ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(74)233
Vol.1974/0045

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COMMISSION OPHIEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(74)233Final
Brussels,5March1974
DRAFT
RECOMMENDATION BYTHECOUNCIL
TOHIE'MEMBERSTATES
regardingcostAllocations andaction "bypublic
authoritesonenvironment ;:.!matters
\
(submittedtotheCouncilbytheCommission)
C0H(74)233Final

SNV/20/74-E
Communication fromtheCommission tothsCounoil
regardingcostallocationsandactionbypublio
authorities onenvironmental matters

-X- ^0/
Costallocationandaction "bypublicauthorities onenvironmental
matters-Principles andmethodsofapplication
»«
1,IntheframeworkoftheDeclaration oftheCounciloftheEuropeanCommaAities
andoftherepresentatives oftheGovernmentsoftheMemberStatesmeeting
intheCouncilof22November1973ontheprogrammeofactionoftheEuropean
Communities ontheenvironment ,theprincipleoftheinternalisation of
externalcostsknownas"polluterpays"wasaccepted,Theprogrammeofaction
providesthattheCommissionshouldsubmittotheCouncilaproposalconcerning
theapplication ofthisprincipleincludingpossibleexceptions.
Inthisregarditisnecessarytoallocatethecostsofenvironmental protection
againstpollutionaccordingtothesameprinciplesinthewholeoftheCommity
sothatdistortions ofcompetition ,maynotaffecttradeandthelocationof
investments ,whichwouldbeincompatable withtheproperfunctioning .ofthe,.
CommonMarket.
* ■• *
2.Toachievethis,theEuropeanCommunitiesatCommunitylevelandtheMember
Statesintheirnationallegislation onenvironmental protectionshould
applythe"polluterpays"principleunderwhichnaturalorlegalpersons
responsibleforpollutionmustbearthecostofsuchmeasuresasarenecesg
arytoeliminateorroducethispollutiontothe.desiredlevelaslaiddown
bytheauthorities .
Consequently environmentalprotectionmustnotbetheresponsibility of
nationalpolicies,whichrelymainlyongrantsofaidandhenceputthe
burdenofpollutioncontrol .onthecommunity.■ -
3.Applicationofthe"polluterpays",principlegenerallyrequiresthat,in
eachcase,itisnecessarytodeterminewhotherealpolluterisandto
ascertainthepreciseextentofpollutionforwhichafirmorindividual
isresponsible. ', - 1
Whorethep'olluti'onresultsfromaproductionprocessortheprovisionof
aservice,thecostoftheanti-pollution measuresshouldinprinciplebe,
bornebytheproducerorbythepersonprovidingtheservice.
./

-2- ENV/20/74-E
Wherethepollutionresultsfromtheuseofcertainproducts,the
costoftheanti-pollution measuresshouldinprinciplebeborne •
."bytheuser. r
Iffindingtherealpolluterprovesimpossibleortoodifficultand
hencearbitrary-especiallywhenthereisa"pollutionchain"or
"cumulativepollution"-thecostofpollutioncontrolshouldbe
chargedatcertainpointsalongthepollutionchainorduringthe
cumulativepollution;thiscostallocationwouldbecarriedoutby
whateverlegaloradministrative meansofferedthebestsolutionfrom
aneconomicandadministrative pointofview.
4*Theoptimumpuritylevelfortheenvironmentshouldbedeterminedby
thepublicauthoritiesatagivenmomentintimenoworinthefuture
inkeepingwiththenaturaloragreedpurposesforwhiohanareaor
partofanareaisdesignated,accountbeingtakenofeconomicand
sooialconsiderations togetherwiththemarginalcostofpurification
orprevention.
Thisoptimumlevelshouldbefixedatleastatalevelwherehuman
healthandthesurvivalofanimalandplantlifearenotthreatened.
Evenifthislevelvariesfromoneregiontoanother,itisdesirable
thataccountbetakennotonlyoftheinhabitants'interestsinthe
regionforwhichthequalityobjectivehasbeenfixed,butalsoof
thedrawbacksforallinterestedparties.
<
5.Themainmeansofactionavailabletopublicauthoritiestoreduoe .
thepollutiontothedesiredlevelofenvironmental qualityare
standardsandlevies,withthepossibilityofoombiningthetwo.
a)Standardssetthemaximumpermittedvaluesfor; T

ENV/20/74-E
i)theconcentration ofpollutantsinagivenenvironmental medium
orpartofan,environmental medium(immissionstandards)
ii)theemissionofpollutantsornuisancesfromfixedinstallatiens
(emissionstandards)
iii)thelevelofpollutantsornuisanceswhichisnottobeexceeded
intheocmpositionoremissionsofaproduct(productstandards)
adi)Harmonization ofexistingimmissionstandardsintheMember
StatesorthefixingofCommunityimmissionstandardscanbe
justifiedeitherinordertofixabasicprotectionlevelor
incasesofpollutionextendingacrossnationalfrontiers.
adii)Emissionstandardsmaybeuniformforanentireeconomicarea
ormayvarydependingontheregion?however,fortheemission
ofpersistentandharmfulsubstances ,harmonization ofminimum
standardsmaybenecessarysoastominimizetheaccumulation
ofthesesubstancesintheenvironmental milieu.
adiii)Productstandardsshouldgenerallybeuniformthroughoutthe
Community.Exceptionstothisrulecanonlybemadefollowing
thesameprocedurebywhichthestandardsthemselvesweredrawn
up.
Asarule,productstandardsapplytofinishedproducts.It
isonlywhenalloralargeproportionofproductsmadefrom
thesamesemi-product causethesamelevelofpollutionthat
thestandardisappliedatthesemi-productorrawmaterial
stage.Adecisiononthisshouldbetakenforeachindividual
case.

ENV/20/74-3
b)Levies mayhave anincentive orredistributive function ,therate
being fixed accordingly .Therates maybeuniform ormayvary for
each emission depending onthequality objective tobeattained ..
Thelevies must befixed byemission units andapplied according to
thequantity ofthepollution emitted .
Where themain aimofthelevy istobring about a-redistribution ,
itshould becalculated insuch awaythat ,foragiven region and
quality objective ,thesumofthelevies equals thecollective
purification charges .
Where itisnotpossible ordesirable toinstall collective
purification plants orwhere these plants will have alimited
capacity ,thelevy should becalculated sothat itlargely matches
itsincentive function . ,. - , .
Once collected ,thelevies maybeused either tofinance collective
purification infrastructures ortoprovide grants formajor
polluters tosetupsuch equipment ;inthelatter case the -grants
should becalculated insuch away astocover theservices these
polluters render thecommunity butwithout .passing tothecommunity
thecost oftheinvestment which thepolluters themselves must
bear toensure that their ownpollution iseliminated .
Where the total revenue from levies exceeds the sum ofthe •
collective andindividual purification charges ,thedifference
should preferably beused byeach government within the ,framework
ofitsenvironmental policy .
Asfaraspossible ,Member States should endeavour tostandardize
methods ofcalculating thelevies .Harmonization oftheincentive
levies would seem desirable toavoid • 'distortion ofcompetition
intheCommunity . '

-5- ENV/20fi4-E
c)Inorder toavoid serious distortions ofcompetition affecting
trade andthedistribution ofinvestments intheCommunity ,it
will nndoubtedly "benecessary toharmonize more andmore closely
thevarious instruments -andespecially standards –atCommunity
level .
Those responsible forpollution will beobliged tomeet ;
a)theexpenses incurred asaresult ofcompliance with thestandards
laid down bythepublic authorities (investment inanti-pollution
plant and equipment ,introduction ofnewprocesses ,cost ofrunning
anti-pollution plants ,etc.),
b)expenses inrespect ofpayment oflevies , i
c)compensation paid tovictims ofaparticular pollution ornuisance .
Thecosts tobeborne bythepolluter (under the^"polluter pays "
principle )should include alltheexpenditure necessary toachieve
anenvironmental quality objective aswell asthecompensation paid
tovictims incases where ithasnotbeen possible toachieve this
objective ;this would also include the'administration costs directly
linked totheimplementation ofanti-pollution meas'asrea .
Thecost ofbuying ,constructing andoperating pollution measuring
andcontrol equipment should ,however ,beborne bythepublic
authorities .
Exceptions tothe"polluter-pays"principle oould bejustified by
a)real difficulties inadapting toenvironmental quality standards ,
particularly foreconomic ,technical andsocial reasons .
where theimmediate application ofvery severe standards orheavy

-6- ENV/20/74-E
levies "tomeetthecostofpollutioncontrolislikelytocause
seriousupsetsinsomesectorsorregions,theundulyhastyincorporation
ofpollutioncontroloostsintoproductioncostsmaygiveriseto
highersocialcosts.Inthatcaseitmightprovenecessary
-toallowsomeproducersacertainperiodoftimetoadapttheir
productsoroutputtothenewstandards,
-ortogivetransitional aidtotheindustrialsectorsorregions
concerned;suchaidcould,ofcourse,onlybegrantedbyMember
Stateswithdueregardtotheprovisions onstateaidsetoutin
theTreatiesestablishing theEuropeanCommunities ,inparticular
articles92etseq.oftheEECTreaty.
Suchmeasurescan,inanycase,,applyonlytoexistingundertakings ?
theinterplayofotherpolicies(regional,social,research)together
withtheenvironmental protectionpolicy.
Theindirecteffectofsometypesofaidgrantedtoaohieveobjectives
otherthanenvironmental protection maybetocoverpartofthecosts
whichthecompanies ,benefitingfromitwouldnormallyhavehadto
bearthemselvestoreducepollutionoftheirownmaking;thistypeof
aidis.alsosubjecttotheprovisionsof.theTreatiesestablishing
theEuropeanCommunities,inparticulararticles9?.,etseq.ofthe
EECTreaty.

-7- ENV/20/74-E
The Commission ,inthe execution ofits tasks within the framework of
the environmental policy oftheCommunity ,will comply with the defini­
tions andmethods ofapplication oftheabove-mentioned polluter pays "
principle .
The Commission asks the Council totake note ofthese definitions and
methods ofapplication and torecommend totheMember States toconform
tothem intheir legislation and administrative acts involving the
allocation ofcosts inthe environmental field .
The Commission reserves theright tosubmit totheCouncil atalster
date more specific proposals inthis field .

ENV/20/74-E
Draft
RECOMMENDATION BYTHECOUNCIL
TOTHEMEMBERSTATES
regardingcostallocations andactionbypublic
authorities onenvironmental matters

EJjT/20/74-E
IntheDeclaration oftheCouncil oftheEuropean Communities andof
theresprescntatives oftheMember States atameeting oftheCouncil
or*22Uovcmbcr 1973 (1)?concerning enaction programme ofthe"European
Communities ontheenvironment ,the "polluter pays "principle was
accepted .
The costs associated with theprotection oftheenvironment ag&inst
pollution should properly "beimputed according tothesame principles
inthewhole oftheCommunity toavoid thecreation ofdistortions in
trade andcompetition incompatible with theharmonious functioning of
theCommon Market ,andtaking -account oftheaims ofbalanced economic
expansion pursued bytheCommunity .
Tofacilitate theapplication ofthis principle ,theEuropean Communities
andtheMember States must give it~"grear^^pr«ci«i©n~by --4^i«ing -^bh«–––
conditions ofapplication aswell assome exceptions toitwhich could
beallowed ,with dueregard tothedifficulties ofapplying this
principle and totheinterplay ofother policies with theenvironmental
protection policy . .
Forthese reasons ,andinaccordance with article 145oftheTreaty
instituting theEuropean Economic Community ,theCouncil recommends
totheMember States toconform ,inrespect oftheallocation ofoosts
andtheaction ofpublic authorities onthesubject ofprotection
oftheenvironment ,totheprinciples andtotheconditions of
application laid down inthe £nramHn±oat"&oripDtfsth& Boami>3©icifttiftnexed tothe
present Recommendation .
(1)O.J.S.C. no.C112of20.12.1973