Amended proposal for a regulattion of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 on protection  of the Community's forests against fire (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC-Treaty)
Date: 2000-12-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU financing, environmental risk prevention, fire protection, forest conservation, silviculture, sustainable development

27.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 96 E/365

Amended proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 on protection of the Community’s forests against fire (1)

(2001/C 96 E/37)

(Text with EEA relevance)

COM(2000) 864 final (cid:151) 1999/0160(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty on 20 December 2000)

(1) OJ C 307 E, 26.10.1999, p. 33.

INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Unchanged

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

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of
Committee,

the Economic and Social

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

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

Whereas:

(1) Since the rural communities,

in particular foresters and
stock farmers, who are the main trustees of Europe’
forest heritage, and especially their professional organi-
sations, play a fundamental role in drawing up regional
fire prevention action plans, in practising preventive silvi-
culture and as first-line firefighters,
to
create the conditions for the effective participation of
these people in the protection of European forests
against this abiotic agent.

is important

it

(2) The period of application of Council Regulation (EEC) No
2158/92 of 23 July 1992 on protection of
the
expired on 31
against
Community’s
December 1996.

forests

fire (1)

(3) 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
and the
sustainable
management of rural areas.

agriculture

for

a

___________
(1) OJ L 217, 31.7.1992, p. 3.

C 96 E/366

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

27.3.2001

INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

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

the

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

reasons and contributes,

(6) The Community and the Member States attach particular
importance to the protection of their forest resources and
have given international undertakings on the sustainable
development of
forest
forests and the protection of
in particular during the United Nations World
regions,
Conference on the Environment and Development
in
Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and at the pan-European Minis-
terial Conferences on the Protection of Forests in Europe
in Strasbourg in 1990,
in 1993. The
Community scheme provided for by Regulation (EEC)
No 2158/92 helps to fulfil those undertakings.

in Helsinki

(6) The Community and the Member States attach particular
importance to the protection of their forest resources and
have given international undertakings on the sustainable
development of
forest
forests and the protection of
in particular during the United Nations World
regions,
Conference on the Environment and Development
in
Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and at the three pan-European
Ministerial Conferences on the Protection of Forests in
Europe in Strasbourg in 1990, in Helsinki in 1993 and
in Lisbon in 1998. The Community scheme provided for
by Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 helps to fulfil
those
undertakings.

(7) Under Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 60 million hectares
of forest, equivalent to about half of all European forests,
have been classified as fire-risk zones.

Unchanged

(8) Fires continue to restrict the sustainable development of

forests in fire-risk zones.

(9) The protection of

forests against fire therefore directly
contributes to the achievement of the aims set out in
Article 33(1)(b) of the EC Treaty.

(10) The Community system of

information on forest

fires
established under Article 5 of Regulation (EEC) No
2158/92 has permitted the development of Community
that
cooperation on forest
system will provide an effective instrument
for better
evaluating forest-fire protection measures and for better
analysing the causes of fires.

fires. The development of

(11) The scheme provided for by Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92
should therefore be continued, in particular to strengthen
the consistency of forest measures financed in fire-risk
zones, to reinforce the fight against the causes of fires
and to improve prevention and monitoring systems, and
the duration of the scheme should be extended for five
years,
the
thus bringing the period of application of
scheme to ten years from 1 January 1992.

27.3.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 96 E/367

INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

(12) 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
implementing powers
the exercise of
conferred on the Commission (1).

for

(13) 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
and
improvement of the budgetary procedure.

Commission

budgetary

discipline

on

(14) Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 should therefore be

amended,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Article 10(1) and (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 are
replaced by the following:

(cid:145)Article 10

The scheme shall run for 10 years from 1 January

1.
1992.

2.
The financial allocation for the implementation of
the scheme shall be EUR 50 million for the period
1997 to 2001.

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

submit

the Commission shall

Before expiry of the period referred to in paragraph
3.
1,
to the European
Parliament and the Council a report on the application
of this Regulation and a revision proposal covering in
particular
social
aspects (qualitative assessment) and the results of a cost-
benefit analysis (quantitative assessment).(cid:146)

environmental,

economic

and

the

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.
___________
(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.