18.3. 87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/3 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Draft for a resolution of the Council of the European Communities on the continuation and 
implementation of a European Community policy and action programme on the environment 
(1987-1992) 
(COM(86) 48 5 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 15 October 1986) 
(87/C 70/03) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Coal and Steel Community, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Atomic Energy Community, 
Having regard to the draft from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the declaration of the Council of the European 
Communities and of the representatives of the 
Governments of the Member States, meeting within the 
Council, of 22 November 1973 (*) calls for the 
implementation of a European Communities programme 
of action on the environment; 
Whereas the action programme was extended and 
supplemented for the period 1977 to 1986 by the 
resolutions of the Council and the representative of the 
Governments of the Member States, meeting within the 
Council, of 17 May 1977 (2) and of 7 February 1983 (3). 
Whereas the tasks of the European Communities are laid 
down in the Treaties establishing the Communities; 
Whereas in particular, in accordance with Article 2 of 
the Treaty establishing the European Economic 
Community, part of the latter's task is to promote 
throughout the Community a harmonious development of economic activities and a continuous and balanced 
expansion, which, even in changed economic circum­
stances, is inconceivable without making the most 
economic use possible of the natural resources offered by 
the environment and without improving the quality of 
life and the protection of the environment; 
Whereas, consequently, the improvement of the quality 
of life and making the most economical use possible of 
the natural resources offered by the environment are 
among the fundamental tasks of the European Economic 
Community; whereas a Community environment policy 
would help accomplish this purpose; 
Whereas the Single European Act lays down that the 
objectives of a Community policy for the environment 
are to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the 
environment, to contribute towards protecting human 
health, and to ensure a prudent and rational utilization 
of natural resources, that it provides that action taken by 
the Community relating to the environment shall be 
based on the principles that preventive action should be 
taken, that envionmental damage should as a priority be 
rectified at source, and that the polluter should pay and 
that in preparing its action relating to the environment, 
the Community shall take account of available scientific 
and technical data, environmental conditions in the 
various regions of the Community, the potential benefits, 
and costs of action or of lack of action, and the 
economic and social development of the Community as a 
whole and the balanced development of its regions; 
Whereas it is necessary to avoid the adoption by the 
Member States of divergent measures likely to produce 
economic and competition distortions in the Common 
Market; 
0) OJ No C 112, 20. 12. 1973, p. 1. 
(*) OJNoC 139, 13.6. 1977. 
(J) OJ No C 46, 17. 2. 1983. Whereas account should be taken of the economic and 
social aspects of environment policy, and particularly of 
No C 70/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
its potential to contribute to the easing of current 
economic problems, especially unemployment; 
Whereas the objectives and principles of Community 
environment policy, confirmed by the Council in its 
declaration of 22 November 1973 and reconfirmed in the 
Council Resolutions of 17 May 1977 and 7 February 
1983, remain valid; 
Whereas the programme of action on the environment of 
22 November 1973, as extended and supplemented on 17 
May 1977 and 7 February 1983 is still valid; whereas it 
should be updated, further implemented and 
supplemented for the period 1987 to 1991 by new tasks 
which prove to be necessary; 
Whereas, in particular, in addition to the projects 
already initiated, especially in the field of pollution 
reduction, making the most economic use possible of the 
natural resources offered by the environment requires 
that the preventive side of the environment policy should 
be strengthened in the framework of an overall strategy 
and that environment considerations be integrated into 
the other economic, industrial, agricultural, regional and 
social policies implemented by the Community and by its 
Member States; 
Whereas harmonized environmental standards are, in 
many areas, necessary for the completion of the internal 
market; 
Whereas it is necessary to this end that environmental 
standards should be set on the basis of high levels of 
protection; 
Whereas such an approach can promote innovation and 
the creation of new economic opportunities both within 
the Community and for exports; 
Whereas, in these ways and others, environmental 
protection policy can contribute to improved economic 
growth and to job creation; 
Whereas the European Year of the Environment, which 
begins on 21 March 1987, offers a unique opportunity 
for promoting the changes of attitude and for launching 
the initial actions necessary to give practical effect to 
these perceptions; 
APPROVES the general approach of the action 
programme annexed hereto; 
DECLARES that it is important for Community actions to 
be carried out particularly in the following areas: 
(a) the progressive development and implementation of 
strict environmental standards; (b) the integration of the environmental dimension into 
other policies; 
(c) the wider use of environmental impact assessment 
procedures; 
(d) the stricter implementation of the 'polluter pays 
principle' and its wider application to cover both 
upstream and downstream costs as well as the costs 
of respecting environmental requirements relating 
to products and processes; 
(e) reduction of pullution and nuisance if possible at 
source, in the context of an approach which seeks 
to prevent the transfer of pollution from one part of 
the environment to another, in particular in the 
following areas: 
— combating atmospheric pollution, 
— combating fresh-water and marine pollution, 
— combating pollution of the soil; 
(f) in this context, the increased use of multi-media 
analyses to assess the overall pollution risks of 
dangerous substances and to identify the most 
effective and cost-effective control measures; 
(g) noise pollution and particularly noise pollution 
caused by means of transport; 
(h) dangerous chemical substances and preparations; 
(i) environmental protection aspects of biotechnology; 
(j) environmental protection aspects of strengthened 
Community action in relation to nuclear instal­
lations; 
(k) the development of improved management in 
relation to wastes of all kinds, including reduction 
of quantities, treatment, recycling and re-use; and 
increased attention, in particular to toxic and 
dangerous and radioactive wastes, including the 
transfrontier transport of such wastes; 
(1) encouraging the development of clean technology; 
(m) combating transfrontier pollution; 
(n) the protection of areas of importance to the 
Community which are particularly sensitive 
environmentally and other measures for the 
protection of nature; 
(o) the overall and integrated environmental protection 
of the Mediterranean region, taking account of all 
the above aspects and paying particular attention to 
the specific aspects of that region when giving 
practical application to the action programme; 
18.3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/5 
(p) combatting erosion and improving water supply and 
management; 
(q) guidelines for the development of more efficient 
and cost-effective, economic, and job-creating 
instruments to promote actions in the above areas; 
(r) active participation in the activities of international 
organizations concerned with environmental 
protection; 
(s) cooperation with developing countries on environ­
mental matters, particularly as regards questions of 
desertification and tropical forests. URGES the Commission to pay special attention to the 
need for greater attention to the implementation, 
application and practical effects of Community 
legislation. 
UNDERTAKES to act on these proposals wherever 
possible within nine months of the date on which they 
are submitted by the Commission or, as the case may be, 
of the date on which the opinions of the European Par­
liament and of the Economic and Social Committee are 
submitted. 
UNDERTAKES to make available the financial resources 
necessar for the implementation of this resolution and 
the action programme attached thereto in accordance 
with the usual procedures. 
No C 70/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
ANNEX 
EEC FOURTH ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PROGRAMME 
(1987-1992) 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
1. Introduction 7 
2. General policy orientations 
2.1. Amendments to the Treaty of Rome 8 
2.2. Implementation of Community Directives 9 
2.3. Integration with other Community policies 10 
2.4. Economic and employment aspects 15 
2.5. Economic instruments 16 
2.6. Information and education 16 
3. Approaches to the prevention and control of pollution 
3.1. General Principles 18 
3.2. Multi-media pollution controls 19 
3.3. Substance-orientated controls 20 
3.4. Source-oriented controls 20 
3.5. Product standards, emission limits and environmental quality objectives and standards .... 21 
3.6. Conclusions to be drawn 22 
4. Action in specific sectors 
4.1. Atmospheric pollution 22 
4.2. Fresh and sea water 24 
4.3. Chemicals 26 
4.4. Biotechnology 27 
4.5. Noise 29 
4.6. Nuclear safety 29 
5. Management of environmental resources 
5.1. Conservation of nature and natural resources 30 
5.2. Protection of the soil 32 
5.3. Waste management 33 
5.4. Urban areas, coastal and mountain zones 35 
6. Research 36 
7. Action at international level 
7.1. Action within international organizations and with third countries 37 
7.2. Cooperation with developing countries on environmental matters 38 
8. European year of the environment 40 
9. Conclusions 41 
Annex 1: Objectives and principles of a Community environment policy 41 
Annex 2: Environment provisions of new Treaty 44 
18.3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/7 
FOURTH ENVIRONMENT ACTION PROGRAMME 
1. INTRODUCTION 
1.1. The Community's First Environmental Action Programme adopted in 1973 ('), having spelled out 
the objectives and principles of environment policy, went on to list a large number of essentially remedial 
actions that were seen to be necessary at Community level. The objectives and principles remain valid (2) 
and some of the specific actions remain to be completed, but meanwhile the Community's approach to 
environmental protection has evolved very considerably. 
1.2. The Second Environmental Action Programme adopted in 1977 essentially updated and extended 
the First but by 1983, when the Third Environmental Action Programme came to be adopted, the progress 
in policy thinking and in the approach to environmental protection had already become clear. The 
preventive approach — i.e. an approach requiring economic and social developments to be undertaken in 
such a way as to avoid the creation of environmental problems — had become central. The resources of 
the environment were recognized as constituting the basis of, but also setting the limits to, further 
economic and social development. Prevention was to be achieved through the integration of environmental 
requirements into the planning and execution of actions in many economic and social sectors, and stress 
was placed on prior environmental impact assessment as a crucial tool for ensuring such integration. 
1.3. Now, as the Community adopts a Fourth Environmental Action Programme for the six-year period 
1987-1992, the context has again changed. It is no longer seriously contested that environmental protection 
policy has a central part to play in the whole corpus of Community policies and that environmental 
protection needs to be taken into account as a fundamental factor when economic decisions are taken. 
Continuing — and in many cases growing — problems of environmental deterioration have convinced the 
Commission that the establishment of strict standards for environmental protection is no longer merely an 
option; it has become essential. Moreover, the Commission is also convinced that, when account is taken 
of the growing public demand for improved standards of environmental protection and for environmentally 
friendly goods — both within the Community and worldwide — Community industry will not be suc­
cessful unless it increasingly gears itself towards the meeting of such standards and the production of such 
goods. High standards of environmental protection have thus become an imperative — and an economic 
imperative at that. 
1.4. These new perceptions as to the importance and as to the role of environmental protection policy 
for the Community have been strongly reinforced by two recent conclusions of the European Council 
which, in a sense, provide the agenda and the terms of reference for the Commission's proposals for the 
Community's Fourth Environmental Action Programme. 
1.5. The first of these two conclusions was, of course, the decision of the European Council — on the 
recommendation of the Intergovernmental Conference — to propose the inclusion in the amended Treaty 
of Rome of a chapter on the environment. This decision plainly recognizes the need for a developed 
Community environmental policy at the heart of the Community's other policies and sets out guidelines for 
its content. It is particularly significant that, alone amongst the common policies included in the amended 
Treaty, it will be laid down in relation to environment policy (Article 130R) that its requirements shall 
constitute a component of other Community policies; and that in relation, in particular, to standards 
established on the basis of Article 100A of the amended Treaty, it is laid down that Commission proposals 
concerning, inter alia, environmental protection, will take, as a base, a high level of protection. The Article 
also provides that national provisions applied in the name of environmental protection should not be used 
as a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade between Member States. A copy 
of the proposed Treaty modifications that are relevant to environment is set out in Annex 2 to this 
programme. 
C) OJNoC 112,20. 12. 1973. 
O OJ No C 139, 13. 6. 1977, see Annex 1. 
No C 70/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
1.6. The second conclusion of importance for environmental policy is the recognition by the European 
Council in March 1985 (') that environmental protection policy can contribute to improved economic 
growth and job creation. In the past environmental requirements have often been seen as merely imposing 
regulations and costs on industry, agriculture, transport, etc. Now, in a worlds where higher environmental 
standards are more and more being required, the achievement of such standards must increasingly be seen 
as an essential element in the future economic success of the Community. The European Council went on 
to affirm its determination to give policy the dimension of an essential component of the economic, 
industrial, agricultural and social policies implemented by the Community and by its Member States. 
1.7. This then is the agenda for and the orientation of the Community's Fourth Environmental Action 
Programme. The challenge — which is also an opportunity — is to find the means of making further 
progress in environmental policy in such a way that the economic and employment benefits foreseen by the 
European Council can also be achieved. 
2. GENERAL POLICY ORIENTATIONS 
2.1. Amendments to the Treaty of Rome 
2.1.1. The EEC Treaty, as it will be amended by the Single European Act, envisages the pursuit of 
environment policy in two ways at Community level. First the Treaty will contain a specific chapter (Title 
VII) on environment policy (Articles 130R to 130T), which fixes the objectives and principles of such 
policy, in particular the necessity of preventive action which is placed side by side with the requirement of 
protecting and improving the quality of the environment. Furthermore the Treaty will expressly stipulate 
that the requirements of environment policy constitute a component part of the other Community policies. 
2.1.2. In addition, the Treaty recognizes that environmental protection actions may be important for the 
achievement of the internal market — a principal Community objective for the coming five years. It is 
evident that environmental actions taken at Member State level alone might easily lead to new barriers to 
intra-Community trade or distort competition. In this context it is noteworthy that Article 100A — which 
deals with the adoption of measures of the approximation of the provisions laid down by law, regulation or 
administrative action in Member States which have as their object the establishment or functioning of the 
common market — not only lays down that such measures shall be adopted by qualified majority voting 
but also provides that the Commission, in its proposals laid down in Article 100, paragraph 1, concerning 
health, safety, environmental protection and consumer protection, will take as a base a high level of 
protection. 
2.1.3. The Commission intends to make full use of the provisions of the new Treaty, and in particular 
Article 100A. It acknowledges the need to combine, by way of actions which effectively protect the 
environment, two of the main objectives of the Treaty, i.e. the achievement of the internal market and the 
development of a high level of environmental standards within the Community. The Commission is 
moreover convinced that the development of high environmental standards is consistent with, and 
sometimes necessary for, the protection and improvement of the future competitive position of Community 
industry. 
2.1.4. It is also important to note that Article DOB of the Single European Act places stress on the 
promotion of economic and social cohesion within the Community and on the reduction of regional 
disparities. Moreover, the chapter dealing with environment policy makes plain that the Community, in 
preparing its action relating to the environment, is to take account inter alia of environmental conditions in 
O 'The European Council considers that a Community environmental protection policy must be based on the following 
considerations: 
(i) having acknowledged that this policy can contribute to improved economic growth and job creation, it affirms its 
determination to give this policy the dimension of an essential component of the economic, industrial, agricultural 
and social policies implemented by the Community and by its Member States; 
(ii) it acknowledges the need for the Member States to take coherent action in the Community framework to protect 
the air, the sea and the soil, since isolated action is unlikely to prove effective and may even be harmful. 
It requests the Council to expedite its proceedings and to make every effort, together with the Commission, to ensure 
that the years to come are marked by significant progress in Community action for the protection of the environment 
in Europe and throughout the world. 
In this connection, the European Council has decided that 1987 will be designated "European Environment Year"/ 
Bulletin of the European Communities, March 1985. 
18,3. 87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/9 
the various regions of the Community; and of the economic and social development of the Community as 
a whole and the balanced development of its regions. It is clear therefore that a particular importance will 
attach, during the period of the Fourth Environmental Action Programme, to close cooperative action in 
the implementation of the Community's environmental and regional policies. The Commission will take the 
necessary steps to ensure that this occurs. 
2.1.5. Actions to ensure the consolidation of Community environment policy with the Community's 
other policies for which the amended Treaty calls, will be accompanied by a number of other actions of a 
broad-ranging character during the next five years. Thus the Commission will carefully and critically assess 
the policy pursued in the different environment sectors in order to check whether the experience of past 
legislation and its implementation should suggest new strategies, why parts of the previous environment 
action programmes have not been implemented, and what lessons can be learned from the past and used in 
the future. 
2.1.6. The Commission will re-assess the obligations of Member States under existing Directives to 
report on the application of those Directives. To that end it will submit a proposal for a Directive which 
will standardize and rationalize the general obligation to submit reports; and will link them more 
effectively to the production, on a three-yearly cycle, of Community state of the environment reports. The 
Commission also proposes to give greater publicity to reports on the different environmental Directives and 
to Commission reports on the effects on the ground of Community environmental legislation. 
2.1.7. Under the Information Agreement of 1973 (') Member States agreed to notify the Commission of 
their intentions to introduce environmental legislation at national level. In view of the provisions of the 
amended Treaty concerning both environment policy and the completion of the internal market by 1992, 
which imply the necessity to elaborate any necessary Community-level, product-related environmental 
standards on the same timescale, the Commission considers that the time has come to transform the Infor­
mation Agreement into a binding Community instrument. The Commission will accordingly submit a 
proposal for a Directive to render obligatory the notification of proposed environmental legislation, in so 
far as this is not already covered under the provisions of Directive 83/189/EEC (2) and thus make possible 
a more systematic assessment of the necessity to take environmental action at Community level. 
2.2. Implementation of Community Directives 
2.2.1. The effective implementation of Community environmental legislation by all Member States will 
be of primary importance for the Community. 
2.2.2. The transposition of Community legislation into national law is usually achieved within a 
reasonable time, although sometimes later than the dates laid down in the Directives; it is clear that the 
new Member States, in particular, will have to make special efforts in the coming years. The Commission 
has, however, in the past identified a considerable number of omissions and deviations in national laws, 
sometimes of considerable importance, and has been obliged to initiate infringement procedures against 
Member States, in order to bring national legislation into line with the requirements of Community law. 
2.2.3. In the future the question of the transposition of Community Directives into national law is likely 
to receive greater attention from the interested public, since the Commission has decided to allow public 
access to its data base which stores information on the national legislation — whether specially adopted or 
already in existence — which formally implements Community law. 
2.2.4. Looking beyond the question of legal action, the further questions of the practical implementation 
at national level of the requirements of Community legislation and its effectiveness in reality in improving 
the quality of the environment, also both raise considerable problems. 
2.2.5. In theory the Commission has the power to check whether Community acts and the national laws 
which are based on them are actually fully complied with in practical terms at local or regional levels. This 
power derives from Article 155 of the Treaty and, furthermore, from Articles in the individual Directives 
which provide that Member States shall report to the Commission on the implementation of Directives. 
However, national reports are not always submitted regularly and often do not give sufficient details to 
allow the Commission to assess sufficiently will the practical implementation. 
(') OJ No C 9, 15. 3. 1973; OJ No C 86, 20. 7. 1974. 
O OJ No L 109, 26. 4. 1983, p. 8. 
No C 70/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
2.2.6. To address both of these aspects — i.e. formal legal compliance and practical implementation — 
the Commission intends to intensify the dialogue with national (or, as the case may be, regional) 
administrations from Member States so as to promote a more fully harmonized understanding of and 
approach to both legal and practical questions concerning implementation; and to persuade them to ensure 
the effective implementation of Community acts and the national laws based on them. Such discussions 
might assist some administrations by enabling them to benefit from experience gained by administrations in 
other Member States. They should also have the effect of avoiding, to the greatest extent possible, the 
necessity for the Commission to resort to infringement procedures. 
2.2.7. The Commission also intends to take further actions in order to promote both better compliance 
with the requirements of Community environmental legislation and its more effective implementation. 
These actions will include: 
— an examination of the question whether, in appropriate cases, Community environment inspectors 
should be appointed to work with national officials so as to ensure the harmonized and effective 
implementation of Community law, 
— better publicity for the Community's environment policy and its impact at local, regional and national 
level, in order to increase public awareness of the need to protect the environment effectively, 
— encouraging private persons, non-governmental organizations or local authorities to bring instances of 
non-compliance or of inadequate compliance to the attention of the Commission, in order to have 
remedial action started, 
— organizing seminars, workshops and other forums which allow the exchange of experience among 
interested persons and organizations as to how Community law is applied; and how effective it is in 
improving the environment, 
— initiating infringement procedures under Article 169 of the Treaty against Member States, in order to 
ensure that Member States actually honour their obligations under Community law. 
2.2.8. The Commission is convinced that complete and effective implementation of the Community 
environment acts by all Member States is a matter of priority concern; and that it will lead to a 
considerable improvement in the quality of the environment, contribute to better integration of national 
environment policies and actions, and strengthen the cohesion of the Community. Therefore it will 
consider implementation as a priority under the Fourth Environmental Action Programme. 
2.3. Integration with other Community policies 
2.3.1. Whilst it is true that there can be no sound environmental policy unless, at the same time, there is 
progress on the economic and social front, it is equally true that there can be no lasting economic and 
social progress unless environmental considerations are taken into account and are indeed seen as an 
essential part of economic and social development. This has been clearly recognized by the European 
Council when it affirmed its determination to give to environmental protection policy the dimension of an 
essential component of the economic, industrial, agricultural and social policies implemented by the 
Community and its Member States. 
2.3.2. It will accordingly be a central part of the Commission's efforts during the period of the Fourth 
Environmental Action Programme to make major progress towards the practical realization of this 
objective — initially at the level of the Community's own policies and actions; secondly at the level of the 
policies implemented by Member States; but as soon as possible in a more generalized way so that all 
economic and social developments throughout the Community, whether undertaken by public or private 
bodies or of a mixed character, would have environmental requirements built fully into their planning and 
execution. 
2.3.3. In relation to these broad-ranging initiatives an obvious priority will be given to projects and to 
ensuring that the practical carrying into effect of developments of whatever kind, takes adequate account 
of environmental requirements. But the Commission's concern will also be extended, as rapidly as possible, 
to cover policies and policy statements; plans and their implementation; procedures; programmes 
(including both their overall objectives and their sub-elements), as well as individual projects. 
2.3.4. So far as concerns the Community's own policies a special importance already attaches to projects 
and programmes financed from the structural funds and other Community funds. The recent establishment 
of standing arrangements for the close coordination of operations under the aegis of all the structural 
funds will clearly greatly assist in taking full account of environmental needs. Within the framework of 
18.3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/11 
those coordination arrangements, the Commission is already working on the development of effective 
internal procedures to ensure that environmental requirements are built into the processes of assessing and 
approving proposals for all developments to be financed from such funds. These procedures will be based 
closely on the content of the Directive on environmental impact assessment (85/337/EEC) (l). They will 
also foresee the obligation to undertake environmental impact assessments in appropriate cases. Once these 
procedures have been established in relation to the Community's own policies, the Commission will 
consider the question of their wider application and will make appropriate proposals. 
2.3.5. However, the environmental assessment of development proposals is not by itself sufficient to 
ensure the adequate integration of environmental requirements into other policy areas. By way of illus­
trating the nature of the initiatives that need to be undertaken to ensure the full integration of these 
requirements into the planning and execution of economic and social activity within the Community, the 
following paragraphs indicate the Commission's intentions in relation to particular policy areas where, in 
the Commission's view, specific actions are necessary. 
2.3.6: Agriculture — Europe's much admired landscape has been formed and shaped by agriculture over 
the centuries. However, the development of modern farming practices poses questions which require an 
urgent response. Inappropriate land use damages landscapes' quality and areas of special interest for 
conservation; misuse of chemicals and the uncontrolled disposal of agricultural wastes pollute water 
supplies and damage wildlife. The Commission has already announced its initial proposals (following pub­
lication of its Green Paper on 'Perspectives for the Common Agricultural Policy' (*) and its subsequent 
communication 'A Future for Community Agriculture' (5) to ensure that agricultural policy and practice in 
the Community will do more to respect the environment and to conserve the priceless heritage of landscape 
and species. They focus on measures 'to support agriculture in areas where it is essential for land use 
planning, maintenance of the social balance and protection of the environment and landscape' and on the 
needs 'to make farmers more aware of environmental issues'. 
2.3.7. The Commission has also in COM(85) 750 made clear its view that to establish a proper balance 
between agricultural development and the sometimes conflicting needs of conserving the natural 
environment, a series of actions related in particular to the use of agro-chemicals, the treatment of agri­
cultural wastes and the conservation of species, habitats and landscapes is necessary. In relation to large-
scale agricultural and forestry projects and programmes the Commission has made plain on many occasions 
in the past that it will require the use of environmental impact assessments. As indicated in the 
Commission's recent communication to the Council on Community action in the forestry sector (*), an 
increase in the forest area of the Community is desirable for a number of reasons, including the contri­
bution that this could make to environmental protection and improvement. On all these matters the 
Commission will make appropriate proposals as soon as possible. 
2.3.8. Moreover the systematic monitoring of forest die-back is an essential measure to accompany 
measures to control atmospheric pollution; proposals on this (and also to control forest fires) have long 
been before the Council; the Commission urges the need for their early adoption. 
2.3.9. Industry — The integration of environmental considerations into industrial policy has to be seen in 
a much wider context than pollution prevention or control and environmental impact assessment pro­
cedures. The siting and design of industrial installations; industry's choice of product and process; and its 
approach to the management of its wastes, must all be influenced by environmental considerations. In turn, 
the role of industry in generating the wealth which inter alia makes possible the necessary environmental 
investments and improvements must be recognized. 
2.3.10. It is the Commission's clear policy to develop proposals for environmental protection legislation 
in close consultation with industry. A further objective is, whenever possible, to give advance warning of 
likely changes in legislation laying down stricter environmental standards or requirements sufficiently far 
ahead to give industry time to adjust and to enable the new standards to be taken into account in its 
forward investment, policy and product planning. 
(*) OJ No L 175, 6. 7. 1985. 
O COM(85) 333, 13. 7. 1985. 
(J) COM(85) 750, 18. 12. 1985. 
(4) COM(86) 26, 31. 1. 1986. 
No C 70/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 18. 3. 87 
2.3.11. Legislation, however, is not the whole story. It is clear that environmental standards will become 
progressively stricter and that the public demand for improved environmental quality will grow. It is, 
therefore, most important that industry should, on its own initiative and in its own interest, increasingly 
take steps to integrate environmental considerations into its own policies and operating procedures and 
practices. Many industrial companies have already taken important steps in this direction; and the same is 
true of certain banks, insurance companies, etc. The necessary full integration of environmental 
requirements into all economic and social activities will not, however, have been achieved until this 
approach becomes generalized. To this end the Commission will, during the period of the Fourth Environ­
mental Action Programme, work in close consultation with industry in the development of suitable 
guidelines and codes of practice, so as to encourage such an evolution as rapidly as possible. 
2.3.12. In doing so it will be necessary to recognize that the need for increasingly strict standards poses 
the greatest problems for the older industries that are involved in restructuring and have a lot of old plant. 
By contrast some of the new industries which are replacing them involve innovative technologies which are, 
by their very nature, less polluting and less environmentally troublesome than some of the old ones that 
they replace. Moreover, some of the innovative techniques can be and are being used in environmental 
management industries (such as pollution control equipment) thus bringing together improved environ­
mental management and technological innovation. 
2.3.13. Whether or not it is easy for a particular industry to respond to the demand for stricter environ­
mental standards, the Commission is convinced that, overall, the competitivity of Community industry on 
world markets in the 1990's will depend partly on its products reaching environmental standards at least as 
high as those of competitors. If such progress is not made, then Community producers will lose market 
share not only on international markets, but also on the internal market. Moreover it needs to be 
recognized that pollution represents a waste of resources and is often linked with obsolete technologies. 
On both these counts the imposition of ambitious environmental standards in the remainder of the 1980s, 
which stimulate technological innovation in order to meet them, will protect markets and jobs in the long-
term. These developing standards will be real challenges for industry; but will offer real opportunities as 
well. 
2.3.14. Stricter environmental standards are likely to provide growth opportunities especially for small 
and medium-sized enterprises. The Community has recognized the importance of such companies for 
overall economic and employment growth in Europe. The very specific demands on product development, 
innovation and manufacturing which result from higher environmental standards are likely to be met above 
all by smaller firms which have the flexibility necessary to meet such demands. The resulting creation and 
development of small and medium-sized enterprises will be a significant contribution to the European 
economy in coming years. On the other hand, small and medium-sized enterprises cannot be exempted 
from meeting increasingly severe environmental standards although they may find difficulty in doing so. In 
some cases it may be necessary for the public authorities to assist these firms in carrying out the investment 
required to meet such standards. At the same time it is incumbent on legislators, both at the Community 
and national level, to consider the costs which legislation imposes on such enterprises. High environmental 
standards should be achieved in the least bureaucratic and most cost-efficient way. 
2.3.15.. Competition policy — In recognition of their importance in terms of the common European 
interest, state aids designed to promote the protection of the environment have been authorized by the 
Commission, under certain conditions, since 1974. The aim of allowing limited state aids for this purpose is 
to promote the introduction of, and industrial adaptation to, regulations which ensure effective environ­
mental protection and to lead eventually to the promotion of the 'polluter pays' principle. The framework 
governing approval of such aids expires on 31 December 1986 and the Commission is currently studying 
the possibility of extending it. 
2.3.16. Regional policy — One of the most important of the Community's policies is its regional 
development policy which seeks to promote the economic development of those regions of the Community 
that are less developed or are economically disadvantaged; and thus to promote economic convergence. 
Many of the projects financed from the regional fund are relatively large-scale infrastructure projects; 
many of the assisted areas contain environmentally important or sensitive zones, hence the integration of 
environmental requirements into the planning and execution of regional development policies and 
programmes (and of individual projects) is of particular importance. The procedures referred to in 
paragraph 2.3.4 above should satisfactorily ensure such integration. 
2.3.17. The interaction between regional policy and environmental policy goes further than this 
essentially preventive aspect however. Amongst the less economically advanced areas of the Community 
18.3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/13 
cases can arise in which necessary environmental improvements may be delayed because of their financial 
impact on existing enterprises. In addition, public authorities in certain areas of the Community already 
face economic problems — applying Community measures, especially in relation to the installation of basic 
environmental infrastructure. In order to overcome these difficulties the Commission will make a proposal 
for a Community programme, within the framework of the regional fund, which will have as its objective 
to assist disadvantaged areas of the Community to implement Community environment Directives — thus 
promoting both socio-economic development in such areas and Community environment policy. Further 
reference to this intention, which was announced in COM(86) 76, is made in paragraphs 2.5.4 and 5.4.6 
below. The Commission hopes to be able to put forward precise proposals during the first half of 1987. In 
accordance with the framework of the Council's resolution of 17 February 1983, adopting the Third 
Community Environmental Programme ('), the Commission intends to be guided, inter alia, by the need to 
take account of the differing economic and ecological conditions and the differing structures in the 
Community. 
2.3.18. Energy — The production of energy is heavily dependent on the use of fossil fuels and thus 
energy policy is inevitably concerned by atmospheric pollution issues. Environmental requirements in turn 
affect energy costs and the competitive position as between different energy sources. The balanced pursuit 
of environmental and energy policy objectives is therefore of special importance, as stated in the 
Commission's recent communication on new Community energy objectives (2). Energy conservation and 
alternative non-fossil energy sources will help improve air quality. Technologies exist that can achieve 
significant reductions in polluting emissions from fossil fuel power-stations at reasonable costs; the 
Commission's proposals for the reduction of emissions from large combustion installations (see section 
4.1.4) took account of this. 
2.3.19. The safe use of nuclear power in particular within the Community will certainly be fully 
discussed in the course of the far-reaching review that is currently being undertaken as announced in the 
Commission's communication to the Council on the follow-up to the recent accident at Chernobyl (3). 
within the context of that review certain measures of an environmental protection character will be 
examined and appropriate proposals made (see paragraphs 4.1.7, 4.2.2, 4.3.8, 5.3.7 and 7.1.6 (second 
item)); they concern the possible applicability to nuclear installations of approaches developed in relation to 
non-nuclear industry on emission standards and safety criteria: dumping of wastes at sea; and the transport 
of dangerous materials (including nuclear materials). 
2.3.20. Looking further ahead into the future it is clear that difficult problems could arise from the use 
of fossil fuels if the build-up of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and the 'Greenhouse effect' are shown 
(as certain scientists fear) to have serious impacts on climate and agricultural productivity worldwide. In 
case further scientific research should confirm the likelihood of such impacts, the Community should 
already be thinking about possible responses and alternative energy strategies. The Commission will 
continue its studies in this context. 
2.3.21. In general therefore it is evident that all actions taken in the field of energy policy need to be 
considered from an environmental as well as economic standpoint (and vice-versa). A degree of integration 
has already been achieved but, as has been indicated, there may be real problems ahead. The management 
of nuclear waste, which is the subject of a Community research programme, as well as of a Community 
plan of action (1988-1992), remains a central issue of environmental concern. It will be necessary to 
strengthen the Community policy by building on the results of work already in hand, particularly within 
the framework of the Community's research programmes, with a view to developing clear orientations or 
guidelines at Community level for the disposal of such waste. 
2.3.22. Internal market— The completion of the internal market by 1992 is an established Community 
commitment and one of the most important challenges facing the Community. The achievement of this 
goal requires the active support and assistance of all other Community policies. In the field of environment 
policy the main potential impact of the completion of the internal market will be in relation to product 
(') OJ No C 46, 17. 2. 1983. 
O COM(85) 245, 28. 5. 1986. 
O COM(86) 327, 12. 6. 1986. 
No C 70/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
standards. In important cases, national standards could differ widely, particularly on the protection of the 
environment. It is essential in that case to seek at an early stage and at Community level any harmonization 
of these standards which may be necessary for environmental reasons. The Single European Act lays down 
that the approximation of laws on environmental protection will be based on a high level of protection (see 
paragraph 1.5). The Commission will make appropriate proposals during the period of the Fourth Environ­
mental Action Programme between now and 1992. 
2.3.23. Transport— The interaction of transport and the environment is a wide-ranging one. Transport, 
in the widest sense, is at the root of many environmental issues (noise, air pollution, impact on landscape, 
etc.), but it can also contribute directly and positively to the creation or improvement of certain 
environments. Improved accessibility widens opportunities for people to experience and appreciate environ­
mentally important areas. On the other hand there is no doubt that badly planned transport links can be 
very destructive of environmental quality. Improving the environmental acceptability of vehicles is 
important and as is mentioned elsewhere action to this end is well in hand. Major transport infrastructure 
links, however, require particular attention with a view to minimizing adverse environmental impacts and 
maximizing benefits; in virtually all cases they will of course be subject to prior environmental impact 
assessment under the terms of Directive 85/337/EEC. The Commission will ensure that increasing 
attention is paid to all these interactions which will have a growing importance particularly given the new 
impetus to develop the common transport policy. 
2.3.24. Tourism — Similarly, the impact of tourism on the environment and vice-versa is a matter of 
great concern, particularly having regard to the need to maintain and improve the quality of Europe's 
natural and architectural heritage. 
2.3.25. Social policy — The essential part played by environmental protection policy in the field of social 
policy has to be recognized. There are numerous links especially in the field of worker protection, pro­
fessional education and general labour conditions. The whole field of training in environmental skills and 
the extent to which environmental policies can generate employment (see paragraphs 2.4.6 and 2.4.7) are of 
clear relevance to social policy. The execution of the social policy and environmental action programmes 
have therefore to be coordinated as much as possible. New actions in the field of environmental protection 
policy of considerable importance for social policy may need to be taken, especially concerning the 
function and the status of those responsible in industrial plants for the correct application of environmental 
protection regulations. 
2.3.26. Consumer protection — Action in the field of consumer protection has a considerable potential to 
build in the environmental dimension and thus to support Community environment policy. Programmes of 
consumer education and information, some of them promoted via Community instruments, should concern 
themselves with the environmental aspects of products and services as well as with consumer aspects. The 
legitimate emphasis on product safety, e.g. in the field of cosmetics, also has an environmental dimension. 
So too do such typical consumer interests as the quality of drinking water and the design and durability of 
products. The Commission will take steps to ensure a closer coordination of policies in these areas. 
2.3.27. Development cooperation — A special importance is attached to the integration of environmental 
requirements into the Community's development programmes. This is so because so many of the Third 
World's problems are in essence environmental problems; policies which very directly seek to protect and 
improve the environment and to create the conditions for sustainable economic growth are therefore 
essential if the problems of development are to be effectively tackled. 
2.3.28. General — In general the Commission will seek to ensure that steps are taken to integrate 
environmental requirements into the planning and execution of all economic, industrial, agricultural and 
social policies, as required by the European Council conclusions referred to in paragraph 2.3.1. Initially, as 
indicated in paragraph 2.3.2, emphasis will be placed on the Community's own policies; to this end the 
Commission will develop internal procedures and practices to ensure that this integration of environmental 
factors takes place routinely in relation to all other policy areas. The Commission will also work, during 
the period of the Fourth Environmental Action Programme, on the development of guidance, procedures 
and other tools that could contribute to a similar integration at the level of policies implemented by 
Member States; and by both public and private economic operators. 
18.3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/15 
2.4. Economic and employment aspects of environmental policies and actions 
2.4.1. Environmental measures are an integral component of the Community's economic activity, 
because environmental protection improves the quality of life and safeguards natural resources, thus 
permitting full realization of the benefits of economic acitivity, in the form of better patterns of economic 
growth and employment, with consequent beneficial effects on the competitiveness of industry. The 
Commission is, however, aware of the difficulties of drawing up a balance sheet of the positive and 
negative economic and employment effects of environmental policies and actions. For such a balance sheet 
to be valid it is essential that the benefits (as well as the costs) of environmental measures should be taken 
fully into account in decision-making procedures, whether or not they are amenable to measurement in 
money terms. 
2.4.2. Against this background it is of great importance that the amendments to the Treaty of Rome 
agreed by the Governments of Member States envisage inter alia that Community environment actions 
shall take account of the potential benefits and costs of action or of lack of action. The Commission will 
endeavour to develop methods of assessment which will facilitate this task and which will, so far as 
possible, ensure the preparation of an adequate cost-benefit analysis as a basis for environmental proposals. 
2.4.3. Such assessments will clearly have to take into account both short- and long-term effects. The 
Commission, of course, recognizes that the economic gains from the pursuit of strict environmental 
requirements may not be without cost in the short-term. In some cases therefore they may pose short-term 
problems in terms of financing and competitivity. In other cases the rate of return on investment will be 
such that there will be short-term economic (as well as environmental) gains. In yet other cases the short-
term costs of implementing environmental measures can be offset by longer term economic gains (if for 
example there is a stimulus to the development and introduction of cost-saving technologies or a 
competitive gain in markets with strict environmental regulations). 
2.4.4. Even if the economic benefits to be derived from environmental measures can only be achieved in 
the longer term, there may still be sound environmental and economic reasons why the necessary 
investments should be undertaken. OECD has concluded that 'the benefits generated by environmental 
measures (including the damage costs avoided) have generally been greater than their costs'. In all cases it 
is essential that the damage costs of failing to take environmental action should be calculated and available 
for comparison. 
2.4.5. It is also important, however, to bear in mind that the short-term costs resulting from the intro­
duction of new environmental standards may have adverse effects on the competitiveness of certain 
enterprises that have to comply with them. This calls for close attention not only to the type and levels of 
environmental standards to be introduced but equally important to the timescale of implementation. The 
Commission will therefore aim, in its development of environmental measures, to ensure that the objectives 
and means are made clear to industry and that enterprises are allowed a reasonable time to adjust to the 
new standards. Adjustment to new environmental standards can in some circumstances be facilitated by 
financial support (see Section 2.5). 
2.4.6. So far as concerns employment the Commission takes the clear view that a strengthened 
environment policy will in general have positive effects on job creation through environmental infra­
structure and investment and through the manufacture of new products that are directly related to the 
improvement of environmental quality. Even though in some cases when environmental regulations 
increase industrial costs, there can be short-term negative impacts on employment, there is on the other 
hand much evidence that, in the past, environmental policies have probably had a marginally positive 
impact overall on employment. What is certain is that there are many environmental measures that can 
have direct and indirect positive job-creating effects (such as those designed to tackle inner city decay or to 
re-use derelict land or to repair landscape damage in areas of natural beauty) but which have hitherto been 
quite inadequately used. In general, environmental measures should be structured in such a way that the 
impact on employment is as positive as possible. 
2.4.7. The Commission will accordingly shortly propose a five-year Community-wide programme of 
'demonstration projects' in all Member States designed to demonstrate how environmental actions and the 
implementation of environmental policies can generate jobs; and to create a large body of experience and 
information on which industry and all Member States can draw in the future. 
No C 70/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
2.5. Economic instruments 
2.5.1. A variety of different measures and procedures can be used to improve or maintain environmental 
quality. These, of course, include the legal regulation of products, processes, emissions and wastes; but 
they also include various economic instruments (such as taxes, charges, state aids, tradeable discharge 
permits); and agreements with polluters. The choice of the most appropriate instrument or instruments to 
use in any particular case will depend on circumstances, the legal and administrative framework and on the 
nature of the environmental problem being tackled. 
2.5.2. The Community has an important role in the development of pollution control instruments of an 
economic character; and in devising guidelines for their use in the implementation of Community 
legislation. Any such measures must, of course, be used in ways which are consistent with the principles of 
Community environmental policy — notably the 'polluter pays principle' and the preventive approach. 
2.5.3. The 1975 recommendation on cost allocation (') provides for the use of charges, in circumstances 
where this is deemed appropriate. The Commission intends to undertake further work in this area with a 
view to developing the use of economic instruments in support of Community legislation. The 1975 
recommendation also provides for state aids for pollution control measures when it is considered that 
exceptions can be justified to the 'polluter pays principle'. Member States are permitted, under a 
framework established by the Commission, to provide limited financial assistance to ease the introduction 
of new pollution control regulations for plants already in existence; this framework expires on 31 
December 1986 and the Commission is presently considering the desirability of extending it. 
2.5.4. The Commission is also considering further provision for assistance towards pollution control 
measures and will (see paragraph 2.3.16 above) make a proposal for a Community programme, within the 
framework of the regional fund, to improve environmental infrastructure and to aid the implementation of 
Community environment Directives in disadvantaged areas of the Community. 
2.5.5. Finally the Commission intends to consider the scope for the better definition of responsibility in 
the environmental field (including the possibility that the polluter should assume extended liability for 
damage caused by products or processes); and to devote attention to the question of the coordination of 
instruments where there are significant transboundary effects associated with product standards or trans­
frontier pollution. 
2.5.6. More concretely the Commission intends to consider the use of economic instruments as a 
possible means of implementing Community policy in the fields of air pollution (see Section 4.1), water 
pollution (see Section 4.2), protection against noise (see Section 4.5), nature protection (see Section 5.1), 
and waste management (see Section 5.3). 
2.6. Information and education 
2.6.1. Mention has been made of the need to render the whole process of regulation and application of 
existing rules more transparent, particularly as far as public information is concerned. In this context it is 
important to improve the opportunities given by national regulations to individuals and groups to defend 
their rights or interests in administrative procedures. In the Commission's view particular attention needs to 
be given to situations where access to information is an element for the better protection of man or the 
environment, whether through the better application of regulations or otherwise. Comparable attention 
needs to be given to access to information in cases of transfrontier pollution. 
2.6.2. In the Commission's view it should be possible to devise ways of improving public access to the 
information held by environmental authorities, whilst at the same time giving protection to information 
which can legitimately be regarded as confidential. The Commission will study the need for, and 
desirability of, a Community 'Freedom of Environmental Information Act' and will make appropriate 
proposals. 
2.6.3. Quite apart, however, from the question of establishing rights of access, there is no doubt that the 
widespread diffusion of information on the environment and on environmental problems, policies and 
programmes can powerfully support both the evolution and public acceptance of necessary environmental 
measures. Not enough efforts have been made to this end, although it is important to note that a number 
of Member States now regularly publish national 'State of the Environment' reports. The Commission for 
its part will in future publish Community 'State of the Environment' reports on as three-yearly cycle 
(') OJ No L 194, 25. 7. 1975. 
18.3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/17 
starting in 1987, drawing for this purpose on information supplied by Member States under the provisions 
of Community Directives and on information available through the progressive development of the 
Community Information System on the State of the Environment and on natural resources (CORINE) (') 
(see paragraph 2.6.6 below). 
2.6.4. More generally the Commission intends to review its whole approach to the diffusion of infor­
mation on environmental issues. Much more could be done to inform the public and thus influence public 
opinion in favour of strict environmental policies. As indicated in Section 2.2 the Commission intends to 
ensure the wider availability of information on the implementation of Community environmental 
legislation. The Commission will also take steps to ensure that many more of the numerous reports on 
scientific, technical and economic aspects that are prepared for the Commission's service in the course of 
developing policy proposals (but which may be of wider interest) are published in appropriate ways. The 
Commission is also supporting the launch of a new review on Community environmental policy and law. In 
addition, in order to enhance the efficacity of the actions on information, the Commission will ensure a 
better coordination between the Directorate-General for Information, Communication and Culture, and 
other concerned services. 
2.6.5. The European Year of the Environment (EYE) (see Section 8) — the central aim of which is to 
convince every individual throughout the Community of the importance of the environment and thereby to 
change attitudes (both of society and of individuals) to the need for strict standards of environmental 
protection — offers both an opportunity and a challenge to improve dramatically on past performance in 
putting across relevant information on environmental issues and problems — and to put it across in ways 
that make it accessible to all elements in society; and that offers the chance of convincing them of the 
necessity to commit themselves to action (both during EYE and beyond) to achieve practical improvements. 
2.6.6. At the level of hard data on environmentally significant parameters, the Community information 
system on the state of the environment (CORINE) will be of growing value and importance. The main 
purpose of CORINE is to ensure the availability of a sound base of comparable environmental infor­
mation, to economic actors and decison-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. The practical implementation of the CORINE programme is in hand and work on its 
continuous development will be undertaken during the period of the Fourth Environmental Action 
Programme. At the end of the phase of work covered by the Council Decision the Commission will report 
to the Council and present proposals which will ensure the availability throughout the Community of a 
wide range of up-to-date and comparable environmental and natural resource data, capable of being 
presented in ways and combinations likely to be of the greatest assistance to decision-makers. 
2.6.7. Simultaneously and with a view to complementing the information produced in the framework of 
the CORINE programme, the Commission intends to reinforce the environmental component of the stat­
istical programme of the European Community; in this connection it is in particular proposed to develop 
better information on the relationships between the economy and the environment. 
2.6.8. Environmental education has a particular significance in strengthening public concern on environ­
mental matters. As already noted everybody has to acknowledge that he can contribute, by his own 
behaviour, to better environmental conditions; and the stage at which this awareness can best be inculcated 
is during the period of education. Environmental education, which has already featured in earlier action 
programmes, will therefore continue to deserve support at Community level. The Pilot Schools Network 
has been successfully implemented (first at primary and then secondary levels) over the past eight years and 
has been strongly supported by Member States. Much valuable experience has been gained. The 
Commission intends to publish, during the European Year of the Environment, a full report on the work to 
date of the Pilot Schools Network and on the lessons learned. It will also send a communication to the 
Council indicating the basis on which it is intended that the network should be consolidated and extended 
to tertiary level, drawing on the experience to date arid the latest developments in the field of educational 
science. 
2.6.9. The function of non-governmental organizations in the development of environmental policy and 
thinking is a fudamental one. The development and application of environmental policy often necessitates 
difficult arbitration between the important but different interests of social and economic groups. The 
O Decision 338/85/EEC; OJ No L 176, 6. 7. 1985. 
No C 70/18 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
interests of specific branches of industry, including both management and unions, have to be taken into 
account as well as the different situations in the Member States. So too do the views of pressure groups 
defending specific or sectoral interests. 
In such complex situations the existence of non-governmental organizations who may be considered to 
represent general environmental interests and can act as partners of the policy-making organs, is of great 
importance. It is for that reason that the Commission will continue its constructive and permanent contact 
and exchange with representative environmental organisations at European level, especially with the 
European Environment Bureau. 
2.6.10. Industrial federations, (e.g. UNICE) and trade union bodies (e.g. ETUC), are making increasing 
efforts to collaborate at both national and European level in the formulation and execution of environ­
mental policy. The Commission believes that it is very important to strengthen and to organize more 
efficiently its cooperation with both the industrial federations and the unions and will make continuing 
efforts to this end. In this connection, the Commission intends to make the maximum possible use of the 
contributions made by the European Foundation for the Improvement of "Working and Living Conditions. 
3. APPROACHES TO THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF POLLUTION 
3.1. General principles 
3.1.1. Environmental policies are conceived and implemented in stages, moving from the perception of 
an environmental problem (either an actual problem or — preferably — at the stage at which it is still only 
potential) to thp institution and enforcement of necessary measures whether remedial or preventive. The 
basic objective of all such measures is to prevent harm to man and to the environment or, where damage 
has already occured, to correct it. 
3.1.2. The nature of the measures that need to be taken to deal with pollution problems in practice 
inevitably shows a considerable degree of variation, depending inter alia on the nature of the adverse 
effects perceived or anticipated, their causes, and the sources of the problem. Thus, for example, a 
pollution problem might to varying degrees be: 
— acute or chronic, 
— localized or geographically dispersed, 
— related primarily to a single pollutant or to combinations of pollutants, 
— concentrated in one medium (air, water or land) or affect several, and/or involve the movement of 
pollutants between media, 
— moreover the source of any given pollution problem may be a point source (or sources) or diffuse, may 
be fixed or mobile, and may be linked principally with one industrial sector, or with several. 
3.1.3. Given this complexity it is natural — and appropriate — that the approaches to pollution control 
that are encountered in practice will differ in their emphasis, depending on technical, administrative and 
legal possibilities for control measures, as well as on the way in which the effects of pollution and control 
measures are distributed. However, it is important to recognize that these different approaches do not 
reflect any difference in fundamental principles. Thus, for example, a measure which concentrates on a 
single pollutant can be justified if (in the particular circumstances and in the light of available scientific 
evidence) it appears.that there are no significant interactions with other pollutants; but this special case 
does not negate the general principle that pollution control policies should take account of such interactive 
effects. 
3.1.4. The first stage in the control of a pollution problem is research and detailed study to investigate 
the factors involved and their interrelationships. In general, pollution problems may be characterized by 
four main factors — the pollutant, the sources of the pollutant, the environmental medium or media into 
which the pollutant is discharged or in which it appears or through which it is transported, and the target 
organism or environment. Control action may be directed towards any one or more of these elements of 
the problem. 
3.1.5. The pollutant may be a single chemical substance or a mixture; it may consist of organic or 
inorganic substances or both; it may be a physical entity such as noise or heat. Control action directed at 
18. 3. 87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/19 
the pollutant aims to prevent or reduce emissions of a specific substance or type of pollution from all 
sources into the relevant environmental media. Source-based controls aim to reduce emissions for the 
major sources into all media where the pollutant has a significant impact. 
3.1.6. If the focus is placed on the environmental media concerned, then it is clear that one or more may 
be involved in the discharges and transport of pollutants; the most significant are air, water, soil, sediments 
and biota. Controls based on the environmental medium usually aim to reduce emissions of a specific 
substance from all major sources into one medium. 
3.1.7. Finally turning to the target of pollution, this is usually a living organism but it can be inanimate 
— the soil or a building for instance. Target-base controls aim to protect the organism or environment 
from damage i.e. an environmental quality objective in the form of target-based controls. 
3.1.8. When an environmental problem has been identified and investigated an appropriate control 
strategy can be decided upon. The control strategy selected may include biological standards, exposure 
limits, environmental quality objectives or standards, emission standards, process or operating standards, 
product standards, limits on total emissions or a range of preventive controls, at national or regional levels; 
(such as the application of environmental impact assessment procedures or testing and notification 
requirements for new industrial processes and products) — or some combination of these. 
3.1.9. The control strategy adopted may clearly require various forms of action at Community level, 
depending, for example, on the spread and nature of the environmental problem, the effects of possible 
measures on the operation of the common market in goods and services and interactions with other 
Community policies. 
3.2. Multi-media pollution controls 
3.2.1. When problems are caused by the emission of pollutants from many sources into a single medium 
(with no significant cross-media effect) an approach based on emission limits or on environmental quality 
standards for that medium may be the most appropriate. Up until now Community environmental policy 
has tended to follow this approach. Although the Third Environmental Action Programme referred to the 
neeed to 'avoid any transfer of pollution that might arise from only partial measures', the tendency has 
been to concentrate on pollution problems as these arise in the different media: air, water, soil has pre­
dominated. There have of course, been some important horizontal instruments, for example the Sixth 
Amendment (') and the recently adopted Directive on environmental impact assessment (2), but, in the 
main, the view taken has been a sectoral one and this view has been reflected in the structure of the 
Commission's own departments dealing with the environment. 
3.2.2. Thus, early on, quality objectives for certain uses of water were defined at Community level; these 
were followed in turn by Community emission standards as far as the discharge of certain dangerous 
substances to water were concerned (though the so-called 'parallel' approach of Directive 76/464/EEC (3) 
meant that these standards were at the same time accompanied by quality objectives). In tackling air 
pollution too, certain air quality standards were defined at Community level to be followed by the 
adoption of a framework Directive on emissions from certain industrial installations (') which envisaged the 
etablishment of Community-wide emission limits; and by Commission proposals for emission limits on the 
discharges to the atmosphere from large combustion installations. The problems of waste were attacked 
through a series of Community Directives, aimed at establishing a general framework for the disposal of 
waste to land, in particular toxic and dangerous waste. The dumping of waste at sea is the subject of a 
recent Commission proposal (5). 
3.2.3. One inevitable consequence of the sectoral approach to pollution is that, as standards are 
tightened in one area, so the pressures may increase in another area. If discharges to air or water are 
restricted, then disposal to land may seem the preferred solution. But if the controls on the disposal of 
waste to land (and at sea) are in turn tightened, other difficulties may arise. The Commission's clear view is 
that the Community needs to move to increasingly strict environmental standards in all sectors. In these 
circumstances it is at least arguable that a sector by sector approach to pollution problems is not necessarily 
(') OJNoL259, 18.9. 1979. 
(') OJ No L 175, 5. 7. 1985. 
O OJNoL 129, 18.5. 1976. 
O OJ No L 188, 16. 7. 1984. 
O OJ No C 245, 26. 9. 1985. 
No C 70/20 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
the most economically efficient solution, i.e. it does not necessarily achieve the maximum pollution 
reduction (taking all media into consideration) for a given economic cost. 
3.3. Substance-oriented controls 
3.3.1. A review of Community legislation reveals that the approach so far adopted to pollution in the 
different environmental sectors has not always been entirely consistent. Where interactions between 
polluting substances are not, for the purposes of environmental management, perceived as a significant 
consideration, a coherent strategy would seek to: 
(a) assess the exposure by a particular pollutant through the various pathways (air, water, soil) of a 
particular target; 
(b) assess the effects of such exposures, including the risks for health and the environment; 
(c) set standards designed to limit the impact of pollution where this is appropriate. 
3.3.2. Because of its largely sectoral orientation previous Community action has tended to concentrate 
on discharges of a particular pollutant, to one medium (for example, water) in isolation from impacts on 
other media such as air or soil. In some circumstances this approach is open to criticism on the grounds 
that cross-media effects are not negligible. In earlier Community action programmes on the environment 
and in various instruments already adopted by the Council, there are already to be found various 'priority 
listings' of substances. But on the whole these listings are sector-specific (e.g. the 'black list' and 'grey list' 
of substances whose discharge into the aquatic environment is to be controlled under the provisions of 
Directive 76/464/EEC) ('). There has not yet been a coherent attempt within the Community to assess 
substances on a cross-media basis or to devise control strategies on such a basis, although in practice in 
certain cases the aggregation of different standards which may have evolved haphazardly over a period of 
time in different sectors relating to a particular substance may in fact have led to more or less effective 
control. 
3.3.3. An integrated substance-oriented approach to chemicals will: 
— take account of the occurrence of a particular substance from whatever source, 
— proceed towards an integrated risk assessment, which takes into account the different routes through 
which people and the environment are exposed, 
— lead to choices regarding the most effective and efficient solution to the problems caused. 
3.3.4. Such an integrated approach to chemicals management will lead to the selection, at Community 
level, of a provisional list of priority substances for environmental policy. Further evaluation and assessment 
may result in a definitive list of priority substances which in turn should lead to consideration, at 
Community level, of relevant control strategies for individual substances such as PCBs, cadmium, lead, 
phosphates, arsenic, copper, mercury, asbestos, dioxins, etc; such strategies would, of course, need to take 
account of controls that already exist at Community level in certain fields. 
3.3.5. The Commission has already begun to work on the basis of a substance-oriented approach in 
certain particular cases. An example of one possible application of this approach is contained in the 
Commission's proposal to reduce environmental pollution by asbestos (2). 
3.3.6. Other ways of applying the same principle are possible. The Commission is carefully reviewing, on 
an 'across the board' basis, the environmental problems caused by cadmium. This review will lead to 
conclusions as to whether existing Community legislation restricting discharges to the environment of this 
substance, by whatever route, are sufficient or whether gaps exist; and, if so, what is the most cost-effective 
control strategy to ensure an adequate degree of protection. In these circumstances, appropriate proposals 
would be made. 
3.4. Source-oriented controls 
3.4.1. Environment management should ideally take into account interactions between sources of 
pollutants (where for example a limited absorptive capacity is shared between several discharges). In some 
cases, however, it may be reasonable to focus controls on a single type of source (especially where there 
are no other significant sources of pollutant or pollutants concerned). To some extent Community 
Directives (adopted or proposed) on automobiles and large combustion installations represent such a 
O OJNoL129, 18. 5. 1976. 
O OJNoC349, 31. 12. 1985. 
18. 3. 87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/21 
source-oriented approach in the sense that they deal with a group or class of polluters (traffic, power 
plants). But they do not set out deliberately to look at the totality of the polluting discharges (including 
waste generation) of the particular class or group. The 'source-oriented' approach as defined in Chapter 5 
of the First Environment Action Programme (actions specific to certain industrial sectors and to energy 
production) has not made much progress at least at Community level even though 15 key industrial sectors 
were identified in that programme and numerous studies were undertaken. 
3.4.2. In fact, proposals were made for only two industrial sectors — titanium dioxide (where a multi­
media approach was adopted) and pulp-and-paper (where the emphasis was on discharges to water). The 
pulp-and-paper proposal remains unadopted, and even unconsidered, by the Council, whilst the history of 
the titanium-dioxide proposal has not been encouraging. Nevertheless a source-oriented approach (aimed 
at individual industries or target groups of industries, and covering all discharges to air, land, or water and 
including the generation of solid as well as liquid or gaseous wastes) is appropriate in certain circumstances 
and is one of the alternative approaches available that may be worth considering again. 
3.4.3. To support such an approach a better, more comprehensive knowledge of the emissions into air, 
water and to soil in the form of wastes from major sources of such emissions would certainly be needed, as 
well as knowledge of their likely evolution. Emission inventories should be set up and kept up to date; the 
state of the art of technologies to control emissions should also be regularly maintained and disseminated 
to those concerned and to the public, together with the costs entailed. Such action is clearly desirable in 
any event, whatever approach to pollution control is adopted and the Commission will take the necessary 
steps to make progress in these directions in cooperation with Member States and with the industries 
concerned. 
3.4.4. The Commission will reflect further on these questions and will undertake the necessary studies 
and discussions to enable thinking on the matter to be carried forward. In doing so it will be important to 
acknowledge the difficulties that have prevented progress to date — such as the sense of apparent 'discrim­
ination' against particular industrial sectors; and the problems of overlap where pollutants covered by a 
source-oriented approach are also regulated through sectoral legislation. It will also be important to 
recognize that for a global multi-media, multi-pollutant approach to work effectively would require a 
highly sophisticated control mechanism; the capacity to make valid judgements as to the optimum package 
of control actions which would enable wastes to be reduced, managed or distributed in ways which cause 
the least damage to, and yet provide the best use of, the environment (thus securing the greatest environ­
mental benefit at the lowest economic cost); and the power to enforce such judgements. This in turn would 
inevitably have institutional implications in Member States — a powerful unified control authority, able to 
arbitrate as between different environmental sectors to secure optimum solutions, would seem to be an 
unavoidable corollary of such an approach. There are of course many other reasons for arguing the 
desirability of such agencies. 
3.5. Product standards, emission limits and envirommental quality objectives and standards 
3.5.1. Environmental regulations setting standards for products or emissions can be based on the 
technical characteristics of the industry or product subject to regulation and/or on a formally specified 
quality objective or standard for the receiving environment. A wide variety of approaches has in fact been 
used. 
3.5.2. In legislation adopted to date the Community has, for example, fixed limits for gaseous emissions 
from motor vehicles and in the case of certain air pollutants, the Commission has proposed that emission 
limits should be set for some fixed sources. At the same time for some air pollutants, e.g. SO2, particulates 
and lead, environmental air quality standards have been agreed at Community level. As far as the discharge 
of dangerous substances to water is concerned, the Community has agreed on the so-called parallel 
approach for 'black list' substances, under which Member States are free to choose either the environ­
mental quality objective or the emission limit approach, while insisting that for discharges of 'grey list' 
substances (as for the Directives dealing with particular uses of water) the quality objectives approach 
should be followed. 
No C 70/22 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
3.5.3. As far as the pollution of the soil is concerned, the first Directive adopted — on the use of sewage 
sludge in agriculture (') — provides for both quality standards and emission limits (spreading rates and 
quantities) to be observed simultaneously; whilst in certain other Directives requirements have been 
expressed in general terms only. 
3.5.4. In many important cases (e.g. lead in petrol, the sulphur content of gasoils) product standards 
have been laid down with the dual objective of protecting the environment and avoiding artificial barriers 
to trade or distortions of competition. In other cases other approaches have been adopted — such as the 
requirement to establish programmes (e.g. the Directive on drinks containers (2), or agreed reductions in 
the level of use (e.g. the Decisions on CFC's (J)). In some of the water Directives guide values as well as 
mandatory values have been laid down; and plainly other forms of guidance as to good practice could have 
a part to play. 
3.5.5. Another important element in establishing standards at Community level is the 'state of the art', in 
terms of available technology. The question arises of how to translate this general concept into concrete 
values. It is noteworthy that in recent Community environmental legislation (especially in relation to 
atmospheric pollution and water pollution) reference is increasingly made to best available technology. 
Against this background arrangements made at Community level to promote a more efficient exchange of 
information between Member States and with the Commission regarding their own experience and 
knowledge of applicable technologies would be of value. The Commission intends to make proposals as to 
how such an information exchange could best be achieved. 
3.6. Conclusions 
3.6.1. The Commission does not take the view that any one approach is necessarily to be preferred to 
others. Much depends on the circumstances of the case. Accordingly future proposals will set standards in 
the manner which is most appropriate, in the light of environmental protection requirements and the 
Community's responsibilities. Thus Community measures (for example product noise regulations) whose 
main purpose is to avoid trade distortions arising from unilateral actions by Member States will tend to 
emphasize technical conditions for the maintenance of environmental quality; on the other hand measures 
to combat cross-frontier pollution such as acid rain will need to take into account both environmental 
quality standards and the technical requirements for remedial action. 
3.6.2 However, the Commission considers that the Community has had sufficient experience of the 
many different approaches to environmental protection that have been adopted in Community legislation 
to date — and have been described and discussed above — to make it desirable and worthwhile for the 
whole matter to be reviewed. The aim of such a review would be to determine whether any rationale can 
be worked out which would provide useful guidance as to the preferred approaches to be adopted in future 
Community legislation. The Commission will accordingly, in close cooperation with Member States, take 
the necessary steps to set in hand a general review of the value and efficacy of the approaches to standard-
setting adopted to date, coupled with consideration of possible future developments, (including the role of 
economic instruments (see paragraph 2.5.6 above). 
4. ACTION IN SPECIFIC SECTORS 
4.1. Atmospheric pollution 
4.1.1. Although the Community has already made some progress in dealing with traditional causes of air 
pollution, such as smoke, particulates and sulphur dioxide in industrialized urban areas, new problems have 
emerged recently, linked inter alia to increased traffic and to acid depositions which are likely to remain of 
major concern. The air pollutants involved, especially sulphur, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and 
photochemical oxidants, are known to act individually, collectively or synergistically to acidify the soil and 
surface waters, to inhibit plant growth and to damage monuments, buildings and structures; they are also 
potentially detrimental to human health. 
(') OJNoLl81,4. 7. 1986. 
O OJ No L 176, 6. 7. 1985. 
O OJ No L 329, 25. 11. 1982. 
18.3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/23 
4.1.2. Industrial processes, waste incineration and other human activities giving rise to emissions to the 
air of identified or suspected persistent, dangerous or toxic substances (e.g. heavy metals, PCBs, asbestos) 
may not only contaminate the air but lead to the transfer of the pollution to other parts of the environment 
and there produce deleterious effects on human beings and ecosystems. This is an added reason for 
reducing emissions to air. 
4.1.3. The European Council at its Stuttgart meeting in June 1983 called for the acceleration and 
reinforcement of action at national, Community and international level with the aim of combatting the 
pollution of the environment and in particular of the air. As a first response the Commission forwarded to 
the Council a number of proposals aimed at the limitation and reduction of emissions from major 
stationary and mobile sources ('); in parallel a major effort was deployed on research into the causes and 
effects of the air pollutants designed to elucidate the causal mechanisms associated with the damage 
observed. 
4.1.4 The Commission also made plain that it was adopting a strategic approach which involved 
requiring a substantial overall decrease of emissions of acidifying substances from all major sources. This 
will be pursued. In this connection it is of prime importance that the Commission's proposal for reducing 
emissions from large combustion installations, which is still under discussion in the Council, should soon be 
adopted, hopefully before the Fourth Environmental Action Programme begins (2). Similarly, the fi-
nalization and implementation of the new 'European Standards' for motor vehicle exhaust emissions will 
lead to further reductions in nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and other pollutants. But these measures by 
themselves are unlikely to be sufficient. 
4.1.5. The Commission is currently working on the development of an overall longer-term strategy to 
reduce air pollution within the European Community as well as beyond its boundaries, with the aim of 
defining an adequate and comprehensive approach in response to the challenge given by the Stuttgart 
European Council. This overall strategy will be published as a communication to the Council during 1987. 
4.1.6.. Major objectives within this strategy will be: 
— to identify the atmospheric pollutants (outdoor and indoor) which are currently and potentially of 
greatest concern from the standpoint of the protection of human health and of the environment, 
— to determine the most appropriate means — whether substance and/or source-oriented — for dealing 
with the pollution problems already identified or likely to become important, whilst taking care that air 
pollution is not simply transferred to water or soil, 
— to set and implement Community-wide objectives for substantial reductions of total emissions from all 
relevant sources into the air, in order to combat acid deposition and associated damages including 
corrosion and forest die-back, 
— in the longer term to reduce the ambient air concentrations of the- most important pollutants down to 
levels considered acceptable for the protection of sensitive ecosystems, 
— to define and implement preventive measures against indoor pollution from a growing number of sub­
stances, 
— to develop and put in place related instruments which can assist in achieving these objectives, including: 
— an inventory of emissions and major source categories, 
— an inventory of best available pollution abatement technologies and associated costs, 
— new low polluting technologies, 
— monitoring networks, 
— modelling techniques, 
— economic instruments to prevent pollution. 
O See 17th General Report on the Activities of the European Communities, 1983, paragraphs 377-381. 
O OJNoC49,21.2. 1984. 
No C 70/24 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
4.1.7. In continuation of work already initiated under the preceeding action programmes, the major 
plant categories listed in the Directive on air pollution from industrial plant (') (Directive 84/360/EEC) 
which warrant Community-wide emission standards will have to be dealt with. Moreover Community 
emission standards, based on best available technology, may also be needed for sources not yet covered by 
this Directive, (in particular for nuclear installations and for installations burning fuel oil and solid fuels) so 
as to achieve, over a reasonable period of time, a framework within which all the major air pollutants from 
the main categories of installations are controlled on a coherent basis. On all these matters the Commission 
will make appropriate proposals. 
4.1.8. Further measures will be proposed for reducing air pollution from transport categories not yet 
covered by Community legislation. Air quality standards may also be required for certain pollutants such as 
photochemical oxidants, of which ozone is suspected to play a key role because of its synergistic effects in 
connection with acid depositions; Consideration will be given to developing ecological air quality standards 
at Community level, covering, for example, acid deposition in forests and other sensitive ecosystems. 
4.1.9. Outside the Community, the need for coordinated international action on atmospheric pollution 
will remain paramount, even when the Community has put its own house in order; it will still need, if real 
progress is to be achieved, to continue to play an active and constructive part in the work of international 
bodies such as the Economic Commission for Europe, and the International Atomic Energy Agency and 
through relevant international conventions, whenever or wherever air pollution problems are identified and 
discussed. 
4.2. Fresh water and sea water 
4.2.1 The Third Environmental Action Programme noted that the Commission would continue with the 
measures begun under the first two programmes and would implement the Directives and Decisions 
adopted by the Council with a view to preventing and reducing water pollution. These Directives and 
Decisions related in particular to the setting at Community level of quality standards for particular uses of 
water (to date, surface water, drinking water, bathing water and groundwater are covered together with 
waters used for fish and shellfish raising); and to reducing pollution caused by the discharge of certain 
dangerous substances to the aquatic environment. The third programme noted that the main areas of 
activity were: 
— the control of pollution by dangerous substances, 
— the control of pollution from oil spills, 
— monitoring and control with a view to improving water quality and reducing pollution. 
4.2.2. These priorities remain valid in the context of the Fourth Environmental Action Programme and 
the Commission will make appropriate proposals in relation to all these areas. In addition, however, it 
needs to be stressed that the priority attributed to marine pollution is steadily increasing and that, in that 
context, the Commission will pay considerable attention to other dangerous substances transported by sea, 
as well as to oil. The Commission has also indicated in COM(86) 327 its intention to consider the case for 
proposing Community emission standards, based upon best available technology, for nuclear installations 
and to make proposals for Community adherence to the London Dumping Convention. 
4.2.3. As far as concerns the questions of water pollution caused by the discharge of dangerous subs­
tances to the aquatic environment, there may be a case for reviewing the advantages and limitations of the 
so-called 'parallel' approach established by Directive 76/464/EEC as indicated in Section 3.3 above. The 
two approaches are not equally well adapted to tackling either point or diffuse sources of pollution. The 
Commission will reflect on the possiblity of developing proposals for a more coherent pollution control 
policy covering both types of pollution source and involving the more discriminating use of either one or 
both of these parallel approaches. 
4.2.4. Meanwhile the Commission intends to continue" with the detailed implementation of Directive 
76/464/EEC. Now that the general framework Directive for fixing emission limits and quality objectives 
(') OJ No L 188, 16. 7. 1984, p. 20. 
18.3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/25 
for dangerous substances has been adopted ('), the task of establishing values in respect of substances 
featuring amongst the 129 'black list' (Annex I) substances published by the Commission in 1982 (2) can be 
much accelerated. The Commission will make proposals for values in respect of many of these substances 
during the period of the Fourth Environmental Action Programme. Work will also continue on the 'grey 
list' (Annex II) substances and the Commission intends to make proposals for quality objectives in respect 
of a number of these substances, especially lead, copper, nickel and zinc if this is necessary on the basis of 
experience acquired at national level. 
4.2.5. However, even with an increasing tempo of action as set out above, measures to protect the 
Community's aquatic environment will be by no means complete. New actions will be necessary in a 
number of areas. The Commission intends to make proposals for Directives on the control and reduction 
of water pollution resulting from the spreading or discharge of livestock effluents and the excessive use of 
fertilizers and pesticides; advisory and education actions are also necessary to increase farmers' awareness 
of the problems which may arise; in this way agriculture, like other sectors, would contribute to the 
Community's efforts to reduce water pollution. The Commission will also propose minimum standards to 
be achieved in the long-term in all Community water and will re-examine the question of the establishment 
of quality standards for further uses of water, additional to those mentioned in paragraph 4.2.1 above, in 
particular for the industrial use of water and the agricultural use of water. 
4.2.6. As far as the protection of the sea is concerned, the main objectives of future actions will be: 
— the implementation of the relevant international conventions and protocols to which the Community is 
a contracting party (5) and active participation in the work of other international bodies dealing with 
marine pollution (4), 
— the development of a strategy and action plan (MEDSPA) for the protection of the Mediterranean area 
(including of course the Mediterranean Sea) as envisaged in the Commission's communication to the 
Council of 24 April 1984 (s), 
— the implementation of the Declaration adopted by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention 
on their Fourth Ordinary Meeting in Genoa (September 1985), 
— the implementation of decisions taken at the first North Sea Conference and active participation in the 
second conference which is due to take place in 1987, 
— the reduction of land-based emissions of pollutants into the sea through rivers and the dumping of 
wastes and by atmospheric transport, 
— harmonized enforcement at Community level of optional annexes to the MARPOL 1973/78 
Convention, 
— the development and practical implementation of the Community information system for dealing, in 
particular, with harmful substances spilled at sea, 
— the continuation of the programme of demonstation pilot projects for marine protection against oil and 
other chemical substances; these projects will aim to improve national capabilities to respond in cases of 
emergency situations and/or to develop new means or methods for dealing with important spillages; 
they will also contribute to identifying ways in which aspects of ship design, arrangements for the 
stowing of cargo and the packaging and labelling of harmful substances carried in containers can facil­
itate successful response in the event of accident, 
— training those responsible for the combatting of marine pollution caused by oil and harmful substances, 
— better integration of environmental requirements into maritime transport policies. 
In relation to all these areas of action, appropriate initiatives will be taken by the Commission, in close 
consultation with Member States, either through the Council machinery or via the relevant advisory 
committees. 
(') OJN0LI8I, 4.7. 1986. 
O OJNoC 176, 14.7. 1982. 
(3) — the Barcelona Convention for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution and its four protocols 
(dumping, land-based sources, accidental pollution, specially protected areas), 
— the Paris Convention for the prevention of marine pollution from land-based sources, 
— the Bonn Agreement for cooperation in dealing with polution of the North Sea by oil and other harmful subs­
tances. 
(4) e.g. IMO, UNEP, Port State Control, ILO. 
O OJNoC 133,21.5. 1984. 
No C 70/26 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
4.2.7. In addition to the actions described above a number of new specific preventive measures are, in 
the Commission's view, necessary. These relate in particular to the improvement of the reception facilities 
available for oily wastes and other ship-borne wastes; and improved arrangements for dealing with 
garbage. The Commission will make appropriate proposals. 
4.2.8. Other matters, affecting both fresh and sea waters, to which increased Community attention may 
be necessary, include questions related to the handling and disposal of polluted sediments; the eutro-
phication of water bodies in certain areas of the Community; and the updating of the list of dangerous 
substances. These matters will be examined in depth by the Commission and appropriate initiatives to deal 
with them will continue to be taken. 
4.2.9. The improvement of water supply and management will continue to be a major task for the 
Community, especially in semi-arid regions and in the small islands of the Community. The Commission 
will continue to devote part of its efforts to this question and will pay particular attention to it in its work 
related to the Mediterranean area under MEDSPA. 
4.2.10. The Commission will also continue to participate actively in the work of the Rhine Commission 
with the aim of securing improved protection of the river Rhine from all forms of pollution. In addition the 
Commission is participating together with the Federal Republic of Germany in the negotiation of 
arrangements for the environmental protection of the river Danube. 
4.3. Chemicals 
4.3.1. Continuing priorities will be the implementation of the new chemicals notification system 
(Directive 79/831/EEC) and the classification, packaging and labelling of new and existing chemicals ('). 
4.3.2. The notification system set up by Directive 79/831/EEC enables the Commission and Member 
States to monitor the hazards, distribution and uses of chemicals marketed after 18 September 1981. A 
similar procedure is needed for the integrated risk assessment of 'existing chemicals' (those marketed 
before this date and listed on the European Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances (EINECS)). 
4.3.3. A Directive will be proposed to provide a comprehensive structure for risk assessment and regu­
lation of existing chemicals, where such evaluation is needed. This Directive will establish a procedure for 
treating a priority list of chemicals for immediate attention, as well as setting out the means for gathering 
information, requiring testing, and evaluating the risks to people and the environment. It also could be a 
mechanism to coordinate the development of chemical specific control strategies, where this proves to be 
necessary. 
4.3.4. The Commission will keep under continuous review the classification systems, testing 
requirements and test guidelines laid down in environmental Directives, with a view to achieving further 
rationalization where this is possible. It will in particular take into account work currently being 
undertaken in the OECD and elsewhere regarding the development, validation and use of alternative non-
animal methods using fewer animals or involving less painful procedures. 
4.3.5. The substance-oriented approach to environmental pollution problems arising from widely used 
substances and/or chemicals has been described earlier (see section 3.2). As noted, such an approach will 
— take account of the occurrence of a particular pollutant from whatever source, 
— proceed towards an integrated risk assessment which takes into account the different routes through 
which people and the environment are exposed, 
— lead to choices regarding the most effective and efficient measures (whether legislation or actions of 
other kinds) to solve the problems arising. 
The Commission is already following this approach in its work on certain substances that are widely used 
and widely dispersed in the environment — in particular cadmium and lead. Appropriate proposals will be 
made. 
O OJ No L 259, 15. 10. 1979, p. 10. 
18.3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/27 
4.3.6. Another major new thrust will be the integrated regulation of dangerous chemicals. The 
Commission will review the adequacy of existing Community legislation, in particular the Directive on 
marketing and use of chemicals (79/663/EEC) ('), which in the past has been used to control PCBs and 
asbestos, among other substances. 
4.3.7. Legislation and Community action at international level has already been proposed regarding the 
export and import of dangerous chemicals that are banned or severely restricted in the Community. But the 
question of the export of dangerous industrial processes and plant to non-EEC countries remains a matter 
of high priority. The Community should develop legislation on the export of dangerous industrial processes 
based on the information and experience gained under the Directive on major-accident hazards (82/501/ 
EEC) (2): as soon as sufficient experience has been gained under that Directive, the Commission will make 
appropriate proposals. 
4.3.8. In another possible application of the experience gained under Directive 82/501/EEC the 
Commission will study whether the procedures established under that Directive for in-plant safety, accident 
prevention, emergency planning, training, information, etc. could usefully be applied to nuclear instal­
lations. A report will be made to the Council on the matter as soon as possible. 
4.3.9. More generally it must be recognized that concern over the international movement and 
production of dangerous chemicals, wastes and plant is growing rapidly. In this field accidents, though 
happily rare, can be devastating (Seveso and Bhopal). In addition to the continuing implementation and 
development of Community legislation on dangerous chemical substances (as described above) and on the 
transfrontier movement of toxic and dangerous wastes (see Section 5.3 below), urgent action is needed to 
develop at international level adequate control measures and notification and authorization procedures, 
which will provide a high degree of security without hampering legitimate manufacture and trade in 
dangerous products. There is a strong case for the Community, in collaboration with OECD and the UN, 
to promote the rapid development of worldwide codes of practice to supplement the specific legislative 
measures needed to cover some aspects of these matters and the Commission will take initiatives to this 
end. 
4.3.10. The Community, alongside Member States, is already a contracting party to the international 
convention dealing with the protection of the ozone layer. A protocol dealing with chlorofluorocarbons 
(CFC's) is in process of being developed. The Community, by successive Council Decisions, has limited the 
use of CFC's within the Community and it is important that it should become a contracting party to the 
international protocol. The Commission is actively participating, together with Member States, in the 
preparatory work that is underway and proposals will be made at the appropriate stage for a mandate to 
negotiate the final text. 
4.4. Biotechnology 
4.4.1. The developments in biotechnology in recent years have been dramatic and have major policy 
implications for the Community. The Commission has played a leading role in developing a Community 
strategy for European biotechnology, including, in particular, the development of a rational approach to 
recombinant DNA research. The Community also has long established Regulations, which it is continuing 
to update where necessary in certain areas of biotechnology application, including e.g. foodstuffs, phar­
maceuticals and agriculture. Research relevant to risk assessment techniques forms part of the current 
Biotechnology Research Action Programme 1985-89, and this will be continued and expanded when the 
programme is revised. 
4.4.2. From the standpoint of environmental protection two aspects are important. On the one hand, 
biotechnology has potential for assisting in environmental protection, e.g. in water purification; in reducing 
the biological oxygen demand of organic wastes from industries processing biological materials and in the 
detoxification of wastes. On the other hand, there is undoubtedly some public disquiet related to the 
unfamiliarity of the more recent advances in genetic engineering, and in particular about the prospective 
widespread use in agriculture and environment of novel organisms and the possible risks related thereto. 
4.4.3. The European Community's interest in controlling the possible risks from biotechnology is 
obvious: because organisms can reproduce, novel combinations of genetic materials might give rise to 
(') OJ No L 262, 27. 9. 1976, p. 201. 
(2) OJ No L 230, 5. 8. 1982. 
No C 70/28 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
problems comparable with those created in the past by incursions of natural pathogens into new 
environment (e.g. Dutch elm disease). Also, the rapid development of industries using modern techniques 
of genetic manipulation means that the potential environmental impacts of the processes and products of 
biotechnology might multiply rapidly if appropriate precautions are not taken. 
4.4.4. Long experience in such fields as health care and environmental protection policy demonstrates 
that it is better to evaluate potential risks as far as possible in advance of large-scale production, so that 
preventive action can be taken, if necessary. Clearly the onus must be laid upon the innovator to provide to 
the regulatory authorities data adequate for such appraisal. Such evaluations could also be complemented 
by a posteriori monitoring in the light of accumulating experience. 
4.4.5. There is a strong case for such action being taken at Community level — both to protect the 
health and environment of Community citizens and to preserve the common market against unilateral 
national regulations. In discussions with senior officials of the Member States it has become clear that the 
Community should move quickly and decisively to ensure that there is a comprehensive legislative 
framework for the development of processes and products involving potentially dangerous novel organisms. 
The Commission has accordingly already started work through a specially constituted Committee — the 
Biotechnology Regulation Interservice Committee (BRIC) — on the assessment and further development as 
necessary of health and environmental regulations in this area. 
4.4.6. A comprehensive approach to the protection of the environment from possible risks from 
genetically altered or exotic organisms may be needed relating to: 
(1) the nature (and potential viability in the environment) of the organisms produced, particularly where 
the constituents of a novel organism are known to have toxic characteristics; 
(2) the production processes used; 
(3) operating discharges to the environment; 
(4) waste disposal and management practices; 
(5) accident prevention and the risks if accidental releases do occur; 
(6) application methods and sites when deliberate release to the environment is intended; 
(7) detection, monitoring and control of survival, multiplication and dissemination; 
(8) exposed populations and routes of exposure; 
(9) effects of the organisms on humans, other species and ecosystems. 
4.4.7. No fundamental distinction can be made between the type of risks arising form already existing 
organisms, organisms produced by traditional means of genetic modification and organisms produced by 
the much more precise methods of modern biotechnology. However, the great variety and quantity of new 
uses being developed for genetically modified organisms could increase the scale of risks from these uses 
unless their development takes place in a well-defined regulatory environment. 
4.4.8. Regulations on novel organisms must distinguish between risks in two different areas of use: on 
the one hand, the risks from contained industrial uses of genetically manipulated mirco-organisms, which 
are not likely to require measures fundamentally different from those that have been taken in the past; on 
the other hand, in the case of the planned release of novel organisms in the environment (such as live 
vaccines, micro-organisms for the detoxification of waste or biological pest management, or new plant and 
animal species) where past experience (e. g. of the ecological impact on existing populations of the intro­
duction of exotic species) has shown that special precautions may be necessary. 
4.4.9. The Commission intends to assess the requirements and bring forward appropriate proposals to 
Council in two areas: 
(1) on the classification, containment and control of risks to people and the environment from the manu­
facture, use and disposal of novel organisms, 
(2) on notification and consultation on the planned use of novel organisms in the environment. 
The likely need in the first area will be to harmonize standards and procedures for the classification, < 
containment, accident control, emergency planning and response, and the disposal, as waste, of potentially 
hazardous organisms used in industrial production processes. On planned release, the likely need will be to 
establish a European notification and permit system for the release into the environment of novel 
organisms. 
18.3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/29 
4.4.10. Because no Member State (nor indeed, any other country) yet has comprehensive legislation in 
this field, the Community has an important opportunity to develop an appropriate framework for itself as 
well as providing a model for other countries. The Commission will accordingly, parallel with the internal 
Community action described above, seek to extend and reinforce the effectiveness of such action through 
negotiations in the OECD and other international organizations. 
4.4.11. The Commission will also continue and expand scientific research on the assessment of risks 
from the development and use of biological agents. 
4.5. Noise 
4.5.1. All Community Directives on noise that have been agreed to date are concerned with noise from 
products. They set limits to the permitted noise emissions from four-wheeled vehicles, tractors, 
motorcycles, construction plant, aircraft and lawnmowers. In addition, proposed Directives — setting 
emission limits for helicopters and railway vehicles and requiring the noise-labelling of household 
appliances — are under discussion in the Council. 
4.5.2. The question now arises as to the extent to which the Community should concern itself with noise 
questions which are not specific to products. Although the Second Environmental Action Programme 
spoke in ambitious terms of 'defining and implementing a Community anti-noise policy', under which the 
Commission would propose a programme setting out the general framework for a body of measures to be 
taken at different levels to combat noise (including quality objectives, zoning matters, noise-related 
charges, etc.), in practice (because of limitations on staff resources) the Commission has not yet been able 
to progress beyond the product-oriented approach. 
4.5.3. Yet noise is an environmental problem which affects virtually every Community citizen; and which 
according to surveys of public opinion, remains of considerable importance. The Commission accordingly 
intends, during the period of the Fourth Environmental Action Programme, to endeavour to make progress 
on a number of matters. These include: 
— the defining of quality objectives or guidelines, setting limits to ambient noise levels, in various circum­
stances, 
— the regulation of the noise permitted in motorcycle silencer replacements, 
— the inclusion of noise-inspection measures in the vehicle inspection systems of Member States, 
— the extension of existing Community Directives on aircraft noise to provide for a 'non-addition rule' so 
as to bring into force in the Community the standards of ICAO Annex 16, Chapter 3, at an agreed 
early date, 
— the development of a common approach to noise-related landing charges for aircraft (something which 
would be entirely consistent with the 'polluter pays principle'). 
4.5.4. Overall the Commission's approach will be to combine the establishment of noise emission limits 
for specific products with the fixing of ambient noise levels. In addition the Commission will consider the 
possible use of charges (or other economic instruments) aimed at discouraging noisier products and 
favouring more silent ones, thus creating pressure on manufacturers to develop less noisy articles. Finally 
the Commission will, working with the relevant standard-setting bodies (such as ISO), seek to establish the 
basis for evaluating noise created by traffic, industry, construction works, etc. 
4.6. Nuclear safety 
4.6.1. It is clear that the growing commitment of the Community to the safe use of nuclear power, 
within the framework laid down by the Euratom Treaty (along with other civil uses of radioactive 
materials) raises questions of importance in terms of environmental protection. 
4.6.2. In its outline communication to the Council on the consequences of the Chernobyl accident (*), 
the Commission announced its intention to develop proposals for a coherent policy aimed at the protection 
of workers, the public and the environment. The preventive approach envisaged in that communication (in 
addition to measures to be taken in the event of a crisis) is of course entirely consistent with the preventive 
approach which is at the heart of Community environment policy. 
4.6.3. Up to the present a high degree of environmental protection from radioactivity has been ensured 
by the approach adopted in the Euratom Treaty, which focusses on ensuring the achievement of inter-
(') COM(86) 327 final. 
No C 70/30 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
nationally agreed levels of radiological protection of Community citizens coupled with the requirement that 
all exposures shall be kept as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). The objective of this approach is to 
ensure that human exposure is reduced to levels which, in any event, respect international standards and 
the corresponding basic safety standards established by Community legislation ('). However, it was 
recognized by the Commission, both in its communication on the consequences of the Chernobyl accident 
and in its subsequent communication on 'The Development of measures for the publication of Chapter III 
of the Euratom Treaty' (2) that a number of specifically environmental aspects of nuclear safety (in addition 
to the radiological protection aspects) now needed to be further examined in detail. 
4.6.4. These aspects comprise the following: 
— the question of whether the emissions standards concept should be applied to nuclear installations, in 
the knowledge that in any case the basic standards will remain in force, 
— the problems involved in the harmonization of safety criteria and the actions to be taken, 
— the question of whether the provisions of the Euratom basic standards concerning preventive measures 
designed to reduce accident risks, such as notification of the characteristics of nuclear facilities and of 
emergency plans, are correctly applied and sufficient for the protection of the public, 
— the transport of dangerous materials (including radioactive materials) on which a study has been in 
hand since the Mont Louis accident in 1984. As indicated in paragraph 5.3.7, a full report on that work 
will shortly be sent to the Council and will indicate that the Commission intends to make proposals for 
the application by Community legislation of the provisions of the relevant international agreements 
governing the transport of such materials to international traffic; the Commission's proposals will also 
seek to ensure that Member States adopt regulations for national transport based on the same 
principles, 
— the management of radioactive wastes. Here the general position is that work on a Community research 
programme and plan of action (1988-1992) is proceeding satisfactorily; but the Commission takes the 
view that the management of nuclear waste remains a control issue of environmental concern. It will be 
necessary to strengthen the Community policy by building on the results of work already in hand, 
particularly within the framework of the Community's research programmes, with a view to developing 
clear orientations or guidelines at Community level for the disposal of such waste. The Commission 
also takes the view that, so far as concerns the disposal of radioactive wastes at sea (which is controlled 
internationally by the London Dumping Convention) it is most desirable that the Community as such 
should participate in the work of that convention; proposals to this end will be submitted to the 
Council before the end of 1986. 
4.6.5. More generally, the Commission is increasingly conscious of the potential implications for the 
environment of the operation of and of discharges from nuclear installations of all kinds; and of the 
policies and practices adopted in relation to the management and disposal of radioactive wastes. In the 
context of the pursuit of its obligations under the Euratom Treaty (and also in the context of its obligations 
under the amended EEC Treaty) the Commission intends to keep under close surveillance the question of 
environmental protection in the context of the use of nuclear power (and other civil uses of radioactive 
materials) and will make proposals for Community action as appropriate. 
5. MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES 
5.1. Conservation of nature and natural resources 
5.1.1. The period of the Fourth Environmental Action Programme needs to see a number of important 
developments in the field of nature conservation. It is probably true to say, that, of all the aspects of 
environmental policy, nothing excites so much public interest and concern as the need to protect nature 
and habitat, landscape, fauna and flora, from the threat of further degradation or depletion. The First 
Environmental Action Programme, adopted in 1973, contained important chapters on the protection of the 
natural environment and this emphasis was maintained in the two subsequent programmes. 
(') OJ No L 246, 17. 9. 1980 and OJ No L 265, 5. 10. 1984. 
O COM(86) 434 final. 
18.3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/31 
5.1.2. More than six years have now elapsed since the Council adopted its Directive and resolution on 
the conservation of wild birds (79/409/EEC) ('). It is of course essential to ensure that this Directive and 
resolution are fully implemented in the Member States. Similarly the effective implementation of Regu­
lation (EEC) No 3626/82 which applied the International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species 
(CITES) (2) within the Community is necessary. Both measures are of major importance for conservation 
both within the Community and beyond its borders; the continuing implementation of both will therefore 
be a matter of priority during the period of the Fourth Environmental Action Programme. But this alone is 
not enough; the time is now ripe for the Community and Member States to make a major new thrust in the 
field of nature conservation. 
5.1.3. Certain of the actions envisaged in other fields, for example, the possible reforms of the common 
agricultural policy which are set out in the Commission's communications to the Council and the Par­
liament of 15 July 1985 (Perspectives for the Common Agricultural Policy) (3) and of 18 December 1985 
(A Future for European Agriculture) (4) envisage changes which, if implemented, would have an important 
beneficial impact on nature and nature conservation. Measures taken to limit pollution of air, water and 
soil also benefit wildlife and plant life. The proposals amending the structural policy are an important step 
in that direction (s). The implementation of environmental impact assessment procedures, as set out in the 
Council Directive of 27 June 1985 (85/337/EEC) (*) may help to avoid some of the more obvious dangers 
to the natural environment. But, once again, these measures by themselves will not be enough. 
5.1.4. What essentially is needed is a Community instrument aimed at protecting not just birds but all 
species of fauna and flora; and not just the habitats of birds, but the habitat of wildlife — animals and 
plants — more generally. Such a comprehensive framework should ensure that, throughout the 
Community, positive measures are taken to protect all forms of wildlife and their habitat; such measures 
should be aimed at the three main objectives of the World Conservation Strategy: 
— the maintenance of essential ecological processes and life support systems, 
— the preservation of genetic diversity, 
— the sustainable utilization of species and ecosystems. 
5.1.5. The Commission wil make appropriate proposals on these lines. The Commission is also working 
on the preparation of a comprehensive list of sites throughout the Community that are protected under the 
various categories of protected areas. Such a list is a necessary basis for the consistent implementation of 
the kind of framework instrument discussed above. 
5.1.6. Within such a framework, urgent action is also needed, aimed at the protection of endangered 
plants and species, such as those listed in the appendices of the Berne Convention. It seems clear from 
recent reports that the implementation of the Berne Convention in the Member States of the Community, 
as elsewhere, is poor. A comprehensive framework of nature protection measures, at Community level, 
would undoubtedly help to improve the situation of endangered species of plants and animals within the 
Community, whilst at the same time helping to achieve the three-fold objective of the World Conservation 
Strategy. 
5.1.7. In addition to Community measures of the kind mentioned above the 'nature conservation' section 
of the Community's ACE Regulation (EEC) No 1872/84 (7) should be expanded and extended to help the 
achievement of the above objectives; it would be neither logical nor desirable to restrict its scope to species 
covered by the 'Birds Directive'; the Commission will make appropriate proposals. The potential contri­
bution of other policies to nature conservation objectives will also be important; the Commission intends to 
keep in mind the scope for an increasing scale of actions of this kind as the adaptation of the common 
agricultural policy to current needs continues. 
(') OJ No L 103, 25. 4. 1979. 
O OJNoL384,31. 12. 1982. 
O COM(85) 333, 13. 7. 1985. 
(4) COM(85) 750, 18. 12. 1985. 
(') COM(85) 199 final. 
(') OJ No L 175, 5. 7. 1985. 
O OJNoL176, 13.7. 1984. 
No C 70/32 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
5.1.8. A Community framework for nature protection will involve not only environmental organisations, 
and environment departments, but also far wider interests, including industrial, commercial and farming 
interests. Above all it involves the promotion of awareness and understanding and of the will to act in a 
field where immediate economic interests will only rarely be served by such actions. For this reason — as 
well as because of its intrinsic importance and high public support — the theme of nature protection will 
feature prominently in the activities to be undertaken during the European Year of the Environment. 
5.1.9. Under the environment chapter of the Commission's programme for 1985, the Commission stated: 
'An improvement in the quality of life also entails respect for animals in the Member States and in the 
Member States' dealings with the rest of the world. The regular debates concerning the hunting of 
seal pups should not conceal the many questions raised by the exploitation of animals in Europe: the 
use of animals for experiments, factory farming, trade in animals and the processing of animals for 
consumption purposes. The Commission will examine all possible steps which can be taken in this 
connection.' 
It will be important in the context of the Fourth Environment Programme to put some flesh on this brief 
statement. 
5.1.10. Priorities will include the better enforcement of existing Community Directives relating to animal 
protection and the proposal of new Community measures where this is appropriate, e.g. for the protection 
of laboratory animals and the welfare of farm animals. 
5.2. Protection of the soil 
5.2.1. The protection of the soil is a field to which it is increasingly recognized that special attention 
must be paid. This arises in the first instance from the recognition of the growing threats to the soil and of 
the extent of the damage suffered. Secondly, as already discussed in Section 3, it is clear that a satisfactory 
pollution control policy cannot be limited to a sectoral approach; and that, as far as the soil is concerned, 
actions limited purely to the management of waste will not by themselves achieve the necessary protection. 
As for soil erosion, efforts for the continuation of farming under the disadvantaged areas Directive (') and 
more specific measures for fire control have contributed to solve this problem. 
5.2.2. However, it is not an easy task to ensure the protection of the soil because it is a complex 
medium, has multiple interrelationships with other media (and vice-versa), and serves multiple functions, 
(e. g. reservoir and filter for water, store of primary mineral matter, basis for human activity). 
5.2.3. The threats to the soil can be grouped into three categories: 
— contamination by harmful substances (or by substances with low biodegradability) of various origins 
(urban, agricultural or industrial wastes; agro-chemical products, acid deposition, etc.), 
— degradation of the physical or chemical structure; erosion, natural hazards, compaction through the use 
of heavy machinery, 
— misuse and waste as a result of space-consuming activities. 
5.2.4. In order to take account of these characteristics and to respond to the threats, a global approach 
to soil protection is necessary. 
5.2.5. The Commission will accordingly launch work in the near future to develop such an overall 
Community approach in order to supplement existing efforts. Within this framework the Commission will 
make proposals for specific actions to tackle the three principal causes of soil degradation: contamination, 
physical degradation and soil misuse; these proposals will be: 
— to reinforce the arrangements for coordination between policies to ensure that soil protection is more 
effectively taken into account in particular in the Community's agricultural and regional development 
policies, 
— to reduce the damage caused by agriculture to the ecological infrastructure by proposing measures 
(within the context of the reform of the common agricultural policy) to encourage less intensive 
livestock production systems; to reduce the use of agricultural chemicals; and to ensure the proper 
management of agricultural waste (especially from intensive livestock units — see also Section 2.3), 
(') Directive 75/268/EEC, OJ No L 172, 3. 7. 1975. 
18.3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/33 
— to prevent soil erosion and rapid run-off of water (including the identification and mapping of rapidly 
erodable soils in the Community), 
— to identify and clean up polluted waste disposal sites; to encourage the recovery and re-use of 
contaminated or derelict land (e.g. old industrial sites, mining land, etc); and to reduce the hazard to 
soil from current waste disposal practices, 
— to encourage the development of innovative soil protection techniques and the transfer of available 
know-how. 
5.2.6. It should, in addition, be noted that proposed measures to reduce pollutant emissions to air 
(Section 4.1) and to protect surface and ground water (Section 4.2) will also contribute to the protection of 
the soil. In addition, soil will be a central focus in the actions relating to management of the environment 
in urban areas as well as coastal and mountainous zones (Section 5.4). 
5.3. Waste management 
5.3.1. The Community generates over 2 000 million tonnes of wastes each year, some 80 °/o of which is 
potentially re-usable or recyclable for raw materials or energy, some of which is toxic or dangerous, and 
some of which could be avoided altogether through the use of improved production processes, in both 
industry and agriculture. The quantity is growing steadily. Three-quarters of all waste is disposed of to 
land — in too many cases without even being properly buried. 
5.3.2. New technologies must be stimulated to improve this situation and the Commission has recently 
decided upon the first series of support actions for clean technologies under Council Regulation (EEC) No 
1872/84 relating to Community actions for the environment (ACE) (l). It is clear that action to encourage 
the development of new technologies, coupled with the creation of the right market conditions for a more 
rational approach to the management of waste, would lead to a better utilization of resources, economic 
and employment gains and a considerable reduction in import dependence, as well as to a reduction in 
pollution risks. 
5.3.3. The Second Action Programe on the Environment, adopted by the Council on 17 May 1977 (2) 
set out a Community policy for 'waste management by a comprehensive policy of prevention, reclamation 
and disposal'. It focussed on three broad themes: the reduction of waste arisings, the increase of recycling 
and re-use, and the safe disposal of unavoidable wastes. The objectives of that approach were confirmed in 
the Third Action Programme adopted in February 1983 and will be carried forward through the period of 
the Fourth Action Programme. 
5.3.4. Under the first policy-heading — the prevention of waste — further actions will be taken to 
develop the 'clean technologies' programme provided for under ACE Regulation. The experience acquired 
under the first cycle of ACE operations in the clean technology field will be reviewed and proposals will be 
made for the continuation and expansion of action under ACE. These proposals will, in particular, 
envisage the extension of the 'clean technologies' programme to cover clean technologies in fields not so 
far admitted under the Regulation and also the wider area of waste management. Work will also be 
undertaken aimed at defining criteria for 'environmentally sound products', i.e. products which give rise to 
little or no waste at the elimination stage. 
5.3.5. As far as the second heading is concerned, 'the recycling and re-use of waste', it is clear that 
market forces will continue to play an important role. Nevertheless, the Community may be able to assist 
this process, in particular by: 
— setting attainable objectives, as goals to be aimed at, 
— the promotion of research and demonstration projects in the field of recycling of wastes, 
— encouraging the assessment of the costs and benefits of alternative waste management options, 
— establishing financial mechanisms designed to implement the 'polluter pays principle' (and thereby 
encourage recycling and reuse) (see under 2.5), 
O OJ No L 176, 13. 7. 1984. 
O OJ No C 139, 13. 6. 1977. 
No C 70/34 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
— the use of economic instruments to encourage the segregation and recycling of certain wastes, 
— developing programmes of information exchange and consumer information to encourage recycling of 
products. 
5.3.6. As far as the third heading is concerned, the safe disposal of waste, the Commission will need to 
complete the existing set of Directives by further Directives in specific areas, e.g. batteries, PCBs (to deal 
with the problem of the disposal of PCBs in transformers), solvents etc. Further revision of the description 
of waste in the 'toxic and dangerous' waste Directive (78/319/EEC) (') is necessary. Work on the question 
of civil liability and insurance in relation to the transfrontier movement of such wastes will be completed 
and proposals will be made. The questions of the clean-up of sites where uncontrolled discharge of wastes 
has taken place in the past will be examined, as well as the possible intervention of Community funds, e.g. 
the Regional Development Fund. 
5.3.7. Following the Mont Louis accident in 1984 the Commission took up an invitation from the 
European Parliament and has examined in detail the whole question of the Regulations governing the 
transport of dangerous materials and wastes. A full report on that work will shortly be sent to the Council 
and will indicate that the Commission intends to make proposals for the application by Community 
legislation of the provisions of the relevant international agreements governing the transport of such 
materials to both internal Community traffic and international traffic; these proposals will cover dangerous 
substances and wastes and also nuclear materials. In addition the Commission will make proposals to the 
Council regarding the harmonization of training requirements for drivers of vehicles transporting 
dangerous substances, including wastes. 
5.3.8. Finally, the Commission intends to make a specific communication to the Council on the subject 
of waste management with the intention of proposing a practical framework for the more rational 
management of wastes; and in particular to encourage recycling. It is the Commission's view that, of all the 
actions that are necessary in the field of waste management, perhaps the most important in the long term 
would be to achieve a much higher rate of re-use and recycling of wastes than is the case at present — in 
all Member States and for most of the many different types of waste that arise. 
5.3.9. Such an evolution would save resources, reduce pollution and limit the demand for land for waste 
disposal. Moreover, provided that appropriate economic conditions exist, progress in the direction of the 
increased re-use and recycling of wastes could contribute to economic growth and could create jobs. The 
European Year of the Environment offers the opportunity to launch such efforts and the Commission 
intends that the promotion of clean and low-waste technologies, recycling and the improved management 
of waste generally, should be prominent amongst the policy themes to be addressed during the year. 
5.3.10. However, to make concrete practical progress in this field is an extremely complex matter. Each 
type of waste presents different possibilities and problems. The nature of the wastes generated and the way 
in which particular wastes present themselves (e.g. whether in a more or less accessible form or intimately 
mixed or combined with other substances) affects available options. Choices exist; in many cases alter­
natives are available — as also are less hazardous substitutes for toxic or dangerous materials, both in 
products and in processes. Much therefore depends on the design and content of products (since virtually 
all products will eventually enter the waste stream); the choice of processes used; the arrangements made 
for in-plant recycling of materials (clean technologies; closed-loop systems); and many other factors. 
5.3.11. Much also depends on the extent to which new and innovative means can be developed and 
brought into use to tackle the problems of waste management, including improved techniques for the 
handling, sorting, treatment, transformation, reuse, recycling, detoxification and disposal of wastes of all 
kinds. Waste exchanges and reliable data on waste arisings can also play a part. But in the end, the most 
important factor of all will be the extent to which new, more environmentally-friendly practices, processes 
and procedures are — or can be made to be — economically attractive on a long-term basis. If they are, 
then there is little doubt that the Community's waste management industries will respond to the challenge. 
O OJ No L 84, 31. 3. 1978, p. 43. 
18.3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/35 
5.3.12. In its communication the Commission will endeavour to take account of all these factors while 
seeking to establish a rational basis for waste management in the Community through the setting of 
realizable objectives (especially for recycling). The Commission hopes, resources permitting, to transmit 
such a document to the Council early in the period covered by the Fourth Environmental Action 
Programme. 
5.4. Urban areas, coastal, and mountain zones 
5.4.1. Urban areas in all Member States have experienced rapid and major changes over the past decade 
and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. In some countries rapid urbanization as a result of 
rural-urban migration, and now the growth of the urban population itself, is resulting in poor housing, a 
mismatch between labour supply and demand, inadequate or overloaded urban infrastructure and services, 
and deteriorating environmental quality. In others, urbanization has given way to suburbanization and in 
many, counter-urbanization or decentralization. Population and new investment have sought locations 
away from the older, industrial conurbations which have been badly affected by structural change in the 
economy leaving high levels of unemployment, derelict or contaminated sites, vacant buildings and an 
ageing stock of housing and infrastructure. 
5.4.2. In many urban areas economic decline and their particular difficulties have led to a degradation in 
the living and working conditions of their inhabitants. As a result the situation in 1985 is that, in many 
European cities, conditions are substantially worse than they were 10 or 15 years ago. Urban environ­
mental problems must now assume an increased priority in Community environmental policy. New 
initiatives are underway in some cities such as Belfast and Naples which largely concentrate on economic 
development and infrastructure provision. 
5.4.3. These programmes could be extended to other needy urban areas and should be complemented by 
comprehensive environmental programmes. The necessary action could include the reclamation of derelict 
and contaminated land, the creation of parks and other landscaped areas, the treatment of eyesores and 
measures to restore older buildings. Such activities will in themselves contribute to stimulating the local 
economy as well as laying the foundations for economic regeneration. 
5.4.4. The scale of the problem, however, is substantial. For example, recent work undertaken by the 
Commission indicates that resources of the order of 1 000 million ECU per annum for a 12 year period are 
required from the public and private sectors to 'clean up' the land contaminated by former industrial 
activities before it can be re-used. Other urban improvements may also involve important expenditures. 
Moreover, in disadvantaged areas such as those described above, lack of resources may mean that even the 
implementation of Community environmental legislation can pose problems. 
5.4.5. These situations will pose a major challenge for the Member States and the Community's 
structural funds in resource terms. It should also be a priority for the Community's research and 
development programme in new technologies; for the development of more cost-effective methods of 
'clean up' and cleaner preventive technologies can contribute substantially to the improvement of the 
quality of urban life and stimulate the pollution control sector of the economy. 
5.4.6. The Commission has already made plain in COM(86) 76 that it intends to make a proposal for a 
Community programme, within the framework of the regional fund, to assist disadvantaged areas of the 
Community to implement Community environment Directives. But much more than this will be needed if 
the problems of urban areas are really to be effectively tackled. One priority will be to consider to what 
extent the Community's existing structural funds (and notably the European Regional Fund) could be 
directed to comprehensive environmental programmes in inner city areas. It will therefore be of special 
importance to ensure that an adequate level of funding is available to enable the Community to participate 
adequately, along with public authorities and local industry, in urban renewal schemes which take full 
account of both environmental and regional policy requirements. 
5.4.7. The Commission will prepare a report to submit to the Council, which will examine how the 
public and private sectors and other interests can work together towards the rehabilitation of certain urban 
areas and thus contribute to sustain their economic development. The programme of 'demonstration 
projects' on the job creation potential of environmental measures (see Section 2.4) should be of relevance 
in this regard. Urban rehabilitation will constitute an important theme for the European Year of the 
Environment. 
No C 70/36 Official Journal of the European Communities 18. 3. 87 
5.4.8. Work on the development and ecological management of European coastal regions carried out by 
the Commission under previous action programmes and similar work by various international organ­
izations, has identified problems specific to coastal areas and underlined the urgent need for solutions. The 
Commission has in particular supported from the beginning the work of the Conference of Peripheric 
Maritime Regions and the European Coastal Charter is the result of a common effort. The European 
Parliament has closely followed this work and requested the Commission to implement the policy and 
actions in this field in the spirit of the charter (*). 
5.4.9. It is, of course, primarily for the coastal regions themselves to respond to this request. To do so is 
plainly in their own environmental interest; but (since in many cases their main economic asset is precisely 
the quality and resources of their environment) it is also in their economic interest as well. For its part the 
Commission intends to take full account of the principles of the European Coastal Charter in the operation 
of relevant Community policies. In addition the Commission will undertake further studies related to the 
practical implementation of the charter and will publish the results. 
5.4.10. The problems with which mountain areas are faced are similar in their nature to those of the 
coastal areas: they have to fulfil several often conflicting functions. They must guarantee the welfare of the 
local population, accommodate an increasing number of tourists from all areas of Europe and at the same 
time protect habitats for wildlife. Moreover, Community measures, within the framework of the common 
agricultural policy, have for more than a decade contributed to bringing changes in the landscape of the 
mountain zones. Recent proposals submitted by the Commission to the Council in order to complement 
and adapt the Directive dealing with aids to farmers in such areas (2), should better contribute to the 
maintenance of valuable habitats and at the same time to farmers' income. 
6. RESEARCH 
6.1. Since 1973, the Community Environment Action Programme has been supported by a succession of 
multiannual environmental research programmes. The major aims of Community research in the field of 
environment are: 
— to provide scientific and technical knowledge supporting directly the implementation of the programme 
of action on the environment, 
— to address longer-term environmental problems, thus preparing the way for the development of 
preventive and anticipatory policies taking account of foreseeable environmental trends; and to provide 
the means to evaluate the effectiveness of current environmental policies, 
— to serve as an instrument for enhancing further, at Community level, the coordination of national 
research activities in the environmental field, in order to improve the productivity of the overall effort 
through the encouragement of joint projects; the elimination of duplication; and the identification of 
gaps in research coverage. 
6.2. Continuous efforts are made by means of a research action programme, to ensure efficient coordi­
nation of the various activities implemented by contract research, concerted actions and in-house research 
within the programme of the JRC. Various other research programmes within the Community's R&D 
framework programme, such as recycling of waste and secondary raw materials, contribute further to 
implementing the environment action programme. The new proposal for the Second R&D framework 
programme 1987-1991 provides for a further strengthening of environmental research. 
6.3. The environment research programme covers four broad areas: 
— environment protection as such — including amongst other topics, health and ecological efforts of 
pollutants, assessment of chemicals, quality of air, water and soil, waste research and technologies for 
emission reduction, 
— climatology and natural hazards, addressing long-term problems, such as possible climatic changes due 
to an increase of the CCvconcentration in the atmosphere, 
— major technological hazards, such as the accidental release of dangerous products from industrial 
processes, 
— remote sensing from space. 
(') OJNoC 182, 19.7. 1982. 
(2) Directive on farming in mountain and less-favoured areas (Directive 268/75/EEC). 
18.3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/37 
6.4. The Fourth Environmental Research Programme covering contract research and concerted actions 
(1986-1990) was approved by the Council on 10 June 1986 and allocates a total of 75 million ECU to 
research on environmental protection (55 million ECU), climatology and natural hazards (17 million ECU) 
and major technological hazards (3 million ECU). 
6.5. The ongoing programme of the JRC (1986-1987) and the proposed revision for its last year 
encompass work in the areas of environmental protection, industrial risk and remote sensing from space. It 
covers, in the light of available skills and competences, the following specific tasks amongst others: 
— to act as a coordination centre for certain environmental issues likely to have short-term impact for the 
regulatory work of the Commission, 
— to pursue medium and long-term studies in order to identify environmental trends and to maintain the 
role of the JRC within European environmental research, 
— to provide scientific support to other Commission services in implementing Council Directives (e.g. 
ECDIN, Central Laboratory for Air Pollution). 
6.6. In drawing up and implementing these programmes, every attempt has been made to link research 
to the fullest possible extent with the needs of the environmental action programmes (as recognized by a 
recent evaluation of the research programmes by an independent panel of experts). All efforts will be made 
further to improve this cooperation and to keep under review the links between research and policy 
development. 
7. ACTION AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 
7.1. Action within international organisations, and with third Countries 
7.1.1. It is increasingly clear that there are many environmental problems that are of importance to the 
Community, which cannot effectively be dealt with at local, regional, national or even Community level. 
Some of these problems are, of their very nature, international (or even global) in character. It is 
accordingly essential that they should be tackled at those levels. This implies the necessity for the 
Community and its Member States to participate actively in international action for the protection of the 
environment. 
7.1.2. The importance of the international dimension of the Community's work in the field of the 
environment has in fact always been underlined; and has been well developed in recent years. The 
European Council in March 1985, in urging the Council, together with the Commission, 'to make every 
effort to ensure that the years to come are marked by significant progress in Community action for the 
protection of the environment' made clear that this effort should be addressed to progress not only in 
Europe but also 'throughout the world'. The work programme of the Commission has also put special 
emphasis on the importance of the international activities in the field of the environment. 
7.1.3. These activities involve increasing Community participation in many international organizations 
and also participation in the numerous international agreements that have been adopted as international 
environmental action and Community environmental policy have gathered momentum. This participation 
requires the closest cooperation between the Council and the Commission, which represents the 
Community. 
7.1.4. Where the Commission negotiates on behalf of the Community it does so in accordance with 
Directives laid down by the Council. Where Member States participate in a convention it may be necessary 
for them to act within the framework of a common position laid down by the Council. Difficulties can 
arise in establishing in advance a Community or common position. The Commission will continue, as in the 
past, to make proposals as appropriate and as early as possible for negotiating mandates and for common 
positions. These will be designed to avoid unacceptable positions arising in international negotiations and 
at the time facilitate decision-taking processes within the international bodies concerned. 
7.1.5. The satisfactory resolution, at Community level, of these problems has become increasingly 
important as the scope, extent and relevance to the Community's own environmental policies of action at 
international level has increased. But this growth in the importance of action at international level also has 
one further implication. It is clear that both the Community and its Member States must increase their 
effective participation in (including where appropriate their financial contribution to) the work of inter­
national organizations and the effective implementation of international conventions and protocols aimed 
at the protection of the environment. 
No C 70/3 8 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
7.1.6. In practical terms, it is the Commission's view that, in addition to the international priorities 
identified in other parts of this action programme ('), certain other matters also need to be pursued as 
follows: 
— strengthening Community participation in the protection of the regional seas (in particular Community 
participation in the Helsinki Convention and the Oslo Convention is necessary and, where appropriate, 
in conventions concluded under UNEP Regional Seas Programme), 
— ensuring respect by the Community and Member States of the principles laid down in the Convention 
on the Law of the Sea (1982) as far as the protection of the marine environment is concerned, 
— Community participation in the London Dumping Convention (see Section 4.2.2), 
— more effective Community involvement in the work of the Convention on the Conservation of 
Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR (2)) and an effective coordination of the position of 
Member States who are a party to the 1959 Antarctic Treaty with the aim of achieving a better 
protection of the unique ecosystem of the Antarctic, 
— Community participation in the Council of Europe Convention for the protection of vertebrate animals 
used for experimental and other scientific purposes, 
— input to the work of the World Commission on Environment and Development, 
— in concertation with Member States, an increase in the support given to certain international organi­
zations concerned with environmental protection, population and sustainable development (e.g. UNEP, 
UNDP, UNFPA, FAO, OECD, ECE/Geneva), 
— encouraging participation in the European Year of the Environment hy international organizations 
(such as EFTA, Council of Europe, UNEP, WHO, etc.) as well as by third countries. 
7.1.7. The integration of the environmental dimension into other policies is of great importance also in 
the international activities of the Community. For example, the Community: 
— should play an important role within the framework of the International Tropical Timber Agreement in 
ensuring that priority is given to conservation aspects, 
— should also seek to further practical measures of conservation in regional fisheries or conservation 
organizations, such as the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and 
the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization. 
7.1.8. The non-observance by certain nations of the moratorium on commercial whaling, decided upon 
by the International Whaling Commission in 1982, is a matter of great concern to the Community, which 
in 1981 adopted Council Regulation (EEC) No 348/81 (s) on the subject of the import of whale products 
into the Community and in 1982 Council Regulation (EEC) No 3626/82 (*) on the application of the 
Washington Convention which also covers whales. The Community should make all possible efforts, 
through diplomatic and other means, to ensure the observance of the moratorium on commercial whaling 
by all countries. 
7.1.9. Finally, the Commission attaches importance to its bilateral liaison with certain third countries — 
especially with EFTA countries, the United States, Canada and Japan. These liaisons which are normally 
focussed largely on information exchange as to policy and legal developments — can be helpful in fa­
cilitating mutual understanding, in promoting a harmonization of approach at international level, and in 
contributing to the successful negotiation of international agreements. 
7.2. Cooperation with developing countries on environmental matters 
7.2.1. The major environmental problems of the Third World — desertification, tropical deforestation, 
the explosive growth of populations in both urban and rural areas, loss of wildlife and genetic diversity — 
are amongst the world's most daunting and potentially dangerous environmental problems. The 
Community's development policy will seek to combat the growing deterioration of natural resources by the 
implementation of action programmes which take account of environmental factors, more specifically than 
hitherto. 
(') See paragraphs 4.1.9, 4.2.6, 4.2.7, 4.3.4, 4.3.7, 4.3.8, 4.3.9, 4.4.8, 5.1.6 and 5.3.7. 
(*) On 4 September 1981 the Council adopted a Decision on the conclusion by the Community of the Convention on the 
Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (81/691/EEC; OJ No L 252, 5. 9. 1981). 
O OJNoL39, 12. 2. 1981, p. 1. 
(4) OJ No L 384, 31. 12. 1982, p. 1. 
18. 3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/3^ 
7.2.2. Particular attention has already been given to the problems of desertification and of resources 
conservation in Africa, the solution of which is essential in certain countries for long-term, sustainable, 
agricultural and rural development (see COM(86) 16 final (')). 
7.2.3. More generally, the importance of forests, in particular, needs still increased emphasis in the 
Community's development and cooperation programmes. Tropical forests are one of the earth's most 
valuable natural resources. Throughout history, they have been essential sources of food, fuel, shelter, 
medicines and many other products. They sustain people and their environments by protecting soil and 
water resources; they have a profound influence on climate and on global natural cycles; they contain an 
estimated 50 % of the world's plant and animal species. Because tropical forests benefit people in so many 
ways, the alarming rate of forest destruction is a matter of grave concern. 
7.2.4. The lives of more than one thousand million people in the developing countries, primarily the 
rural and urban poor, are disrupted by periodic flooding, fuel wood scarcity, soil and water degradation 
and reduced agricultural productivity — all caused in whole or in part by deforestation. Scientists estimate 
that some 40 % of the biologically-rich tropical moist forests have been cleared or degraded already. Some 
11 million hectares are being lost each year. In many developing countries tropical forests will all but 
disappear in two or three decades if present trends continue. 
7.2.5. The action necessary to counter these trends has recently been identified by FAO and by an 
International Task Force on Tropical Forests convened by the World Resources Institute, the World Bank 
and the United Nations Development Programme. The Community has a special role to play, in support of 
the objectives identified, through its development cooperation policies and programmes. Its contribution 
should include active Community participation in the International Tropical Timber Agreement with a view 
to supporting conservation objectives; a re-examination of the trade and aid policies of both the 
Community and the Member States from the standpoint of their impact on tropical forest conservation; 
and the promotion of a voluntary code of conduct among timber companies based in the Community to 
ensure that imports of tropical hardwoods only come from concessions that include ecologically positive 
management policies (including in particular the acceptance of appropriate obligations to renew and 
replant and to restore damaged lands and landscapes). The Commission will make appropriate proposals to 
promote such developments. 
7.2.6. Because of the scale of the problem, however, Community effort alone will not be enough. 
Increasingly close international cooperation; larger and more efficiently used financial inputs; a re-exami­
nation of the trading, pricing and development assistance policies of the developed world and more 
generally major changes of attitude, will be necessary. These issues will also be at the centre of the work of 
the World Commission on Environment and Development. A meeting in Brussels between the Community 
and the World Commission to discuss its draft report will be an important event in the early part of' the 
European Year of the Environment and will provide an occasion for active Community involvement in 
discussion on many major environmental issues. 
7.2.7. The Third Lome Convention, the 1984 Commission communication to the Council on 
development and environment (2) and the 1984 Council resolution on development and environment (5), all 
make plain the Community's commitment to treat environmental protection and the conservation of 
natural resources as an integral part of sustainable development. Continuing efforts will be made to give 
practical effect to that commitment in the implementation of the Community's development aid policies. 
7.2.8. Of particular significance in this context is the European action plan to combat desertification and 
to safeguard natural resources in Africa which was adopted by a Council resolution in April 1986. This 
action plan will unite the financial and technical efforts of the Community and the Member States. In view 
of the scale of action envisaged its implementation will require a close coordination between the recipient 
countries, regional and international organization?, Member States and Commission as well as other 
donors, and non-governmental organizations. To this effect, the Commission will fully utilize all 
instruments at its disposal and endeavour to improve the existing coordination mechanisms so that through 
an appropriate mobilization of combined resources a coherent and sustainable programme can, be 
implemented. 
(') COM(86) 16, 22. 1. 1986. 
(2) COM(84)605, 31. 10. 1984. 
(') OJ No C 272, 12. 10. 1984. 
No C 70/40 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
7.2.9. Furthermore, in view of the links between conservation, population, development and 
environment, the Community should assist developing countries in promoting sustainable development by 
establishing appropriate national conservation strategies and will support, at their request and in 
compliance with established aid procedures, countries' population policies. This can include the 
strengthening of national capacity in population planning (census, demographic studies), the opening-up of 
land to agriculture and settlement (internal migration), and measures in the areas of education and health, 
particularly the development of mother and child care services, which include family planning. The 
Commission will put forward appropriate proposals in the near future. It is also clear that Community 
activities within relevant international organizations must be stepped up. 
7.2.10. Finally — of relevance in relation to all the above matters — reference should be made to the 
1980 'Declaration on Environmental Policies and Procedures relating to Economic Development5, which 
was signed by all the major international development financing institutions, including the Commission and 
the European Investment Bank. The Committee of International Development Institutions on the 
Environment (CIDIE) which was set up to ensure that practical effect was given to that declaration has 
made notable progress in encouraging the development by participating institutions, exchanging infor­
mation and experience on detailed policies and procedures of its members and encouraging their further 
development. This work will be pursued and also extended to training arrangements for staff of CIDIE 
member institutions as well as of developing countries. Both the Commission and the European Investment 
Bank take an active part in the activities of CIDIE, which inter alia are likely to lead shortly — with the 
support of UNEP — to a valuable new series of publications on aspects of the integration of environmental 
requirements into development policies. The Commission continues to urge the view that the scope of 
CIDIE should be expanded to involve more closely in its work both bilateral aid agencies and non­
governmental organizations. 
8. EUROPEAN YEAR OF THE ENVIRONMENT 
8.1. The European Council, at its meeting of 29 and 30 March 1985 designated 1987 as the European 
Year of the Environment (EYE). The Commission strongly welcomed that decision which has also been 
welcomed and supported by the Council of Ministers (') and by Parliament (2). The Commission has 
preparations for the year well in hand in close cooperation with national committees established in each 
Member State. 
8.2. The European Year of the Environment will start on 21 March 1987 and will run for 12 months. It 
will be action oriented. It will be a major event which will have an important impact throughout the 
Community. It must not, however, be seen as a one-off event, but rather as a launching-pad, an oppor­
tunity to raise the awareness of the importance of environmental issues and to change attitudes 
permanently. It is thus clear that the goals and objectives of the European Year of the Environment must 
remain valid throughout the period of the Fourth Environmental Action Programme and beyond. 
8.3. It is the Commission's view that the programme of events that will take place during the European 
Year of the Environment should reflect Community policy on the environment and the general lines laid 
down by the European Council. It should in particular stress the newer perceptions underlined by the 
European Council — the need for a preventive approach; the need to integrate environmental 
considerations into all social and economic policies and actions; and the scope for environmental 
protection policy to contribute to improved economic growth and job creation. 
8.4. The Commission believes that the main aim of the European Year of the Environment must be to 
bring about a shift of attitudes throughout society — in parliaments, in governments, in board rooms, in 
trade unions, in-local, regional and provincial authorities, in schools, in universities, in associations of all 
kinds, in the media, but above all in individuals. It must seek to convince — and to secure commitment 
from — all elements in society of the view that the environment is important; that it is important for the 
Community's economic growth; that environmental problems are something that can be tackled; that 
everyone has a part to play and can do something; and that everyone should do something to demonstrate 
their commitment to environmental protection and their awareness of its importance. If this can be 
achieved there is little doubt that the European Year of the Environment will indeed mark the beginning of 
a new approach to environmental protection in which all will recognize that it has become a basic element 
in their lives and in all human activities. 
O Council resolution 86/C 63/01, OJ No C 63, 18. 3. 1986, p. 1. 
O OJ No C 68, 24. 3. 1986. 
18.3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 70/41 
9. CONCLUSION 
9.1. Community environment policy is entering a new and crucially important phase. With the 
agreement of the Governments of Member States to the amendments to the Treaty of Rome contained in 
the Single Act, the Community has given a new status and impetus to its environmental policy. The 
European Council has underlined that environmental protection can contribute to improved economic 
growth and job creation; and it has called, in stronger terms than ever before, for the integration of 
environmental requirements into the economic, industrial, agricultural and social policies implemented by 
both the Community and its Member States. 
9.2. As has been already stated in the introduction, there is a wide and growing recognition that strict 
environmental standards are a necessity — not only in order to achieve an adequate degree of environ­
mental protection and an improved quality of life, but also for economic reasons. As progress is made 
towards the completion of the Community's internal market by 1992, opportunities will grow in many 
areas and for many reasons — but only provided that high environmental standards are maintained. The 
Commission is convinced that better competitivity of Community industry on world markets in the future 
will depend heavily upon its ability to offer environmentally-friendly goods and services, achieving 
standards at least as high as its competitors and that an alliance between technological innovation and a 
commitment to high environmental standards can offer new opportunities through the development of new 
and growing markets for environmental protection technologies and techniques. 
9.3. The period of the Fourth Environmental Action Programme therefore presents the Community with 
a major challenge in the environmental field — a challenge to make a definitive move away from reacting 
to environmental problems after they have arisen towards a general preventive apprdach, based on the 
achievement of high standards in all environmental sectors, achieved through devoting a small part of the 
Community's huge scientific, technological and industrial resources and potential towards developing and 
bringing into use the equipment, technologies, management and administrative practices needed to achieve 
such standards; and at the same time to find means of deriving economic and employment gains from such 
a move. 
9.4. To encourage the free market to operate in an environmentally rational way, however, the 
Community must also increase awareness of the need for high environmental standards. This is the central 
purpose of the European Year of the Environment, which starts on 21 March 1987; it offers the oppor­
tunity to launch the major transformation in attitudes and approach that the change of philosophy that is 
required in the field of environmental protection will call for. 
9.5. The European Year of the Environment is not an end in itself nor is it a year that will cease to have 
impact once it is over. It must be seen as a launching pad for a new approach and the aim of this Fourth 
Environmental Action Programme is to spell out the measures that, in the Commission's view, will be 
necessary at Community level during the first part of this new phase in the development of the 
Community's environmental protection policy. 
ANNEX 1 
TITLE 1 
RESTATEMENT OF THE OBJECTIVES AND PRINCIPLES OF A COMMUNITY 
ENVIRONMENT POLICY (') 
Objectives 
11. The aim of an environmental policy in the Community is to improve the setting and quality of life, 
and the surroundings and living conditions of the peoples of the Community. It must help to bring 
expansion into the service of man by procuring for him an environment providing the best possible 
conditions of life, and to reconcile this expansion with the increasingly imperative need to preserve the 
natural environment. 
O OJ No C 139, 13. 6. 1977. 
No C 41 /42 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
12. It should: 
— prevent, reduce and as far as possible eliminate pollution and nuisances, 
— maintain a satisfactory ecological balance and ensure the protection of the biosphere, 
— ensure sound management of resources and of the natural environment, and avoid any exploitation of 
them which causes significant damage to the ecological balance, 
— guide development in accordance with quality requirements, especially by improving working and living 
conditions, 
— ensure that more account is taken of environmental aspects in structural planning and regional 
development, 
— seek common solutions to environment problems with States outside the Community, particularly in 
international organizations. 
Principles 
13. The best environment policy consists in preventing the creation of pollution or nuisances at source, 
rather than subsequently flying to counteract their effects. To this end, technical progress must be 
conceived and directed so as to take into account the concern for protection of the environment and for 
the improvement of the quality of life, at the lowest cost to be Community. This environment policy can 
and must go hand in hand with economic and social development, and also with technical progress. 
14. The effects on the environment of all the technical planning and decision-making processes should 
be taken into account at the earliest possible stage. 
The environment cannot be considered as an external medium which harasses and assails man; it must 
rather be considered as an essential factor in the organization and promotion of human progress. It is 
therefore necessary to evaluate the effects on the quality of life and on the natural environment of any 
measure that is adopted or contemplated at national or Community level and is liable to affect these 
factors. 
15. Any exploitation of natural resources or of the natural environment which causes significant damage 
to the ecological balance must be avoided. 
The natural environnient has only limited resources; it can absorb pollution and neutralize its harmful 
effects only to a limited extent. It represents an asset which may be used, but not abused, and which should, 
be managed in the best possible way. 
16. The level of scientific and technological knowledge in the Community should be improved with a 
view to taking effective action to conserve and improve the environment and to combat pollution and 
nuisances. Research to this end should therefore be encouraged. 
17. The cost of preventing and eliminating nuisances must, as a matter of principle, be borne by the 
polluter. However, there may be certain exemptions and special arrangements, in particular for transitional 
periods, provided that they cause no significant distortion to international trade and investment. Without 
prejudice to the application of the provisions of the Treaties, this principle should be stated explicitly and 
the arrangements for its application, including the exceptions thereto, should be defined at Community 
level. Where exemptions are granted, the need for the progressive elimination of regional imbalances in the 
Community should also be taken into account. 
18. In accordance with the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the human environment, 
adopted in Stockholm, care should be taken to ensure that activities carried out in one State do not cause 
any deterioration of the environment in another State. 
19. The Community and its Member States must, in their environment policy, take into account the 
interests of the developing countries, and must in particular examine any repercussions of the measures 
contemplated under that policy on the economic development of such countries and on trade with them, 
with a view to preventing or reducing as far as possible any adverse consequences. 
18.3. 87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 41/43 
20. The effectiveness of the efforts to promote international and worldwide environmental research and 
policy will be increased by a clearly defined long-term concept of a European environmental policy. 
In the spirit of the Paris Declaration of Heads of State or Government, the Community and the Member 
States must make their voices heard in the international organizations dealing with environmental matters 
and, making full use of the authority which a common point of view confers on them must make an 
original contribution in these forums. 
In accordance with the conclusions of the Stockholm Conference, regional cooperation, which often makes 
it easier to solve problems, must be intensified. 
Cooperation on a worldwide basis should concentrate on the fields in which a universal effort is called for 
because of the nature of the environmental problems involved: it must be based on the specialized agencies 
of the United Nations, which have already accomplished much and whose activities must be continued and 
expanded. 
An all-embracing environmental policy is possible only on the basis of new, more effective forms of inter­
national cooperation which take into account both ecological interrelationships on a world scale and the 
interdependence of the world economy. 
21. The protection of the environment is a matter for everyone in the Community, and public opinion 
should therefore be made aware of its importance. The success of an environment policy presupposes that 
all sections of the population and all the social forces of the Community contribute to the protection and 
improvement of the environment. This means that at all levels continuous and detailed educational activity 
should take place so that every person in the Community becomes aware of the problem and fully assumes 
his responsibilities towards future generations. 
22. In each category of pollution, it is necessary to establish the level of action (local, regional, national, 
Community, international) best suited to the type of pollution and to the geographical zone to be 
protected. 
Actions likely to be most effective at Community level should be concentrated at that level; priorities 
should be determined with special care. 
23. Major aspects of environmental policy must no longer be planned and implemented in isolation in 
individual countries. On the basis of a common long-term plan, national programmes in these fields should 
be coordinated and national policies should be harmonized within the Community. Such policies should 
aim at improving the quality of life, and economic growth should not be viewed solely in its quantitative 
aspects. 
Such coordination and harmonization should in particular make it possible to increase the effectiveness of 
action at the various levels to protect and improve the environment in the Community, taking into account 
its regional differences and the proper functioning of the common market. 
This Community environment policy aims, as far as possible, at the coordinated and harmonized progress 
of national policies without hampering, potential or actual progress at the national level; such progress 
should, however, be made in such a way as not to jeopardize the proper functioning of the common 
market. 
Coordination and harmonization of this nature shall be achieved in particular: 
— by the application of the appropriate provisions of the Treaties, 
— by the implementation of the action described in this programme, 
— by the implementation of the environment information procedure ('). 
(') OJNoC9, 15.3. 1973, p. 1. 
No C 41/44 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.3.87 
ANNEX 2 
ENVIRONMENT PROVISIONS OF NEW TREATY 
Article 18 
The EEC Treaty shall be supplemented by the following provisions: 
Article 100A 
1. By way of derogation from Article 100 and save where otherwise provided in this Treaty, the 
following provisions shall apply for the achievement of the objectives set out in Article 8A. The 
Council shall, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission in cooperation with 
the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee, adopt the measures for the 
approximation of the provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member 
States which have as their object the establishment and functioning of the internal market. 
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to fiscal provisions, to those relating to the free movement of persons 
nor to those relating to the rights and interests of employed persons. 
3. The Commission, in its proposals laid down in paragraph 1 concerning health, safety, environ­
mental protection and consumer protection, will take as a base a high level of protection. 
4. If, after the adoption of a harmonization measure by the Council acting by a qualified majority, 
a Member State deems it necessary to apply national provisions on grounds of major needs referred to 
in Article 36, or relating to protection of the environment or the working environment, it shall notify 
the Commission of these provisions. 
The Commission shall confirm the provisions involved after having verified that they are not a means 
of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction,on trade between Member States. 
By way of derogation from the procedure laid down in Articles 169 and 170, the Commission or any 
Member State may bring the matter directly before the Court of Justice if it considers that another 
Member State is making improper use of the powers provided for in this Article. 
5. The harmonization measures referred to above shall, in appropriate cases, include a safeguard 
clause authorizing the Member States to take, for one or more of the non-economic reasons referred 
to in Article 36, provisional measures subject to a Community control procedure.' 
Sub-Section VI 
ENVIRONMENT 
Article 25 
A Title VII shall be added to Part Three of the EEC Treaty reading as follows: 
TITLE VII 
Environment 
Article 130R 
1. Action by the Community relating to the environment shall have the following objectives: 
— to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment, 
— to contribute towards protecting human health, 
— to ensure a prudent and rational utilization of natural resources. 
2. Action by the Community relating to the environment shall be based on the principles that 
preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at 
source, and that the polluter should pay. Environmental protection requirements shall be a component 
of the Community's other policies. 
18.3.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 41 /45 
3. In preparing its action relating to the environment, the Community shall take account of: 
— available scientific and technical data, 
— environmental conditions in the various regions of the Community, 
— the potential benefits and costs of action or of lack of action, 
— the economic and social development of the Community as a whole and the balanced development 
of its regions. 
4. The Community shall take action relating to the environment to the extent to which the 
objectives referred to in paragraph 1 can be attained better at Community level than at the level of the 
individual Member States. "Without prejudice to certain measures of a Community nature, the Member 
States shall finance and implement the other measures. 
5. Within their respective spheres of competence, the Community and the Member States shall 
cooperate with third countries and with the relevant international organizations. The arrangements for 
Community cooperation may be the subject of agreements between the Community and the third 
parties concerned, which shall be negotiated and concluded in accordance with Article 228. 
The previous paragraph shall be without prejudice to Member States' competence to negotiate in 
international bodies and to conclude international agreements. 
Article 130S 
The Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the 
European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee, shall decide what action is to be taken 
by the Community. 
The Council shall, under the conditions laid down in the preceding subparagraph, define those matters 
on which decisions are to be taken by a qualified majority. 
Article 130T 
The protective measures adopted in common pursuant to Article 130S shall not prevent any Member 
State from maintaining or introducing more stringent protective measures compatible with this 
Treaty.'