributed representatively over the entire national territory'.

3.4.2. Replace 'Annex 1' by 'Annex 1A' in paragraph 1(a).

3.4.3. Replace 'Annex 1' by 'Annex 1A' in paragraph 1(b).

3.4.4. Paragraph 1(c) to read as follows:

'as far as possible the statistics indicated in Annex 1B for a representative number of stations in the national territory'.

3.5. Split Annex 1 into two Annexes, 1A and 1B. The first is to include all the pollutants listed in the Directive on ambient air assessment and quality, including fluorine, and the second the rest of the pollutants originally proposed.

Done at Brussels, 22 February 1995.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Carlos FERRER

() OJ No C 281, 7. 10. 1994, p. 9.