Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) extending Council Regulation (EEC) No 1615/89 establishing a European Forestry Information and Communication System (Efics)
Date: 1993-12-02
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, environmental protection, forest, forestry policy, information processing, information system

COMMISSION  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

C0M(93) 593 final 

Brussels, 2 December  1993 

Proposal  for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION  (EEC) 

..tending Council Regulation  (EEC) No 1615/89  establishing 
ex 

European Forestry  Information and Communication System  (Efics) 

a 

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(presented  by  the Commission) 

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Explanatory  memorandum 

The purpose of Council  Regulation  (EEC) No 1615/89  is to establish a 

European Foresty  Information and Communication System. According  to Article 

3, the Commission  is to set up the System  in close cooperation  with  the 

Member  States during an  initial  four-year  stage starting on  1 January  1989 

and ending on 31 December  1992. According  to Article 5, a report  on the 

implementation of  the System  and  the  initial  results obtained must  be 

presented  to the Council before  1 January  1993. 

The period provided  for  in the first  paragraph of Article  3 of  Regulation 

(EEC) No 1615/89 expired  at  the end of 1992. 

Unfortunately,  in view of  the work  involved,  it has not  been possible for 

the System  to be  implementated  during  the period  covered  by  the Regulation. 

The programme  is particularly  ambitious given  the  limited harmonization of 

forestry  statistics and  the total  absence of data on a whole  range of 

activities  in the sector. 

A certain amount of preparatory  work on  future  trends proved  to be necessary 

for a fuller  understanding of  the data available on  the sector  in the 

various Member  States. 

The  timetable set  in the Regulation  for establishing  the System  could  not be 

respected,  therefore, and  the report  became purposeless. 

"7> 
t  ^ 

The development  of  the measures envisaged  and  the  implementation of  the 

System mean  that  the Regulation  needs  to be prolonged. 

The purpose of  the System  is to make up  for  the  lack of  reliable  information 

on  the forestry  sector  within  the Community  and between  the Member  States, a 

situation which was at  the basis of Regulation  (EEC) No 1615/89 and which 

still  exists. The need  for  relevant  information both  for  implementing 

Community  measures  relating  to forestry  and  in the context  of  the  findings 

of  the United  Nations Conference on Environment  and Development  (UNCED, Rio 

de Janeiro, June  1992) has further  increased. 

The existing  data  systems are unable  to compensate  for  the said  lack of 

information.  For  that  reason  it  is necessary  to proceed  with  the 

implementation of  the System. 

The System must  be established  in close cooperation  with  the Member  States. 

To that  end an Efics working  group  has been set  up within  the Standing 

Forestry  Committee.  The aims of  the System,  the rules  for  its organization 

and  its content  have been dealt  with by  the Standing  Forestry  Committee  and 

discussed  by  the working group. 

This has  led to unanimous agreement  on  the part  of  the Member  States' 

delegations  in favour of proceeding  with  the establishment  of  the System and 

consequently of amending  Regulation  (EEC) No 1615/89. 

The contents of  the Regulation,  including  its financial  terms, can  remain 

unchanged. The deadlines which  have expired  need  simply  be extended  and  the 

references  to the applicable Community  legislation  amended. 

t 

COUNCIL REGULATION  (EEC) No 

of 

1993 

extending Council Regulation  (EEC) No  1615/89  establishing 
a European Forestry  Information and Communication  System  (Efics) 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN  UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic community, 
and in particular Article  213, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1), 

Having regard to the opinion of  thm  European Parliament(2), 

Having regard to t**e «pinioti of  t.hm Econoreic and Social Coawifct«e<3), 

Whereas the ia§>le*ei»tatia*i *nd neaitaring of Regulations  <E£C) 
W©  2QWQ/§2(4)s  <EC£) He T*l$/S9<^„  (EEC) !«o *47/9«<6), of decision 
85/347/EECO) a«d of *e3j&Wti<wie |IÊC) Mo 21S?/92(8),  (EEC) «o 2158/92(9) o* 
measures relating to the forestry aéctor call for detailed, consistent a**d 
comparable  information on the situation of and developments  in that sector 
in the community; 

Whereas the forestry data available at Community  level are incomplete and 
cover only part of the information necessary  for taking consistent  forestry 
measures; whereas, however, a considerable  amount of  information  already 
exists in many Member States and this should be collected  and made 
comparable; whereas to that end there should be an appropriate  system for 
the collection, processing, analysis and dissemination of the information; 

whereas such data must cover not only the present  situation of woodlands and 
their structure and the production and consumption of wood but also 
developments  in the afforestation of agricultural  land, the  forestry 
situation  in the various regions of the Community  and a description of the 
exploitation, processing and marketing of forestry products; 

(1) 
(2) 
(3) 
(4) OJ No L 215, 30.7.92, p. 96. 
(5) OJ No L  165, 15.6.89, p. 3. 
(6) OJ No L 91, 6.4.90, p. 7. 
(7) OJ NO L  165, 15.6.89, p. 14. 
(8) OJ NO L 217, 31.7.92, p. 1. 
(9) OJ No L 217, 31.7.92, p. 3. 

s 

Whereas  it  is necessary  to grant  assistance  to certain Member  States or 

regions  to help  them  to compile  data or  improve  the availability of 

comparable  data which  can be used at Community  level; 

Whereas  the setting-up of  this system  requires close cooperation  between  the 

Commission  and  the Member  States, and  in particular  assistance  from  the 

relevant  bodies within  the Member  States,  in order  to facilitate  access to 

the data; 

Whereas,  in addition  to meeting  the Community's  requirements,  the system 

should  facilitate  the  implementation of  decisions  taken at national  and 

regional  level  concerning  the forestry  sector  and  thereby  improve  knowledge 

of  that  sector  at all  levels; 

Whereas  the system must  be set  up  taking  account  of existing  information 

systems at Community  level  in order  to ensure complementarity  and  achieve 

consistency  and comparability  in data collected  in the Member  States, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Council  Regulation  (EEC) No 1615/89 of  29 May  1989  is hereby  amended  as 

fol lows: 

1.  In Article  1, the numbers  1609/89,  1612/89,  1613/89 and  1614/89 are 

replaced  by 2080/92, 867/90, 2157/92 and  2158/92 respectively. The number 

1611/89  is deleted. 

2.  In Article  3, the words  "four-year  stage" are  replaced  by  "stage" and  the 

date  "31  December  1992"  is replaced  by  "31 December  1997". 

3.  In Article  4, the year  "1992"  is replaced  by  "1997". 

4.  In the  first  sentence of Article  5, the year  "1993"  is replaced by 

"1998".  In the second  sentence of Article  5, the year  "1993"  is replaced 

by  "1998" and  the year  "1998" by  "2002". 

A r t i c le  2 

This Regulation  shall  enter  into force on  the third  day  following  its 

publication  in the Official  Journal  of  the European  Communities. 

It shall  apply  with effect  from  1 January  1993. 

This Regulation  shall  be binding  in  its entirety  and  directly  applicable  in 

all Member  states. 

Done at Brussels; 

,For *ne Council 
The President 

^ 

EFICS 

FINANCIAL  STATEMENT 

1. TITLE OF OPERATION 

Forests 

2. BUDGET HEADING  INVOLVED 

B2-515 

3. LEGAL BASIS 

(Extension of) Council  Regulation  (EEC) No 1615/89 of  29 May  1989 

establishing  a European Forestry  Information and Communication System 

(Efics) 

4. DESCRIPTION OF OPERATION 

4.1. Regulation  (EEC) No 1615/89  (Efics)  is an  integral  part of  the forestry 

action programme  launched by  the Commission  in 1988 and  is seen as an 

essential  element  in the optimum  implementation of Community  forestry 

policy. 

The development  of an effective  forestry  policy, the follow-up  to the 

resolutions of  the United Nations conference on  the environment  and 

development  in Rio  in 1992 and  the  international  conference on the 

protection of  forests  in Helsinki  in June  1993 (sustainable management of 

forests) call  for an  improvement  in  information  in the forestry  sector. 

The existing  information  systems could  not meet  this  information 

requirement, which  is why  Efics was needed, to work  in close collaboration 

with  the Member States. 

Unfortunately,  it was not possible  to build up Efics during  the period  1989 

to 1992 on account of  the priority given  to the  implementation of  the other 

operations under  the forestry action programme. The need  for  information  in 

the forestry  sector  remains  imperative. The general  objective of  Efics 

(European Forestry  Information and Communication System) will  be  "to collect 

comparable and objective  Information on the structure and operation of  the 

forestry  sector  in the Community, and  thus facilitate  implementation and 

monitoring of  the Community  forestry provisions  in force." 

The Efics system will  not have to be a  large data bank  in the Commission, 

but  rather  a network  linking the different  existing  systems, via which  the 

Member  States can obtain  forestry  data. So that  the data are comparable and 

to fiI I in gaps, new methods of data collection or approprlate processing 

systems need  to be developed. Efics must  also make  it possible  to promote 

and ensure  the monitoring  and  implementation of  the main Community 

operations  to assist  forestry  (afforestation, support  for  timber  processing, 

etc.). 

It  is envisaged, with  the aid of  the various existing geographical 

information systems  in the Commission  (CORINE, GISCO within Eurostat) to 

produce and distribute maps. 

4.2 The period covered  is 1993 to 1997. 

5. CLASSIFICATION OF EXPENDITURE OR  REVENUE 

5.1  Non-compulsory expenditure 

5.2 Differentiated appropriations 

5.3 No revenue  involved 

6. TYPE OF EXPENDITURE OF REVENUE 

100% of expenditure chargeable  to the Community 

7. FINANCIAL  IMPACT 

7.1 

Method of calculating  total  cost of operation 

The total  cost of  the operation  is estimated  at ECU 3.0 million, broken down 

as fol tows: 

a. Detailed  design 

ECU 0.35 million 

-  full  development  of appropriate  methodology 

-  demonstrations  in pilot  areas, on a  limited scale 

-  estimate of  human and  financial  resources  required 

-  programming  of operations 

b. Specific  studies 

ECU 0.35 million 

-  preparatory  studies 

for  the establishment  and  improvement  of  statistics  (forestry  products, 

forest  ownership) and 

for  the production of documentation at Community  level 

-  analysis of needs/possibilities for harmonization as regards  the results 

of  the various national  forestry  inventories 

-  standardization of definitions, units of measurement  and classification 

cr iteria 

c. Adaptation of data  to Efics requirements 

ECU  1.50 million 

Once  the main gaps have been  identified, a reference network  in the Member 

States must  be set  up; this network will  integrate  the national  data. With 

the aid of methods already  developed,  these data will  be harmonized  and 

supplemented  where  necessary. 

-  calculation  and development  of  the reference network  (+/- ECU  0.3 

m iI Ii on) 

-  breakdown of national  samples  according  to the reference  framework  (+/-

ECU 0.9 mi I I ion) 

-  definition of  the format  for  the transmission of data  to Efics  (+/- 0.3 

m i11 Ion) 

/\  £=> 

d. Testing of Efics on a Community  scale 

ECU 0.80 mi 11 ion 

-  definitive description of the system 

-  determination of action to be taken by the Member  States 

-  demonstration of the properties and potential  uses of the system 

7.2  Breakdown  (ECU million) 

Breakdown 

1993 

1994 

1995 

1996 

1997 

TOTAL 

Efics 

0.3 

0.5 

0.7 

0.7 

0.8 

3.0 

"M 

7.3.1. Schedule (ECU million) 

*993 

1994 

1995 

1996 

1997 

TOTAL 

Commitment  approprs. 

0.3 

0.5 

0.7 

0.7 

0.8 

3.0 

Payment  approps. 

1993 

1994 

1995 

1996 

1997 

0.2 

0.1 

0.2 

0.3 

0.4 

0.3 

0.4 

0.2 

0.3 

0.7 

0.7 

0.3 

0.8 

1.1 

TOTAL 

0.3 

0.5 

0.7 

0.7 

0.8 

3.0 

8. ANT I-FRAUD MEASURES 

Payments will be made on the basis of documentary  evidence 

9.  ELEMENTS OF COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS 

9.1  The  implementation of an effective  forestry  policy  requires a thorough 

knowlege of  the forestry  sector  and  forstry-based  industries. 

All  the countries which  apply  such a policy are making efforts  to ensure 

that  they have reliable, effective  information  systems. The same applies to 

Community  poll icy. Efics  is designed  to provide - at Community, national  and 

regional  level - all  the  information  relevant  to the optimum  implementation 

of measures relating  to the forestry  sector. 

9.2  Experience shows that  the Community's  forestry operations have not 

always been as effective as hoped. One of  the reasons  for  this problem  has 

been  the  lack of adequate  information  for  the correct  evaluation of  the 

measures planned. A provisional  assessment  of the Community  action  to assist 

forestry  shows  that  Community  financing  since  1980 has  totalled  around 

ECU  1 500 million. Such an  important  financing  supposes an adapted  tool  to 

give community  aid  the best  suitability. A thorough  knowledge of  the 

forestry  sector  at national  and  regional  level  would  have enabled  aid  to be 

concentrated  in such  a way as to achieve maximum  effectiveness. 

In the next  few years  the appropriations for  the forestry  sector  will be 

very  large  (e.g. afforestation of agricultural  land under  Regulation 

(EEC) No 2080/92). 

Financing  totalling  ECU 500 to 600 million a year  is planned. There  is an 

obvious need  therefore  for appropriate  instruments  in terms of 

implementation and monitoring  for optimum management  of  resources. 

the cost of Efics  is very  low when seen  in relation  to the total  budget 

for  forestry  pi icy and  the financial  benefits which  could  accrue  from 

better  application of measures  relating  to the forestry  sector  as a 

whole. 

9.3  The monitoring  and evaluation of  the operation  are  to be done  in close 

collaboration between DGs VI, XI, XI, Eurostat  and  the Member  States, 

represented  in an Efics working  group under  the Standing  Forestry 

^3 

Committee*, use also being made of contacts with  international 

organizations such as ECE/FAO  in Geneva which  already  have various  forestry 

data at  their disposal  and methods for collecting  them. The  involvement of 

these various bodies helps to assure optimum execution of  the operation. 

-  The data gathered  by Efics are  likely to be published  in various forms 

-  The need  for  the  implementation of Regulation  (EEC) No 1615/89  (Efics) 

has been stressed on several  occasions, both by  the Standing  Forestry 

Committee and by members of  the Efics working group. 

The Standing  Forestry Committee  is unanimously  in favour of  the 

establishment of such a system. 

10.  ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENDITURE  (part A of  the budget) 

The  implementation of  the Regulation does not  require additional  resources 

to those already  earmarked. 

*  The Efics working group of  the Standing  Forestry  Committee  is made up of 

representatives/experts from  the Member  States to oversee  the 

establishment of  the European Forestry  Information  and Communication 

System  (Efics). 

ISSN 0254-1475  *h 

COM (93) 593 final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

16 03 

Catalogue number : CB-CO-93-628-EN-C 

ISBN 92-77-61683-0 

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