Resources made available to the Agency

Competences of the Agency as defined in Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 of 7 May 1990

Areas of Community competence deriving from the Treaty

Environment policy Community policy on the environment shall aim at a high level of protection taking into account the diversity of situations in the various regions of the Community. It shall be based on the precautionary principle and 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. (…) In preparing its policy (…), the Community shall take account of available scientific and technical data (…). (Article 174 of the Treaty)

Objectives To set up a European environment information and observation network to provide the Community and the Member States with objective, reliable and comparable information at European level enabling them to: (a) take the requisite measures to protect the environment; (b) assess the results of such measures; (c) ensure that the public is properly informed about the state of the environment.

Tasks — To provide the Community and the Member States with the objective information necessary for framing and implementing sound and effective environmental policies; — to record, collate and assess data on the state of the environment and to report on the quality of and pressures on the environment within the territory of the Community; — to help ensure that environmental data at European level are comparable and, if necessary, to encourage by appropriate means improved harmonisation of methods of measurement; — to promote the incorporation of European environmental data into international programmes; — to publish a report on the state of, trends in and prospects for the environment every five years; — to stimulate the development of environmental forecasting techniques, methods of assessing the cost of damage to the environment and the exchange of information on damage-prevention technology; — to stimulate the development of methods of assessing the cost of damage to the environment and the costs of environmental preventive, protection and restoration policies.

1. Management Board Consisting of: — one representative per Member State, — two representatives of the Commission, — two scientists appointed by the European Parliament. Tasks To adopt the work programme and ensure it is implemented. 2. Executive Director Appointed by the Management Board on a proposal from the Commission. 3. Advisory Forum Consisting of one representative per Member State, it advises the Executive Director. 4. Scientific Committee Consisting of qualified figures in the field of the environment. 5. External audit European Court of Auditors. 6. Discharge Authority Parliament on a recommendation by the Council.

Final budget 37,1 million euro (32,1 million euro) Community subsidy: 75 % (84 %). Staff numbers at 31 December 2006 Number of posts in the establishment plan: 115 (115) Posts occupied: 110 (107) +47 (34) other posts (auxiliary contracts, seconded national experts, local and employment-agency staff) Total staff numbers: 115 (115) assigned to the following tasks: — operational: 72 (72) — administrative: 42 (42) — mixed: 1 (1)