Amended proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 on the protection of the Community's forests against atmospheric pollution (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC-Treaty)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

A. Principles

Council Regulations (EC) No 307/97 amending Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 on the protection of the Community's forests against atmospheric pollution [1] and (EC) No 308/97 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 on the protection of the Community's forests against fire [2] take Article 43 of the Treaty as their legal basis. The sole aim of the proposed Regulations is to adapt the legal basis of the two Regulations concerned following a Court judgment of 30 April 1997 to the effect that the legal basis for those two Regulations must be Article 130s of the Treaty (now Article 175 of the Treaty).

[1] OJ L 51, 21.2.1997, p. 9.

[2] OJ L 51, 21.2.1997, p. 11.

The financial allocation for these two measures has been adjusted in line with the actual budget allocations for 1997-2000 and those provided for in the 2001 PDB.

The original versions of these proposals were presented by the Commission on 22 July 1999 (COM (1999) 379 final).

On the basis of a report drafted by Ms Encarnación Redondo Jimenéz, on 6 July 2000 the European Parliament approved the Commission proposals at the first reading, subject to 12 amendments.

In the light of these developments, the Commission has drafted two amended proposals.

The Commission has made two types of amendments:

-firstly, in response to the first reading by the European Parliament, a number of new provisions have been accepted,

-secondly, the modified proposals also take into account the amounts actually set aside in the budget for the period 1997-2000 and those in the PDB for 2001.

B. Explanation

The Commission was able to accept 8 amendments proposed by the European Parliament. Most of these were amendments concerning policy or technical issues.

The amendments or important parts of amendments that the Commission was unable to accept relate to:

-a 10% increase in the financial reference amounts allocated in 1997 (i.e. to EUR 44 million for Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 and EUR 77 million for Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92), and

-replacing the regulatory procedure with the advisory procedure.

In view of the amounts actually set aside in the budget for the period 1997-2000, the increase proposed by Parliament would result in an increase of EUR 37 million in the budget for 2001. In other words, instead of the EUR 16 million proposed in the PDB for 2001 (heading B2-515 - Forestry) and subsequently confirmed during the budget procedure by both arms of the budgetary authority, provision should have been made for EUR 53 million.

The amendment of the committee procedure does not comply with Article 2(b) of Council Decision 1999/468/EC laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission.

1999/0159(COD)

Amended proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 on the protection of the Community's forests against atmospheric pollution

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 175 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission [3],

[3] OJ C

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee [4],

[4] OJ C

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions [5],

[5] OJ C

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty,

Whereas:

(1) The period of application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 of 17 November 1986 on the protection of the Community's forests against atmospheric pollution [6] expired on 31 December 1996.

[6] OJ L 326, 21.11.1986, p. 2. Last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2157/92 (OJ L 217, 31.7.1992, p. 1).

(2) Forests play an essential part in maintaining fundamental ecological balances, particularly as regards the soil, water resources, climate, fauna and flora. Those balances are indispensable for a sustainable agriculture and the management of rural areas.

(3) The conservation of forests is important for economic, environmental and social reasons and contributes, in particular, towards safeguarding the social situation of those people working in agriculture and rural areas.

(4) The Mediterranean forests are of importance to the ecosystems of the countries of the south of the European Union, particularly the regions affected by desertification.

(5) The Community and the Member States committed themselves at international level at the pan-European Ministerial Conferences on the Protection of Forests in Europe, held in Strasbourg in 1990 and in Helsinki in 1993, to continuous surveillance of forest damage. The Community scheme provided for by Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 helps fulfil this commitment.

(6) Results from the systematic survey network show obvious trends in spatial and temporal distribution of forest damage over the entire area of the Community.

(7) Plots for the intensive and continuous monitoring of forest ecosystems have been set up by the Member States. A continuation of this monitoring activity over a longer period will improve the understanding of the causal relationship between changes in forest ecosystems and the factors influencing them.

(8) The damage caused to forests by various factors, especially atmospheric pollution and other unfavourable meteorological factors, hampers the development of sustainable agricultural activity and the management of rural areas.

(9) The protection of forests against atmospheric pollution and other unfavourable meteorological factors therefore directly contributes to the achievement of the aims set out in Article 33(1)(b) of the EC Treaty.

(10) Consequently the scheme provided for by Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 should be continued and its duration extended for five years, its period of application thereby being extended to fifteen years as from 1 January 1987.

(11) The measures to be taken for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission [7].

[7] OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

(12) The financial allocation established by this Regulation covers the full duration of the measure and constitutes the prime reference for the budgetary authority during the annual budgetary procedure within the meaning of point 33 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure.

(13) Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 should therefore be amended.

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Article 11 of Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 is replaced by the following:

"Article 11

1. The scheme shall run for 15 years from 1 January 1987.

2. The financial allocation for the implementation of the scheme shall be EUR 34,5 million for the period 1997 to 2001.

The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspective.

3. Before expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the application of this Regulation and a revision proposal covering in particular the environmental, economic and social aspects (qualitative assessment) and the results of a cost-benefit analysis (quantitative assessment)."

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President