Commission Opinion pursuant to Article 251(2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty, concerning the 2nd Reading of the European Parliament with a view to the adoption of a Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy and amending Directives 82/176/EEC, 83/513/EEC, 84/156/EEC, 84/491/EEC, 86/280/EEC and 2000/60/EC amending the proposal of the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty
Date: 2008-07-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: environmental cooperation, environmental protection, environmental standard, groundwater, pollution control measures, quality of the environment, surface water, water pollution, water protection

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 17.7.2008 
COM(2008) 487 final 

2006/0129 (COD) 

COMMISSION OPINION 

pursuant to Article 251(2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty, concerning 
the 2nd Reading of the European Parliament with a view to the adoption of a Proposal 
for a  

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on 
environmental quality standards in the field of water policy and amending Directives 
82/176/EEC, 83/513/EEC, 84/156/EEC, 84/491/EEC, 86/280/EEC and 2000/60/EC 

AMENDING THE PROPOSAL OF THE COMMISSION pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the 
EC Treaty 

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2006/0129 (COD) 

COMMISSION OPINION 

pursuant to Article 251(2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty, concerning 
the 2nd Reading of the European Parliament with a view to the adoption of a Proposal 
for a  

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on 
environmental quality standards in the field of water policy and amending Directives 
82/176/EEC, 83/513/EEC, 84/156/EEC, 84/491/EEC, 86/280/EEC and 2000/60/EC 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Procedure 

On  17  June  2006  the  Commission  submitted  a  Proposal  for  a  Directive  on  environmental 
quality standards in the field of water policy to the European Parliament and of the Council 
for adoption by co-decision procedure as laid down in Article 251 of the EC Treaty. 

The European Economic and Social Committee delivered its opinion on 15 February 2007. 

The European Parliament adopted its position in first reading on 22 May 2007. 

The Council adopted its Common Position on 20 December 2007.  

The European Parliament adopted its position in second reading on 17 June 2008. 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL 

The Commission proposal for a Directive on environmental quality standards in the field of 
water  policy  ("Directive  on  Priority  Substances")  is  a  “daughter  directive”  of  the  Water 
Framework Directive – WFD (2000/60/EC1). The purpose of this proposal is to: 

– 

– 

– 

settle  environmental  quality  standards  for  33  priority  and  priority  hazardous 
substances (based on Article 16 (7) of the WFD),  

repeal 5 old Directives (as a result of the review required by Article 16 (10) of 
the WFD) and  

review 
2455/2001/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council2).  

list  of  priority  hazardous  substances  (based  on  Decision 

the 

3. 

3.1 

COMMISSION COMMENTS 

General 

At  its  Plenary  Session  of  17  June  2008,  the  European  Parliament  adopted  a  compromise 
package consisting of 18 amendments (numbered from 41 to 58) which had been agreed with 
the Council in view of reaching a second reading agreement. 

1 
2 

OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1–73 
OJ L 331, 15.12.2001, p. 1–5 

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These amendments concern mainly the following: 

–  Addition  of  reporting  obligations  regarding  measures  taken  with  a  view  to  reducing  the 

extent of mixing zones. 

–  The inclusion of sediment and biota in the inventories of emissions, discharges and losses. 

–  The  development  of  technical  guidelines  through  comitology  for  mixing  zones  and 

inventories. 

–  An article on reporting and review. 

–  An article on the future review of Annex X of the WFD. 

–  Amendments to a number of recitals. 

The  Commission  accepts  all  these  amendments  as  they  are  in  line  with  the  overall  purpose 
and the general characteristics of the Proposal. 

3.2 

Amended Proposal 

Pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty, the Commission amends its Proposal as set out 
above. 

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