Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty concerning the common position of the Council on the adoption of a European Parliament and Council Directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe
Date: 2007-06-29
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: air quality, amendment, environmental monitoring, environmental policy, environmental protection, environmental standard, pollution control measures, public health, quality of the environment

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 29.6.2007 
COM(2007) 320 final 

2005/0183 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty 

concerning the 

common position of the Council on the adoption of a European Parliament and Council 
Directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe 

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2005/0183 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty 

concerning the 

common position of the Council on the adoption of a European Parliament and Council 
Directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe 

(Text with relevance for the EEA) 

1. 

PROCEDURE 

The proposal COM(2005) 447 final was transmitted to the European Parliament and 
the Council in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 251 of the EC 
Treaty. 

The European Economic and Social Committee gave its opinion on 17th May 2006. 

The Committee of the Regions gave its opinion on 26th April 2006. 

The European Parliament gave its opinion at first reading on 26th September 2006. 

Following the opinion of the European Parliament and pursuant to Article 250(2) of 
the EC Treaty, the Council reached by a qualified majority political agreement on a 
Common Position on 23rd October 2006. The Council adopted the Common position 
on 25.6.2007. 

2. 

PURPOSE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL 

Air pollution has very strong adverse health effects. According to the latest scientific 
and  health  evidence,  presented  in  the  Commission  Communication  on  Thematic 
Strategy on Air Pollution COM(2005) 446, only exposure to fine particulate matter 
PM2.5 in ambient air is responsible for the reduction of the statistical life expectancy 
of average EU citizen by more than 8 months. In its proposal the Commission thus 
introduces  specific  environmental  standards  for  fine  particulate  matter  PM2.5  in 
ambient  air.  Their  implementation  should  significantly  contribute  to  reaching 
objective of the Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution which is to reduce the number of 
life years lost in Europe due to exposure to particulate matter by 47% in the period 
between 2000 and 2020. 

Following on from the Commission initiative on “better regulation”, the Commission 
proposal  for  a  directive  on  ambient  air  quality  and  cleaner  air  for  Europe  further 
merges the provisions of the framework and the three daughter directives on ambient 

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air quality together with the Council decision on the Exchange of Information into a 
single  directive  with  the  intention  of  simplifying,  streamlining  and  reducing  the 
volume  of  existing  legislation.  In  addition  the  proposal  revises  the  existing 
provisions so as to incorporate the experience of the Member States. For that purpose 
the proposal: 

(1) 

(2) 

introduces  specific  monitoring  requirements  and  new  environmental 
objectives for fine particulate matter PM2.5, 

provides  some  flexibility  in  the  implementation  by  allowing,  under  specific 
conditions to be approved by the Commission, prolongation of the attainment 
dates  for  certain  limit  values  such  as  for  the  particulate  matter  PM10  and 
nitrogen dioxide, 

(3) 

enables  the  Member  States  to  focus  their  efforts  by  allowing  deduction  of 
natural contributions when assessing compliance with the limit values. 

3. 

COMMISSION COMMENTS 

3.1. 

General Comments 

The  European  Parliament  gave  its  opinion  at  first  reading  on  26  September  2006. 
The Commission accepted totally, in part or in principle twenty-nine (29) of the fifty-
nine  (59)  amendments  proposed  by  the  European  Parliament  in  the  first  reading. 
Sixteen  (16)  out  of  twenty-nine  (29)  are  already  at  least  in  part  reflected  in  the 
common position. 

The Commission accepted all amendments which would lead to further streamlining, 
greater clarity or improved the information given to the public: 2, 6, 11, 13, 19, 21, 
26, 27, 31, 37, 39, 41, 42, 65; or broaden the scope of the review : 48.  

The  Commission  accepted  some  amendments  in  part  or  in  principle.  For  some,  the 
Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that  further  redrafting  would  provide  greater  clarity. 
The  others  contain  changes  acceptable  in  principle,  such  as  for  example  the 
introduction  of  the  concept  of  sliding  scale  for  the  exposure  reduction  target  in 
amendment 49. Not all the provisions in these amendments can however be accepted 
as  some  would  compromise  the  balance  between  ensuring  the  flexibility  of 
implementation and the protection of public health. 

The  Commission  rejected,  in  particular,  amendments  which  would  reduce  the  level 
of protection of public health either below the level of the existing legislation or, as 
regards the exposure reduction objective for fine particulate matter PM2.5, below the 
level  of  ambition  set  in  the  Thematic  Strategy  on  Air  Pollution.  The  Commission 
also  rejected  amendments  which  it  considers  introduce  requirements  that  could  not 
be achieved in the specified timeframe, or limit the scope for action of the national, 
regional and local authorities to pursue effective implementation of the directive. The 
Commission assesses that combined, the Parliaments amendments would result in a 
lower level of ambition than the original Commission proposal. 

Since  September  2005,  the  Member  States  have  discussed  the  proposal  in  the 
Council.  The  common  position  contains  a  significant  number  of  changes  as 

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compared to the Commission’s original proposal. In presentational terms the text has 
been streamlined through modifications such as the elimination of the concentration 
cap concept and introduction of a single air quality plan. Some of the main elements 
of  the  Commission’s  original  proposal,  namely  the  assessment  of  air  quality,  new 
objectives on fine particulate matter PM2.5 and the flexibility on implementation have 
also  been  addressed.  Changes  are  presented  in  more  detail  below.  While  providing 
some  more  flexibility  for  the  implementation  of  the  Directive,  they  maintain  the 
ambition level balance with the required level of the protection of public health, as 
set by the original Commission proposal. Political agreement has been reached by a 
qualified  majority,  with  Netherlands  and  Poland  voting  against,  while  Sweden 
abstained. 

3.2. 

Detailed Comments 

3.2.1.  Parliamentary Amendments accepted by the Commission and incorporated in full or 

in part in the common position. 

The  content,  if  not  the  letter  of  the  following  amendments  which  were  accepted  in 
full,  in  principle  or  in  part  by  the  Commission  is  found  in  the  common  position: 
amendments number 1, 2, 13, 14, 19, 21, 26, 27, 29, 31, 40, 41, 42, 45, 48, and 65. 

The majority of these amendments reflect the replacement of the concentration cap 
concept  with  the  more  established  concept  of  the  limit  value.  As  the  two  concepts 
have  the  same  legal  consequences,  this  does  not  introduce  change  in  substance  but 
streamlines the text and reduces the number of different standards used. 

Amendment  41  concerns  the  requirement  for  the  Member  State  to  notify  penalty 
provisions to the Commission. The Commission accepts the Parliament proposal to 
delete the requirement as the same objective can be achieved following Article 33 of 
the Directive and the general obligation laid down in annex 10 of the EC treaty. 

3.2.2.  Parliamentary  Amendments  accepted  by  the  Commission  but  not  in  the  common 

position. 

Amendment 6 concerns a recital giving strong encouragement to complement fixed 
measurements by modelling and indicative measurements.  

Amendment 11 describes the reasoning behind the provisions set in Article 22. In the 
common position, these provisions are addressed in Recital 15. 

Amendments  37  and  39  propose  to  include  industrial  federations  to  the  list  of 
relevant  bodies  that  need  to  be  informed  under  public  information  provisions  of 
Articles 24 and 26. The Commission believes the inclusion makes sense and does not 
differ from the existing good practice. 

3.2.3.  Parliamentary  Amendments  rejected  by  the  Commission  but  part  of  the  common 

position. 

Not applicable. 

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3.2.4.  Changes made to the Proposal by the Council – Main elements 

Provisions for the assessment of air quality, new objectives on fine particulate matter 
PM2.5  and  provisions  on  the  flexibility  on  implementation,  as  proposed  by  the 
Commission,  have  been  addressed  by  the  Council  as  well  as  by  the  Parliament,  in 
particular by the amendments 45, 49, 50, 60 and 81.  

Air  quality  assessment.  The  cost  of  monitoring  has  been  raised  as  an  important 
concern  in  Council.  Changes  in  the  PM10  assessment  thresholds  and  the  minimum 
requirements  for  the  monitoring  of  particulate  matter  have  been  introduced  to  that 
effect.  While  acknowledging  the  concern  of  Council,  the  Commission  stressed  the 
importance  of  appropriate  assessment  information  for  the  level  playing  field  when 
assessing compliance, for the development of policy, and for informing the effective 
abatement  measures  where  needed.  The  PM10  and  PM2.5  assessment  provisions 
finally  laid  down  in  the  common  position  are  a  compromise  and  represent  for  the 
Commission  the  minimum  requirements  that  will  still  satisfy  the  abovementioned 
objectives. 

The  common  position  has  introduced  major  modifications  to  Annex  III  of  the 
directive  which  determines  in  more  detail  the  minimum  requirements  on  how  the 
assessment throughout the territory of the Member State has to be performed. Annex 
III includes a restrictive definition of specific areas where compliance with the limit 
values  aiming  at  the  protection  of  human  health  is  not  to  be  assessed.  This  should 
support  a  more  harmonized  approach  to  the  assessment  of  compliance.  The 
Commission  will  closely  monitor  implementation  to  ensure  that  this  implementing 
provision will  not in  any way reduce protection of public health or compromise an 
overarching concept that the limit values apply everywhere. 

Criteria for locating the sampling points for pollutants with established limit values 
in  Annex  III  have  also  been  streamlined  to  apply  in  the  same  manner  for  all 
pollutants. The Commission would have preferred to stay with the original proposal 
which is copying the provisions in the existing legislation, as the changes may bring 
relocation  of  the  existing  sampling  points  and  the  disruption  of  monitoring  trends. 
The Commission will monitor the developments, as changes might create problems 
in  the  implementation  of  other  provisions,  such  as  public  information,  and  in 
provision of information useful for policy development, and will readdress the issue 
through  the  regulatory  committee,  if  necessary.  However,  since  the  limit  values 
apply everywhere except in the explicitly defined areas, relocation of the station by 
itself does not change the level of protection of public health.  

The  common  position  also  addresses  in  Annex  VI  the  timing  of  compliance  of  the 
existing  equipment  in  the  monitoring  network  with  the  provisions  of  the  new  CEN 
standards determining the reference methods that were introduced in the Commission 
proposal. The Commission agrees with the introduced deadlines as they will enable 
cost-efficient implementation schedule for the modernisation of the network, where 
necessary.  It  however  notes  that  with  regard  to  the  measurements  used  for  the 
assessment, the data quality objectives of Annex I and provisions for demonstrating 
equivalence of Annex VI still fully apply. 

PM2.5  standard.  The  common  position  replaces  in  Annex  XIV  the  PM2.5 
concentration  cap  of  25μg/m3,  to  be  attained  in  2010,  with  a  two  level  approach 

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introducing a non-binding, target value with the same level in 2010, and the legally 
binding limit value in 2015. The exposure reduction target has been expanded from a 
single  20%  reduction  provision  to  a  sliding  scale  for  exposure  reduction  indicator 
with values in the 7-13μg/m3 range. Provisions of the common position also allow 3 
different options for fixing the base exposure reduction indicator, to allow time to set 
proper  PM2.5  monitoring  stations.  The  Commission  supports  these  modifications  as 
they  do  not  alter  the  ambition  level  of  the  Commission's  proposal  and  will  provide 
for more effective implementation.  

The  Commission  considers  that  in  the  double  PM2.5  environmental  objective  the 
exposure  reduction  target  should  be  the  main  driver  for  measures,  with  the  annual 
limit  value  serving  principally  as  the  cap  to  protect  citizens  in  the  most  vulnerable 
areas. On the basis of current knowledge the Commission is of the opinion that the 
efforts to comply with more stringent PM2.5 annual limit value of 20μg/m3 by 2015 
as proposed by amendment 50 of the Parliament would result in excessive focus on 
the 'hot spots', limited areas with high concentrations, at the expense of measures to 
reduce  general  exposure  to  the  population.  Amendment  49  on  the  other  hand 
proposes  to  reduce  exposure  reduction  target  requirements  for  most  concentration 
levels, which would have the overall effect of reducing the ambition level of the new 
PM2.5  standards  and  would  fall  short  of  achieving  the  health  objective  set  in  the 
Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution. 

Flexibility  on  implementation.  While  the  Commission  proposal  in  Article  22 
introduced an absolute deadline (1 Jan 2010) for prolongation of the PM10 limit value 
attainment date, the common position sets the maximum deadline at 3 years after the 
directive  enters  into  force.  The  common  position  maintains  the  conditions  which 
have  to  be  satisfied  in  order  to  be  granted  the  prolongation.  Time  extension 
provisions for benzene and nitrogen dioxide have not been altered. The option for the 
fine particulate matter PM2.5 has been eliminated after moving the PM2.5 attainment 
date from 2010 in the original Commission proposal to 2015. The possibility to apply 
for  a  time  extension  for  sulphur  dioxide,  carbon  monoxide  and  lead  have  been 
eliminated. The Commission would prefer its original timing with regard to the PM10 
attainment date, but is of the opinion that such prolongation does not compromise the 
overall balance of the proposal. Amendment 81 by the European Parliament allows 
for up to 6 years after the entry into force of the directive. Such prolongation would 
almost  certainly  introduce  delay  in  the  implementation  of  measures,  reducing  the 
level of protection of public health in all areas with current exceedances of the PM10 
limit values. 

3.2.5.  Changes in the text related to new Comitology procedures 

The Commission had reserved its position with regard to amendments 61-63 of the 
Parliament that introduce a reference to the new regulatory procedure with scrutiny 
by  the  committee  established  under  the  directive,  pending  the  inter-institutional 
agreement on the common wording for the inclusion in the secondary EU legislation. 
A rephrased provision covering the same substance, using the last wording as agreed 
between  the  institutions  in  November  2006,  has  been  introduced  in  the  common 
position.  It  differs  in  scope  to  amendment  62,  as  it  does  not  introduce  regulatory 
procedure with scrutiny for the adoption of the implementing measures determining 
the  additional  information  to  be  made  available  by  the  Member  States  pursuant  to 
Article 27. The Commission can support these changes. 

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4. 

CONCLUSION 

All  EU  institutions  share  the  common  objectives  with  regard  to  the  protection  of 
public health and the environment, and specifically the need for the introduction of 
fine particulate matter PM2.5 standards, including the new exposure reduction target. 
There  has  been  general  support  to  the  additional  flexibility  on  implementation  as 
proposed  by  the  Commission.  The  major  impediments  to  achieving  1st  reading 
agreement have been different views on the exact degree of flexibility, on the need to 
modify  the  existing  particulate  matter  PM10  standards  and  the  stringency  and  legal 
nature of the new fine particulate matter PM2.5 standard.  

In  the  common  position  the  Member  States  confirmed  the  Commission's  initial 
position  to  keep  the  existing  standards  unchanged  while  allowing  some  more 
flexibility with regard to achieving compliance with the particulate matter PM10 limit 
values, and slightly modified the new PM2.5 standards. 

The  Commission  can  support  the  common  position,  as  the  balance  of  the 
Commission  proposal  between  the  strong  public  health  concern,  which  calls  for 
strong  and  continuous  action  to  improve  air  quality  in  certain  areas  and  the 
introduction  of  ambitious  legally  binding  PM2.5  standards,  and  the  flexibility 
introduced  to  facilitate  implementation,  has  nevertheless  been  maintained.  The 
common  position  also  maintains  the  clear  commitment  to  review  in  five  years  the 
standards  related  to  the  fine  particulate  matter  with  a  view  to  make  the  exposure 
reduction target legally binding. 

The  common  position  includes  additional  provisions  such  as  a  requirement  for  the 
Commission  to  prepare  guidance  on  the  determination  of  contributions  from  the 
natural  sources  and  winter  sanding.  The  Commission  welcomes  these  additions  as 
they will facilitate more harmonized approach to the implementation of the directive 
across the European Union.  

The Commission would have preferred that some specific provisions of the proposal, 
in  particular  those  related  to  the  minimum  air  quality  monitoring  requirements, 
would  have  been  maintained.  However  it  recognizes  that  the  common  position 
represents  an  important  improvement  compared  to  the  arrangements  under  the 
existing directives and therefore supports it. 

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