No C 291/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 27. 10. 83 
Proposal for a Council Decision on the adoption of a work programme for the first phase 
of the implementation of an information system on the state of the environment and the 
natural resources in the Community (1984 to 1987) 
COM(83) 528 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 14 October 1983) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 235 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, in order to implement the action 
programme of the European Communities on the 
environment (1982 to 1986), it is necessary to have 
consistent and comparable information on the state of 
the environment and natural resources in the 
Community, in particular for the purpose of action by 
the Community in the following priority areas: 
incorporating the environmental dimension into other 
Community policies; combating transfrontier 
pollution; protecting areas of Community interest 
which are particularly sensitive from the point of view 
of their environment; specific measures relating to the 
Mediterranean; 
Whereas the present Decision draws its inspiration 
from the consideration listed in the resolution of the 
Council and the representatives of the Member States 
of 7 February 1983 on the abovementioned action 
programme (*), that is, the need for action at the 
appropriate level, the need to coordinate work at 
international level, the need to assess the costs and 
benefits involved, the need to take account of the 
differing situations in the Community and the need 
for adequate preparatory technical work and consul­
tations; 
Whereas the aim is to provide information on the 
state of the environment which is of value not only 
for work carried out by the Community institutions, 
but also for national or regional bodies, and the 
public in the European Community which the 
European Parliament has repeatedly urged should be 
informed of the state and development of the 
environment in the Community and of the effects of 
Community environment policy; 
(») OJNoC46, 17.2. 1983, p. 1. Whereas it is desirable to have an appropriate 
methodological framework for an information system 
on the state of the environment in the Community; 
whereas a framework of this kind is needed to allow 
rational organization of the work that will be 
involved in gathering and processing information on 
the state of the environment at Community level, 
instead of reacting on an ad hoc basis in the light of 
specific needs; whereas an ad hoc approach does not 
make it possible to appreciate how phenomena 
interact or to monitor the development of the 
environment over time, and proves more expensive in 
the long run; 
Whereas the state of knowledge concerning environ­
mental phenomena and interactions between different 
media, the characteristics of the data available at 
present and the geographical extent of the 
Community territoriy necessitate a progressive 
implementation of the information system; 
Whereas progressive implementation should make it 
possible to obtain practical results on a number of 
priority matters in the first phase of implementation; 
Whereas it is necessary to supplement the data 
available in certain regions and to develop the 
methodological research for certain issues; 
Whereas compatibility must be ensured between the 
Community information system to be established and 
other activities at Community or national level 
already in existence or foreseen, in particular as 
regards their data processing aspects; 
Whereas close cooperation between the Commission 
and the Member States will be needed for the 
purposes of implementing and directing the work 
involved, including in particular the support of the 
agencies concerned in Member States in facilitating 
access to data, in accordance with the general 
obligation stemming from Article 5 of the EEC 
Treaty, 
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 
Article 1 
A work programme for the first phase of the 
implementation of an information system on the state 
of the environment and the natural resources in the 
27. 10. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 291/9 
European Community, hereinafter referred to as 'the 
programme', is hereby adopted, as set out in Article 
1, for a period of four years starting on 1 January 
1984. 
The Commission shall be responsible for carrying out 
the programme. 
Article 2 
The programme shall be carried out in accordance 
with the methodological framework set out in 
Annex 2. Article 3 
The amount of Community funds required to 
implement the programme is estimated at 5,80 million 
ECU. 
Article 4 
At the end of the second year, a progress report shall 
be drawn up and submitted to the Council and to the 
European Parliament for information. The 
programme shall be completed with a final report 
which shall contain proposals for organizing the sub­
sequent phases of the implementation of the infor­
mation system. 
ANNEX 1 
WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE FIRST PHASE OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AN 
INFORMATION SYSTEM ON THE STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE 
NATURAL RESOURCES IN THE COMMUNITY (1984 to 1987) 
1. CONTENT OF THE PROGRAMME 
The programme comprises three complementary components: 
A. Application of the information system on a Community scale 
— biotopes of major importance for nature conservation 
The basic data will be collected and analyzed in accordance with the methodological 
approach described in communication to the Council COM(83) ... so as to obtain results, in 
particular by means of mapping, which can be used within the framework of Community 
environment policy. In addition, work will be carried out in close collaboration with the 
Council of Europe. 
B. Application to specific problems of Community importance 
(a) Protection of the Mediterranean environment 
Work will focus above all on collecting and processing data relating to the target areas 
for which information can be obtained within time limits that are compatible with the 
work programme, in particular: soil erosion; natural hazards; scarce resources (agri­
cultural land, water resources, biotopes foreseen under point A above); and the pressures 
to which these resources are subjected (water quality, changes in land use, oil pollution). 
This work will be pursued in harmony with the Mediterranean integrated programmes. 
(b) Acid deposition 
The aim of the work in question will be to make a contribution towards tackling the very 
acute problem of transfrontier pollution commonly referred to as 'acid rain'. Data will be 
collected concerning atmospheric pollution, the vulnerability of land and biotopes (in 
connection with point A above), and concerning pollutant emissions, with a view in 
particular to supplementing the data already available at Community level in these 
areas (*). 
C. Preparation of the subsequent phases of implementation 
The aim of the work in question will be to complete .the requisite basic data and render them 
compatible and comparable and to perfect the methods of analyzing and interpreting environ­
mental data. In particular, it will be a question of: 
(') In particular the results of the work carried out within the framework of the exchange of information on air 
quality (Decision 75/441/EEC) as well as the foreseen collection of data in the principal forests of the 
Community, and the Soil Map of the European Community 1 : 1 000 000. 
No C 291/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 27.10. 83 
— transfrontier projects seeking to improve the comparability of existing environmental data, 
— the development of methods for processing remote sensing data, 
— the coordination of data-gathering work under way or envisaged in the Member States 
and at international level, with a view to ensuring their compatibility with the European 
information system, 
— the development of computer techniques for the management of the European infor­
mation system, 
— the perfecting of certain data-analysis methods. 
2. WORKING AND ORGANIZATIONAL PROCEDURES 
The Commission, assisted by a group of national experts and a group of technical experts, shall 
be responsible for the concurrent implementation of the three components of the programme. 
The various projects involved in the programme shall be carried out by experts or specialist 
bodies which shall perform their tasks in accordance with instructions given by the Commission 
with the agreement of the groups of national and technical experts. In order to facilitate 
communication between the groups of experts, the bodies concerned and the Commission, in 
particular as regards access to data, the Member States shall designate a focal point (who may be 
a member of one of the two groups of experts). 
The information on the state of the environment resulting from the execution of the programme 
shall be communicated to the Member States and made public, subject to acceptance of its 
scientific quality and to compliance with the Commission's rules on the dissemination of infor­
mation. 
ANNEX 2 
METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE FIRST PHASE OF THE 
IMPLEMENTATION OF AN INFORMATION SYSTEM ON THE STATE OF 
THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE NATURAL RESOURCES IN THE COMMUNITY 
(1984 to 1987) 
The present methodological framework embodies the principal characteristics of the communication 
by the Commission to the Council on 'A methodological approach to an information system on the 
state of the environment and the natural resources in the European Community1 (COM(83) . ..). 
1. The objective of the project is the incremental establishment of an information system on the 
state of the environment and the natural resources designed to orientate Community 
environment policy and make it possible to assess its effects, to incorporate the environment 
dimension into Community sectoral policies, and to coordinate or stimulate the collection of data 
on the state of the environment in the Member States and at international level. 
2. The methodological approach is characterized in particular by: 
— the requirement for compliance with the principles of consistency, flexibility, transparency, 
scientific rigour and costreffectiveness, 
— a modular structure enabling the information system to be implemented incrementally and to 
be adapted to advances in knowledge, 
— the gathering of information enabling the state of the environment to be described from three 
points of view: the quality of the environment, the sensitivity of the environment and the 
pressures on the environment, 
— the limitation of the Community data base to information having the function of an 
indicator, 
the general guidelines for the scales for the collection and processing of data and the 
presentation of the results. 
27. 10. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 291/11 
3. Computer techniques will be used which will facilitate: 
— the storage of data in their original from, 
— the collection and preliminary processing of data, 
— public access to the basic data for the purposes of scientific verification. 
Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 75/106/EEC on the approximation 
of the laws of the Member States relating to the making-up by volume of certain 
prepackaged liquids 
COM(83) 598 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 17 October 1983) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 100 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 total harmonization of the ranges of 
nominal volumes for products in the wine sector 
appears now necessary for all the products concerned 
since the adoption of Council Directive 75/106/ 
EECO, as amended by Directive 79/1005/EEC (2); 
whereas that Directive should be amended 
accordingly; 
Whereas Directive 75/106/EEC does not lay down 
provisions relating to packages or to their use; 
whereas questions relating to the recycling of 
packages for beverages are being examined within an 
appropriate framework; whereas Article 5 (4) of that 
Directive, as amended by Directive 79/1005/EEC, 
should therefore not be retained, 'Article 5 
1. Member States may not refuse, prohibit or 
restrict the placing on the market of prepackages 
which satisfy the requirements of this Directive on 
grounds related to the determination of their 
volumes, the methods by which they have been 
checked or the nominal volumes where these are 
set out in Annex III, column I. 
2. Member States which on 31 December 1973 
allowed the nominal volumes listed in Annex III, 
column II, shall continue to allow them up to 
31 December 1988, or in the case of the volume 
of 0,73 litres up to 31 December 1985. 
3. (a) For prepackages containing the products 
listed in Annex III, Section 1 (a) and (b), 
only those whith the nominal volumes set 
out in Annex III, columns I and II, may be 
marketed after 31 December 1983. The 
volume 0,73 litres shall be deleted from 
column II with effect from 1 January 1986. 
(b) For prepackages containing the products 
listed in Annex III, Section 1 (a) and (b), 
only those with the nominal volumes set 
out in Annex III, column, I, may be 
marketed after 31 December 1988.' 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
Article 5 of Directive 75/106/EEC is hereby replaced 
by the following: Article 2 
Member States shall bring into force on 1 January 
1984 the laws, regulations and administrative 
provisions needed to comply with this Directive. They 
shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof. 
(') OJ No L 42, 15. 2. 1975, p. 1. 
O OJ No L 308, 4. 12. 1979, p. 25. Article 3 
The Directive is addressed to the Member States.