Council Regulation (EC) No 933/1999 of 29 April 1999 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 on the establishment of the European Environment Agency and the European environment information and observation network
Date: 1999-04-29
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: European Environment Agency, environmental protection, information network

5. 5. 1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 117/1

I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 933/1999

of 29 April 1999

amending Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 on the establishment of the European
Environment Agency and the European environment information and observa-
tion network

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 130s(1) thereof,

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

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the
Regions (3),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 189c of the Treaty (4),

(1) Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 (5) estab-
lished the European Environment Agency and the
European environment information and observa-
tion network; whereas Article 20 of the Regulation
made provision for a decision by Council on
whether to add further tasks to the Agency, based
on a report with appropriate proposals from the
Commission, no later than two years after the entry
into force of the Regulation; whereas Article 21
stipulated that
the Regulation would enter into
force on the day following that on which the
competent authorities decided on the seat of the
Agency, and whereas this decision was taken on 29
October 1993;

(2) Whereas the Commission in its Communication
COM(95) 325 final gave its reason why the report
provided for in Article 20 should be postponed,
and on 9 November 1995 the Council considered
that any decision on further tasks for the European
Environment Agency would be premature before

(1) OJ C 255, 20.8.1997, p. 9 and OJ C 123, 22.4.1998, p. 6.
(2) OJ C 73, 9.3.1998, p. 103.
(3) OJ C 180, 11.6.1998, p. 32.
(4) Opinion of the European Parliament of 18 February 1998 (OJ
C 80, 16.3.1998, p. 134), Council Common Position of 20
July 1998 (OJ C 364, 25.11.1998, p. 1 ) and Decision of the
European Parliament of 9 February 1999 (not yet published in
the Official Journal).

(5) OJ L 120, 11.5.1990, p. 1.

the Agency had been fully operational for two years
and before its network had been completely estab-
lished;

(3) Whereas the European Environment Agency has
made good progress in achieving its objectives and
completing its tasks, including the establishment of
the European environment information and obser-
vation network;

(4) Whereas the tasks and areas to address are wide and
the work already

require both consolidation of
undertaken and further effort;

(5) Whereas the Agency has a primary role as provider
of objective, reliable and comparable information
on the environment;

(6) Whereas any new tasks allocated to the Agency
should complement and enhance its primary role;

(7) Whereas the Translation Centre for bodies of the
European Union has the task of translating docu-
ments of the European Environment Agency, in
accordance with Regulation No 2965/94 (6);

(8) Whereas the organisation and structure of

the
Agency need to be improved and clarified, in line
with the experience of its first years of operation;

(9) Whereas the management board of the Agency
should take into account the need to reflect the
different
the
Community through an appropriate distribution of
the topic centres;

circumstances

geographic

in

(10) Whereas the Agency may cooperate with institu-
tions in third countries in order to obtain data
necessary
the work-
programme;

completion of

the

for

(6) OJ L 314, 7.12.1994, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regula-

tion No 2610/95 (OJ L 268, 10.11.1995, p. 1).

L 117/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

5. 5. 1999

(11) Whereas

future

reviews

the Agency’s
performance and tasks should coincide with the
cycle
five-yearly multiannual work-
programme;

its

of

of

(12) Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 should

accordingly be amended,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 shall be amended as
follows:

may also include peer reviews by experts
at the specific request of Member States;

(iii) to record, collate and assess data on the state
of the environment, to draw up expert reports
on the quality, sensitivity and pressures on
the environment within the territory of the
Community, to provide uniform assessment
criteria for environmental data to be applied
in all Member States, to develop further and
maintain a reference centre of information on
the environment. The Commission shall use
this information in its task of ensuring the
implementation of Community legislation on
the environment;'

‘(vi) to publish a report on the state of, trends in
and prospects for the environment every five
years,
reports
supplemented by indicator
focusing upon specific issues;'

1. In Article 1(2) the initial part shall be replaced by the

following:

(b) the following points shall be added:

To achieve the aims of environmental protec-
‘2.
tion and improvement laid down by the Treaty and
by successive Community action programmes on the
environment, as well as of sustainable development,
the objective shall be to provide the Community and
the Member States with:'.

2. Article 2, shall be amended as follows:

(a) points (ii), (iii) and (vi) shall be replaced by the

following:

‘(ii) (cid:190) to provide the Community and the
Member States with the objective infor-
mation necessary for framing and imple-
menting sound and effective environ-
mental policies; to that end, in particular
to provide the Commission with the
information that it needs to be able to
carry out successfully its tasks of identi-
fying, preparing and evaluating measures
and legislation in the field of the environ-
ment;

(cid:190) to assist the monitoring of environmental
measures through appropriate support for
reporting
(including
requirements
through involvement in the development
of questionnaires,
of
from Member States and the
reports
distribution of results), in accordance with
its multiannual work-programme
and
with the aim of coordinating reporting;

the processing

the

annual

Agency’s

(cid:190) to advise individual Member States, upon
their request and where this is consistent
with
work-
programme, on the development, estab-
lishment and expansion of their systems
the monitoring of environmental
for
measures, provided such activities do not
endanger the fulfilment of the other tasks
established by this Article. Such advice

‘(xi) to ensure the broad dissemination of reliable
and comparable environmental information,
in particular on the state of the environ-
ment, to the general public and, to this end,
to promote the use of new telematics tech-
nology for this purpose;

(xii) to support the Commission in the process of
exchange of information on the develop-
ment of Environmental Assessment meth-
odologies and best practice;

(xiii) to assist the Commission in the diffusion of
information on the results of relevant envir-
onmental research and in a form which can
best assist policy development.'

3. Article 3 shall be amended as follows:

(a) in paragraph 1 the following words shall be

added, starting on a new line:

‘including placing these in the context of sustain-
able development.';

(b) in paragraph 2:

(i) in the second subparagraph the eighth indent

shall be replaced by the following:

‘(cid:190) coastal and marine protection';

(ii) the fifth subparagraph shall be deleted.

(c) the following paragraph shall be added:

The Agency may also cooperate in the
information with other bodies,

‘3.
exchange of
including with the IMPEL network.

In its activities the Agency shall avoid duplicating
the existing activities of other institutions and
bodies.'

5. 5. 1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 117/3

4. Article 4 shall be amended as follows:

(a) in paragraph 2 the following subparagraph shall

be added:

‘Member States shall keep the Agency informed
of the main component elements of their national
environment
information networks. Member
States shall, as appropriate, cooperate with the
Agency and contribute to the work of the Euro-
pean environment information and observation
network in accordance with the work programme
of
the Agency by collecting, collating and
analysing data nationwide. Member States may
also join to cooperate in these activities at a trans-
national level.';

(b) in paragraph 4,

the
following terms ‘in a precise geographical area.'
shall be deleted;

in the second sentence,

(c) in paragraph 5 the second subparagraph shall be

replaced by the following:

‘The topic centres shall be designated by the
management board as defined in Article 8(1), for a
period not exceeding the duration of each multi-
annual work programme as referred to in Article
8(4). Each designation may, however, be renewed.'

committee, referred to in Article 10, and receiving
the Commission’s opinion. The multiannual
work-programme shall, without prejudice to the
annual Community budgetary procedure, include
a multiannual budget estimate.';

(d) in paragraph 6, in the first sentence, the phrase
‘By 31 January each year . . . ' shall be replaced by
‘By 31 March each year . . .'.

6. Article 9(1) shall be amended as follows:

(a) the fifth indent shall be replaced by the following:

‘(cid:190) for all staff matters, for the performance of
the tasks referred to in Article 8(4) and (5).';

(b) the sixth indent shall be deleted.

7. Article 10(2) shall be replaced by the following:

‘2.
The scientific committee shall be made up of
members particularly qualified in the field of the
environment, designated by the management board
for a term of four years renewable once, taking into
account, inter alia, the scientific areas which need to
be represented in the committee in order to assist the
Agency in its areas of activity. It shall function as
determined by the rules of procedure provided for in
Article 8(2).'

5. Article 8 shall be amended as follows:

8. Article 15 shall be amended as follows:

(a) in paragraph 1 the first subparagraph shall be

replaced by the following:

(a) a new paragraph shall be inserted as follows:

The Agency shall have a management board
‘1.
consisting of one representative of each Member
State and two representatives of the Commission.
In addition, there may be one representative of
each other country which participates in the
Agency, in accordance with the relevant. provi-
sions.';

(b) in paragraph 2 the following subparagraph shall

be added:

‘The management board shall elect a bureau to
which it may delegate
executive decisions,
according to the rules that it shall adopt.';

(c) paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be replaced by the

following:

‘3. Decisions of the management board shall
require for their adoption a two-thirds majority of
the members of the board.

‘2a.
The Agency may cooperate in areas of
common interest with those institutions in coun-
tries which are not members of the European
Communities which can provide data, informa-
tion and expertise, methodologies of data collec-
tion, analysis and assessment which are of mutual
interest and which are necessary for the successful
completion of the Agency’s work.';

(b) paragraph 3 shall be replaced by the following:

‘3.
The cooperation referred to in paragraphs 1,
2 and 2a must in particular take account of the
need to avoid any duplication of effort.'

9. Article 20 shall be replaced by the following:

‘1.
The Agency shall conduct an evaluation of its
performance and efficiency before 15 September
1999 and submit a report to the management board,
the Commission,
the Council and the European
Parliament.

4.
The management board shall adopt a multi-
annual work-programme based on the priority
areas referred to in Article 3(2), using as its basis a
draft submitted by the Executive Director referred
to in Article 9, after consulting the scientific

2. Not later than 31 December 2003, on the basis
of a report from the Commission, the Council shall
review the progress of, and tasks undertaken by, the
Agency in relation to the Community’s overall policy
on the environment;'.

L 117/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

5. 5. 1999

10. In the Annex, Part B, point 1 shall be replaced by the

following:

and (b) societal and economic responses to such
pressures.

statistical

and the national

‘1. The Agency will use, as far as possible, informa-
tion collected via the official Community statis-
tical services. These result from the work of Euro-
stat
in
collecting, validating and disseminating social and
economic statistics,
including national accounts
and related information. In particular, the Agency
will make use of work done by Eurostat and the
national
statistical offices under Decision 94/
808/EEC (1), covering statistics on (a) human
activities resulting in pressure on the environment

services

adopting

(1) Council Decision 94/808/EEC of 15 December
development
1994
programme (1994 to 1997) relating to the environ-
mental component of Community statistics (OJ L
328, 20.12.1994, p. 58).'

four-year

a

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of 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 Luxembourg, 29 April 1999.

For the Council

The President

W. M(cid:154)LLER