Common Position (EC) No 12/2001 of 26 February 2001 adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, with a view to adopting 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
Date: 2001-02-26
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: air quality, forest conservation, forestry policy

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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I

(Information)

COUNCIL

COMMON POSITION (EC) No 12/2001

adopted by the Council on 26 February 2001

with a view to adopting Regulation (EC) No .../2001 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of ... amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 on the protection of the
Community’s forests against atmospheric pollution

(2001/C 97/01)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com-
munity, and in particular Article 175(1) thereof,

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

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

Having consulted the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 251 of the Treaty (3),

Whereas:

(1)

The period of
application of Regulation (EEC)
No 3528/86 (4) expired on 31 December 1996. The said
Regulation was amended by Council Regulation (EC)
No 307/97 (5). In its judgment of 25 February 1999 in

(1) OJ C 307 E, 26.10.1999, p. 32.
(2) OJ C 51, 23.2.2000, p. 24.
(3) European Parliament opinion of 6 July 2000 (not yet published
in the Official Journal), Council Common Position of 26 February
2001 and European Parliament decision of ... (not yet published
in the Official Journal).

(4) OJ L 326, 21.11.1986, p. 2. Regulation as last amended by

Regulation (EEC) No 2157/92 (OJ L 217, 31.7.1992, p. 1).

(5) OJ L 51, 21.2.1997, p. 9.

Joined Cases C-164/97 and C-165/97 (6) the Court of
Justice of the European Communities annulled Council
Regulation (EC) No 307/97 but preserved its legal effects
pending the adoption of a new Regulation which
replaces the Regulation annulled. In order to guarantee
legal certainty, the validity of the measures taken in
application of
the annulled Regulation should be
ensured.

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

The importance of forests in the ecosystems of the
Member States of the Community should be taken into
account.

The conservation of the forest ecosystems reflects econ-
omic, ecological and social concerns and contributes, in
particular, towards safeguarding the social function of
those working in agriculture and in rural areas.

(2)

(3)

(4)

(6) [1999] ECR I - 1139.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

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level at

international

The Community and the Member States committed
themselves at
the three pan-
European Ministerial Conferences on the Protection of
Forests in Europe, held in Strasbourg in 1990,
in
Helsinki in 1993 and in Lisbon in 1998, to continuous
surveillance of forest damage. The Community scheme
provided for by Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 con-
tributes to the fulfilment of this commitment.

1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and
the Commission on budgetary discipline and improve-
ment of the budgetary procedure (2), for the budgetary
authority under the annual budgetary procedure.

(13) Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 should accordingly be

amended,

Results from the systematic survey network show obvi-
ous trends in spatial and temporal distribution of forest
damage over the entire area of the Community.

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

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 understanding of the causal
relationship between changes in forest ecosystems and
the factors influencing them.

pollution

Damage caused to forests by various factors, especially
atmospheric
unfavourable
and
meteorological factors, hampers the development of
sustainable agricultural activity and the management of
rural areas.

certain

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

(10) Consequently the scheme provided for by Regu-
lation (EEC) No 3528/86 should be continued and its
duration extended for five years, its period of application
thereby being extended to 15 years as from 1 January
1987.

(11) The measures necessary for the implementation of
Regulation (EC) No 3528/86 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 (1).

(12) This Regulation establishes for the entire duration of the
framework which is to be the
measure a financial
principal point of reference, within the meaning of
point 33 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May

Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 is hereby amended as follows:

1. Articles 7, 8 and 9 shall be replaced by Articles 7 and 8

as follows:

‘Article 7

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Standing
Forestry Committee (hereinafter referred to as “the Com-
mittee”).

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 3
and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having
regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5
and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having
regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period provided for in Article 5(6) of Decision
1999/468/EC shall be set at three months.

4. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 8

1. The measures necessary for the implementation of
this Regulation relating to the matters referred to below
shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory pro-
cedure referred to in Article 7(2):

(a)

the periodic reports referred to in Article 3;

(b)

(c)

(d)

the experiments and projects referred to in Article 4,
before any Commission decision on their financing;

the development of the coordination and monitor-
ing activities referred to in Article 5;

the establishment of a programme for the synoptic
processing of information on knowledge of atmos-
pheric pollution in woodland and its effects.

In accordance with the same procedure the Committee
may examine any other question within the scope of this
Regulation.

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

(2) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.

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2. The measures necessary for the implementation of
this Regulation relating to the matters referred to below
shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory
procedure referred to in Article 7(3):

(a)

the detailed rules for the implementation of Article 2
and in particular those relating to the gathering,
type, comparability and transmission of the data
collected;

(b)

the detailed rules for implementing Article 3;

(c)

the detailed rules and criteria for implementing
Article 4.’;

2. Article 11 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 11

1. The scheme shall run for 15 years from 1 Jan-
uary 1987.

2. The financial allocation for the implementation of the
scheme shall be EUR 35,1 million for the period 1997 to
2001.

Annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budget-
ary 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 to the Council a report on the application of this
Regulation and a proposal
for revision covering in
particular the ecological, economic and social aspects
(qualitative assessment) and the results of a cost-benefit
analysis (quantitative assessment).’;

3.

4.

in Articles 2(3), 3(2) and 4(4) the words ‘procedure
provided for in Article 7’ or ‘procedure laid down in
Article 7’ shall be replaced by ‘procedure provided for in
Article 7(3)’;

in Article 4a(3)
the words ‘procedure laid down in
Article 8’ shall be replaced by ‘procedure laid down in
Article 7(2)’.

Article 2

Any reference to a measure taken in application of Regu-
lation (EC) No 307/97 shall be taken as a reference to a
measure taken in application of this Regulation from the day
of the latter’s entry into force.

Article 3

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following
that 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 ...

For the European Parliament

The President

For the Council

The President

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STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL’S REASONS

(See page 8 of this Official Journal)