29. 1.91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 21/13 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on specific action to protect the environment in the 
coastal areas and coastal waters of the Irish Sea, North Sea, Baltic Sea and North-East Atlantic 
Ocean 
COM(90) 498 final 
(Submitted by the Commission on 20 December 1990) 
(91/C 21/06) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 130s 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas pursuant to Article 130r of the Treaty one of 
the chief objectives of Community action relating to the 
environment is to preserve, protect and improve the 
quality of the environment; 
Whereas the declaration on the environment of the 
European Council of Rhodes of 2 and 3 December 1988 
stated that special attention should be devoted to the seas 
and coastal areas of Member States, which are of 
outstanding economic and ecologial importance, in 
particular the Mediterranean region, the North Sea and 
the Irish Sea; 
Whereas the resolution of 19 October 1987 of the 
Council of the European Communities and of the rep­
resentatives of the Governments of the Member States, 
meeting within the Council, on the continuation and 
implementation of a European Community policy and 
action programme on the environment (1987 to 1992) (') 
states that it is important for Community action to 
concentrate on combating fresh-water and marine 
pollution by means of a general improvement of the 
aquatic environment, in particular of the North Sea and 
the Mediterranean Sea; 
Whereas the Council of the European Communities and 
the representatives of the Governments of the Member 
O OJ No C 328, 7. 12. 1987, p. 1. States, meeting within the Council, adopted the 
recommendations contained in the Community action 
programme on the environment (1987 to 1992); 
Whereas the ministerial declaration of the participants in 
the Third International Conference on the Protection of 
the North Sea, held in The Hague on 7 and 8 March 
1990, stressed the need to protect the environment of the 
North Sea, and adopted a package of specific measures 
together with a precise timetable; 
Whereas protection of the environment of the Irish Sea, 
the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the North-East 
Atlantic Ocean requires a combined international effort 
by all the littoral States^ whereas certain measures in this 
field can be carried out more effectively at Community 
level than at the level of the individual Member States; 
Whereas the Community should grant financial support 
within the limits of available resources to projects 
relating to protection of the environment in certain 
coastal areas and coastal waters, and to the adminis­
trative and technical flanking measures essential to their 
implementation; 
Whereas an adequate amount of funding is required in 
order to attain the objectives of the scheme; whereas the 
first phase is to be of five years' duration and extends 
beyond the period which is covered by the Interinstitu-
tional Agreement and the financial perspective; whereas 
it is not possible at this stage to fix definitively the 
necessary funds for the entire period covered by the 
action plan; 
Whereas an advisory committee should assist the 
Commission in implementing this Regulation; 
Whereas, to this end, recourse should be had to the 
committee set up by the Medspa Regulation, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
Community action to protect the environment in the 
coastal areas and coastal waters of the Irish Sea, North 
Sea, Baltic Sea and North-East Atlantic Ocean (Norspa) 
is hereby instituted. 
No C 21/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 29. 1.91 
Article 2 
The objectives of the action to be undertaken under this 
Regulation shall be: 
(a) to intensify efforts to protect and improve the quality 
of the environment and to implement Community 
environment policy in the areas concerned; 
(b) to maintain and increase the effectiveness of 
Community measures on the environment in the 
areas concerned pursuant to other Community 
policies; 
(c) to increase cooperation between the littoral States on 
protection of the environment by integrating 
Community actions and the operations carried out at 
regional, national and international level; 
(d) to promote the development and use of clean or 
low-emission technologies, as the transfer of these 
technologies and the exchange of experience would 
benefit the environment in the areas concerned. 
Article 3 
1. The amount of Community expenditure estimated 
necessary for the implementation of the action provided 
for in this Regulation is ECU 10 million during the first 
two years. 
2. The budgetary authority shall determine the 
resources available for each financial year during the 
annual budgetary procedure, in compliance with the 
financial perspectives. 
Article 4 
1. The financial support provided for in this Regu­
lation may be granted in respect of operations suited to 
giving rise to a lasting improvement in the quality of the 
coastal areas and coastal waters referred to in Article 1 
and which reflect the priorities listed in the Annex. 
2. Financial support for an operation is decided in 
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 11. 
Article 5 
1. Operations benefiting from aid under a Structural 
Fund or any other Community financial instrument shall 
not qualify for the financial support provided for in this 
Regulation. 2. The financial support may be granted in respect of 
the operations referred to in Article 4 provided such 
operations do not qualify for aid under a Structural 
Fund or to the process of economic and social reform of 
the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. 
Article 6 
1. All natural or legal persons and associations bearing 
ultimate responsibility for the implementation of the 
operations referred to in Article 4 may qualify for 
financial support. 
2. The financial support shall take the form of: 
— capital grants towards investment in projects other 
than infrastructure projects, 
or 
— financial contributions towards pilot or demon­
stration projects and to measures providing an 
incentive or creating awareness, and towards 
initiatives designed to acquire the information 
necessary for the implementation of the operations, 
improve supervision and monitoring of the environ­
ment concerned and promote the exchange of 
experience and technology transfer. 
Article 7 
Community financial support for the operations referred 
to in Article 5 shall be subject to the following limits: 
— a maximum of 50 % of the total cost in the case of 
public investment projects, 
— a maximum of 30 % of the total cost in the case of 
private investment projects, 
— a maximum of 100 % of the total cost of measures 
designed to acquire the information necessary for 
implementation of the operations or of incentive and 
awareness measures taken at the initiative of the 
Commission. 
Article 8 
1. In order to guarantee the success of the operations 
carried out by beneficiaries of Community financial 
support, the Commission shall take the necessary 
measures: 
— to verify that actions financed by the Community 
have been properly carried out, 
— to prevent and take action against irregularities, 
— to recover any amounts wrongly paid as a result of 
an irregularity or negligence. 
29. 1.91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 21/15 
2. Without prejudice to checks carried out by the 
Court of Auditors in conjunction with the competent 
national control institutions or services under Article 
206a of the EEC Treaty or to any inspection carried out 
on the basis of Article 209c of the EEC Treaty, 
Commission officials or employees may carry out 
on-the-spot checks, including sample checks, in respect 
of operations financed by Community action. 
Before carrying out an on-the-spot check, the 
Commission shall give notice to the beneficiary 
concerned with a view to obtaining all the assistance 
necessary. 
3. For a period of three years following the last 
payment in respect of any operation, the beneficiary of 
financial support shall keep available for the Commission 
all the supporting documents regarding expenditure on 
the operation. 
Article 9 
1. The Commission may reduce or suspend payment 
of assistance in respect of a particular operation if it 
finds irregularities or a significant change affecting the 
nature or conditions of implementation of the action for 
which the Commission's approval has not been sought. 
2. If the completion dates have not been respected or 
if a particular operation has been carried out in such a 
manner that payment of only part of the financial 
assistance allocated to it is justified, the Commission 
shall ask the beneficiary to submit his comments within a 
specified period. Unless adequate justification is 
produced, the Commission may cancel the remaining 
portion of the financial assistance concerned. 
3. Any sum which is unduly received by the 
beneficiary shall be repaid to the Commission. Interest 
may be charged on sums not repaid in due time. The 
Commission shall lay down the detailed rules for the 
implementation of this paragraph. 
Article 10 
1. The Commission shall ensure effective monitoring 
of implementation of the Community action. Such moni­
toring shall be carried out by means of reporting 
procedures agreed jointly between the Commission and 
the beneficiary of the operation and by spot checks. 
2. For each multiannual action, the beneficiary shall 
submit progress reports to the Commission within six 
months of the end of each full year of implementation. A final report shall be submitted to the Commission 
within six months of completion of the operation; for 
each operation to be implemented over a period of less 
than two years, the beneficiary shall submit a report to 
the Commission within six months of completion of the 
action. The Commission shall determine the form and 
content of the reports. 
3. On the basis of the monitoring reports and 
procedures referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, the 
Commission shall make any necessary adjustments to the 
amount of the financial support approved initially, to the 
conditions for granting that support and to the projected 
schedule of payments. 
4. The detailed rules for the implementation of this 
Article are laid down according to the procedure set out 
in Article 11. 
Article 11 
1. For the purposes of implementing the operations 
referred to in Article 4 the Commission shall be assisted 
by a committee of an advisory character created by .. . 
(Medspa). 
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit 
to the committee a draft of the measures to be taken. 
The committee shall deliver its opinion on this draft 
within a time limit which the chairman may lay down 
according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by 
taking a vote. 
3. The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in 
addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask 
to have its position recorded in the minutes. 
4. The Commission shall take the utmost account of 
the opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform 
the committee of the manner in which its opinion has 
been taken into account. 
Article 12 
The list of measures which have received financial 
support shall be published for information purposes in 
the Official Journal of the European Communities. 
Article 13 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day 
following its publication in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities. 
No C 21/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 29. 1. 91 
It shall apply for 10 years, divided into two five-year lation, in particular with regard to the priority measures 
phases. Before the end of the first phase, the Commission to be taken for the implementation of the second phase, 
shall assess the results and report to the Council and to 
the European Parliament. If appropriate, the This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
Commission shall propose amendments to this Regu- directly applicable in all Member States. 
ANNEX 
Community action to protect the environment in the coastal areas and coastal waters of the Irish Sea, North 
Sea, Baltic Sea and North-East Atlantic Ocean 
Priority measures 
A. Action in the European Community 
1. Nutrients 
Measures to reduce nutrient inputs in coastal areas, including those due to agricultural activities. 
2. Dangerous substances 
All measures designed to reduce: 
— inputs of persistent, toxic and potentially bioaccumulative substances entering the seas concerned 
from rivers, estuaries and the atmosphere, 
— dumping and incineration at sea of sewage sludge, industrial waste and dredged materials, 
— pollution from ships and offshore installations. 
3. Industry 
Identification of measures suited to speeding up the application of emission standards and possible 
establishment of sectoral agreements for industries responsible for significant pollution from point 
sources, such as the paper and pulp industry, fertilizer industry, biocide manufacturing and formu­
lation industry, pharmaceuticals industry. 
4. Conservation and protection of species and habitats 
Application of appropriate measures for: 
— integrated management of biotopes of Community and international interest, 
— reduction or elimination of coastal erosion or disappearance of the dune belt in certain wetlands, 
coastal and estuarine areas of ecological importance. 
B. Action directed at the non-Community coastal States of the area concerned 
All measures supporting the development of: 
— cooperation between seaboard States, 
— exchange of experience in the fields listed under A, 
— where appropriate, transfer of clean or low-emission technologies, technical assistance for the estab­
lishment of policies and action programmes and the creation of administrative and regulatory 
structures in the environment field.