Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the alignment of reporting obligations in the field of environment policy and thereby amending Directives 86/278/EEC, 2002/49/EC, 2004/35/EC, 2007/2/EC, 2009/147/EC and 2010/63/EU, Regulations (EC) No 166/2006 and (EU) No 995/2010, and Council Regulations (EC) No 338/97 and (EC) No 2173/2005
Date: 2018-05-31
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU environmental policy, access to information, application of EU law, environmental law, environmental monitoring, environmental protection, exchange of information, report

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 31.5.2018 COM(2018) 381 final 2018/0205 (COD)  Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the alignment of reporting obligations in the field of environment policy and thereby amending Directives 86/278/EEC, 2002/49/EC, 2004/35/EC, 2007/2/EC, 2009/147/EC and 2010/63/EU, Regulations (EC) No 166/2006 and (EU) No 995/2010, and Council Regulations (EC) No 338/97 and (EC) No 2173/2005 (Text with EEA relevance)  
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

In  June  2017,  the  Commission  published  a  comprehensive  Fitness  Check  evaluation  on 
reporting  and  monitoring  of  EU  environment  policy1  ('the  Fitness  Check  evaluation')  and 
drew  up  an  action  plan.  Action  1  noted  that  some  streamlining  of  reporting  can  best  be 
achieved  through  amending  the  relevant  legislative  provisions.  To  implement  this  action, 
legislative  amendments  can  be  prepared  one-by-one  or  grouped  together  in  one  proposal, 
which  amends  several  pieces  of  environmental  legislation  in  relation  to  their  reporting 
provisions only (‘the alignment proposal’). This alignment proposal has been prepared on the 
basis of the evidence in the Fitness Check evaluation and other evaluations that were recently 
carried  out  on  individual  pieces  of  legislation.  The  alignment  proposal’s  objectives  are  to 
improve the evidence base for implementing EU policy, increase transparency for the public 
and simplify reporting with a view to reducing administrative burden. 

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

The  proposal  forms  part  of  the  activities  on  better  regulation  in  the  field  of  environment 
policy.  Consistent  approaches  on  environmental  reporting  and  monitoring  were  part  of  the 
Fitness Check evaluation. 

The  proposal  also  contributes  to  priority  objective  4,  paragraph  65,  of  the  7th  Environment 
Action  Programme2,  which  requires  that  the  public  has  access  to  clear  environmental 
information  at  national  level.  It  will  also  help  the  public  have  an  overview  of  what  is 
happening  in  the  environmental  field  in  Europe  as  a  whole  and  will  help  national  public 
authorities handle cross-border issues. To that end, the proposal makes cross-references and 
guarantees  consistency  with  the  requirements  of  Directive  2003/4/EC  on  access  to 
environmental information3 and of the Directive 2007/2/EC on spatial data4. 

A cross-cutting and comprehensive analysis of reporting obligations in all relevant pieces of 
environment legislation has been carried out in the context of the Fitness Check evaluation5. 
This  also  looked  at  the  coherence  of  existing  obligations.  As  a  result,  several  pieces  of 
legislation  were  identified6  where  the  reporting  obligations  could  be  amended  to  streamline 
them.  The  proposal  has  been  prepared  to  ensure  a  consistent  approach  across  the  various 
pieces of legislation by, as appropriate: 

 

 

increasing transparency; 

providing an evidence base for future evaluations; 

1 
2 
3 

4 

5 
6 

SWD(2017) 230. 
OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 171-200. 
Directive  2003/4/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  28 January  2003  on  public 
access to environmental information and repealing Council Directive 90/313/EEC (OJ L 41, 14.2.2003, 
p.  26)  implementing  the  requirements  on  access  to  information  under  the  Convention  on  Access  to 
Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters 
(the Aarhus Convention). 
Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007 establishing an 
Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE) (OJ L 108, 25.4.2007, p. 
1). 
COM(2017) 312 and SWD (2017) 230. 
Annex VI of SWD(2017) 230. 

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 

simplifying and reducing administrative burden for the Member States and the 
Commission. 

It  is  also  consistent  with  the  Commission’s  recent  proposal  to  revise  the  Drinking  Water 
Directive7, which factored in the results of the Fitness Check evaluation. 

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

Coherence  with  other  EU  policies  has  been  analysed  as  part  of  the  Fitness  Check  on 
Environmental  Reporting  and  Monitoring.8  In  general  terms  of  modernising  information 
management,  it  is  in  line  with  the  Digital  Single  Market  Strategy  and  follows  the  Better 
Regulation policy, e.g. by reducing administrative burden. 

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

In line with the original pieces of legislation which are being amended, the legal basis for this 
proposal  are Articles 114, 192(1) and 207.  

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

The EU has shared competence with Member States to regulate the environment. This means 
that the EU can only legislate as far as the Treaties allow, and must observe the principles of 
necessity, subsidiarity and proportionality. The proposal’s aim is to optimise already existing 
obligations  on  monitoring  implementation,  reporting  and  transparency  in  EU  legislation  in 
order to, inter alia, reduce the burden for Member States.  Given the nature of the action set 
out in the alignment proposal, this can only be achieved at EU level, rather than national level. 
This approach strengthens subsidiarity and brings information on implementation closer to the 
citizens. 

• 

Proportionality 

The alignment proposal follows the findings of the recent evaluations and translates these into 
legislative  amendments  to  ensure  that  the  European  Commission  is  getting  the  right 
information in the right form at the right time. As was found in the Fitness Check evaluation, 
the current status of reporting is largely efficient and the administrative burden is moderate, 
justified and proportionate (estimated costs of EUR 22 million annually). The benefits, such 
as  improved  implementation  and  better  information  of  the  public,  far  outweigh  the  costs. 
Efficiency  gains  are  expected  through  streamlining  the  process  in  a  more  cross-cutting  and 
strategic  manner  to  simplify  and  reduce  burdens.  The  proposal  is  proportionate  because  it 
simplifies reporting where this is meaningful, strengthens transparency and information to the 
public where this has not previously been the case and/or increases the evidence base where 
this has been demonstrated to be insufficient for evaluation in line with the Better Regulation 
Guidelines. 

• 

Choice of the instrument 

The legal instrument chosen is a Regulation. 

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COM/2017/0753 final 
The proposal does not concern reporting in the field of climate change. In the climate and energy policy 
areas,  the  Commission  has  already  proposed  a  simplification  of  planning,  reporting  and  monitoring 
obligations:  "Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the 
Governance of the Energy Union" COM(2016) 759. 

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3. 

• 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 

This  proposal  is  based  on  the  outcome  of  the  Fitness  Check  evaluation  on  reporting  and 
monitoring  of  EU  environment  policy9.  This  evaluation  covered  181  reporting  obligations 
found  in  58  pieces  of  EU  environmental  legislation.  They  require  numerical  and  geospatial 
information  but  most  are  in  text  format  —  the  hardest  to  report,  structure  and  analyse. 
Frequency of reporting varies. Around half are required every two or more years, and around 
half lead to a Commission report to the other EU institutions. Processes also vary but seem to 
work best when the European Environment Agency processes the data. It was found that there 
is room for improvement on some cross-cutting issues (such as streamlining for a process that 
is  more  similar  in  all  Member  States)  and  for  specific  pieces  of  legislation.  The  following 
individual  evaluations  have  provided  further,  more  detailed  evidence  in  relation  to  the 
reporting obligations in these pieces of legislation: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• 

Directive 2002/49/EC (Environment Noise Directive)10; 
Directive 2004/35/EC (Environment Liability Directive - ELD)11; 
Directive 2007/2/EC (INSPIRE Directive) — Infrastructure for spatial information12; 
Directives 2009/147/EC and 92/43/EEC (i.e. Birds and Habitats Directive)13; 
Directive 2010/63/EC (Animal Testing Directive)14; 

Regulation  (EC)  No  166/2006  (European  Pollutant  Release  and  Transfer  Register 
Regulation (E-PRTR))15. 

Stakeholder consultations 

The  Fitness  Check  evaluation  included  a  wide  range  of  consultation  activities,  such  as  a 
public  consultation16  where  members  of  the  public,  public  authorities,  business  and  non-
governmental  organisations  across  the  EU  submitted  responses.  Member  States  were  very 
active  throughout  the  process,  and  supported  the  objectives  of  streamlining  and  simplifying 
reporting. There was also a specific Member State-led initiative making a crucial contribution, 
the Make It Work project17. The Committee of the Regions prepared and adopted an Opinion, 
on  7 April  2016,  that  called  on  the  Commission  to  explore  efficiency  gains  and  tackle 
unnecessary administrative burden in environmental monitoring and reporting in particular by 
automating  reporting  tools  and  looking  at  synergies  across  reporting  obligations  from 
different  instruments18.  The  Commission  also  organised  a  number  of  events  to  discuss 
environmental reporting with stakeholders including NGOs, businesses and public authorities 
in  November  2015,  April  2016,  September  2016  and  December  2016.  These  consultations 
showed that, in  terms of the principles and objectives of reporting,  respondents felt that  the 

9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 

SWD(2017) 230. 
SWD(2016) 454. 
SWD(2016) 0121. 
COM(2016) 478 and SWD(2016) 273). 
SWD(2016) 472 final 
COM(2017) 631 and SWD(2017) 353. 
SWD(2017) 0711. 
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/consultations/reporting_en.htm 
http://minisites.ieep.eu/work-areas/environmental-governance/better-regulation/make-it-work/ 
http://cor.europa.eu/en/activities/opinions/pages/opinion-factsheet.aspx?OpinionNumber=CDR 
5660/2015. 

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most important principle is that reporting should collect information once, and share it where 
possible for many purposes. On the question of whether ‘reporting obligations should be laid 
down  in  individual  legislation’,  the  majority  of  all  stakeholder  groups,  i.e.  NGOs  (56 %), 
public authorities (75 %), members of the public (85 %), business (75 %), expressed support. 
The  EU  is  seen  as  the  most  appropriate  level  of  governance  for  harmonising  reporting 
processes. Respondents generally felt that IT systems have significant potential for supporting 
streamlining  reporting  processes  and  reducing  administrative  burden19.  Consultation  with 
Member  State  experts  took  place  in  various  thematic  groups  dealing  with  carrying  out  the 
specific reporting obligations. Overall, these experts broadly supported the specific intentions 
in  their  subject  area.  Some  thematic  areas  have  already  taken  proactive  initiatives  to 
streamline  reporting  beyond  amending  legislation  (e.g.  developing  a  register  of  industrial 
installations  under  the  Industrial  Emissions  Directive,  which  is  beneficial  for  many  other 
reporting areas).  
These consultation activities covered all relevant issues justifying that no further online public 
consultation  has  taken  place  on  the  details  of  the  current  proposal.  However,  targeted 
consultations  involving  the  experts  dealing  with  the  various  pieces  of  legislation  took  place 
prior to the adoption of this proposal.  

• 

Collection and use of expertise 

Not applicable. 

• 

Impact assessment 

No impact assessment was carried out because the evidence was gathered mainly through the 
above-mentioned evaluations. 

• 

Regulatory fitness and simplification 

As  this  proposal  for  revision  of  several  existing  pieces  of  legislation  falls  under  the 
Commission’s  Regulatory  Fitness  and  Performance  Programme  (REFIT),  the  Commission 
has  looked  at  opportunities  to  simplify  and  reduce  burdens.  Analysis  shows  that  process 
improvements  are  possible  with  regard  to  reporting  in  this  area.  These  improvements  will 
reduce  costs  or  increase  benefits,  in  particular  by  more  widely  applying  the  most  efficient 
processes  and  by  increasing  the  use  of  electronic  tools  and  templates.  This  may  require  an 
initial investment, which will, however, pay off in the mid-, and long-term. Given the lack of 
data, as explained in the reporting Fitness Check evaluation20, the detailed costs and benefits 
resulting  from  the  proposed  simplification  measures  have  not  been  quantified.  However, 
Annex 9 of the final project report ‘Support to the Fitness Check of monitoring and reporting 
obligations arising from EU environmental legislation’21 looked at the benefits of streamlining 
EU  environmental  reporting  obligations  in  relation  to  a  number  of  recent  or  ongoing 
streamlining  initiatives  over  the  2012-2020  period.  It  is  expected  that  this  will  lead  to  a 
reduced  burden  relating  to  the  reporting  obligations  under  EU  environmental  legislation.  It 
was  not  possible  to  quantify  all  of  the  benefits  of  burden  reductions  in  financial  terms. 
However, based on the available figures, the project22 estimated that these changes  together 
reduce annual administrative burdens for Member States by a minimum of between EUR 1.4 
million  and  EUR 2.0  million  annually  across  the  EU28.  Hence,  the  burden  reduction  as  a 
result of this proposal is likely to be in the same order of magnitude.  

19 
20 
21 
22 

See Annex IV of SWD (2017) 230. 
See in particular Chapter 6. 
See http://ec.europa.eu/environment/legal/reporting/fc_overview_en.htm. 
See under footnote 19. 

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Issues addressed in the proposal:  

 

 

 

 

 

the relevance and need for certain reporting obligations is no longer clear; 

the timing and frequency for reporting obligations does not meet major policy 
cycle needs; 

the extending of access to information and the sharing with the public; 

the  roles  of the  Commission  and  European  agencies  are  not  always  clear  and 
explicit; 

aligning the content, timing and procedures with the evaluation cycle under the 
Better Regulation agenda. 

The proposal is therefore designed for the purpose of regulatory fitness and simplification. 

• 

Fundamental rights 

Information  systems  that  support  better  reporting  could  raise  issues  affecting  a  number  of 
Charter rights, such as the right to good administration and the right to an effective remedy 
(Articles  41  and  47).  Nothing  in  this  proposal  should  be  interpreted  or  implemented  in  a 
manner that is inconsistent with the European Convention on Human Rights. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

Not applicable. 

5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

A  detailed  implementation  plan  was  prepared  to  facilitate  implementation  of  the  proposed 
amendments.  It  highlights  the  main  problems,  challenges  and  what  specific  actions  are 
planned to address these. 

There  is  no  specific  monitoring  planned  for  this  proposal,  as  it  proposes  a  series  of 
amendments  in  multiple  pieces  of  legislation,  and  evaluation  of  the  new  provisions  is 
expected within the framework of the amended individual legal acts. 

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Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

Table 1. Overview of acts and topics covered by the proposal for a Regulation  

Legal acts covered  

Improving 
transparency  and 
subsidiarity 

Simplify/ 
eliminate 
reporting  

Align timing 
of reporting 

Simplify  EU-
wide  overviews 
clarifying 
/ 
of 
roles 
Institutions 

for 

Prepare 
future 
evaluations 

1) Directive 
86/278/EEC 
(Sewage Sludge 
Directive)  

2) Directive 
2002/49/EC (Noise 
Directive) 

3) Directive 
2004/35/EC 
(Environmental 
Liability Directive) 

4) 2007/2/EC 
(INSPIRE 
Directive) 

5) Directive 
2009/147/EC 
(Birds’ Directive) 

6) Directive 
2010/63/EC 
(Animal Testing 
Directive) 

7) Regulation (EC) 
No 166/2006 (E-
PRTR Regulation) 

8)  Regulation  (EU) 
No 
995/2010 
(EUTR) 
9) Council 
Regulation (EC) No 
338/97 (CITES) 

10) Council 
Regulation (EC) No 
2173/2005 (FLEGT 
Regulation) 

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   

   

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   

   

   



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   

   

   

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   

   

   

   

No. of acts covered 

8 

7 

3 

8 

5 

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6 

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 

Explanations for the general terms used in Table 1 

Improving transparency and subsidiarity in 8 legal acts: 

In the context of this proposal, this means improving transparency and making it possible for 
the public to access environmental information in a more user-friendly manner, in line with 
the  requirements  of  the  Directive  2007/2/EU  and  Directive  2003/4/EC,  requirements  on 
public  access  and  potential  exemptions  based  on  confidentiality  and  protection  of  personal 
data  (see  in  particular  Article 4(1)  and  (2)  of  Directive  2003/4/EC).  Increased  transparency 
will better serve the European Union institutions, the Member States, members of the public 
and other stakeholders. This also has an impact on subsidiarity, because Member States will 
be  empowered  to  provide  information  directly  to  members  of  the  public  on  the 
implementation  of  EU  environmental  legislation,  not  just  via  EU-level  information-sharing 
systems, as is currently the case. The EU-level comparison of data builds on the information 
published by Member States and this therefore strengthens subsidiarity and accountability at 
national level. 

Simplification / elimination of reporting in 7 legal acts: 

In  order  to  reduce  administrative  burden  while  making  more  information  available  to  the 
public,  and  based  on  the  findings  of  the  Fitness  Check  evaluation,  it  would  be  helpful  to 
reduce the amount of textual reporting so that delays in processing information are reduced. In 
some  cases,  simplifying  or  eliminating  the  process  of  reporting  textual  information  and 
focusing on improving public access to information would be useful. 

Aligning timing of reporting in 3 legal acts: 

In  some  cases  the  reporting  mechanisms  were  established,  without  aligning  the  different 
requirements within the same legal act or between different legal acts. It would help to reduce 
the  administrative  burden  if  the  dates  and  timing  of  these  different  reporting  streams  were 
aligned.  Reducing  the  frequency  or  giving  Member  States  more  time  between  different 
reporting steps would also reduce the administrative burden and/or improve the effectiveness 
of the process. 

Simplification of EU-wide overviews / clarifying roles of EU institutions in 8 legal acts: 

There  are  currently  a  number  of  reporting  streams  under  the  environmental  acquis.  As  a 
result, the roles that the Commission and, in some cases, the European Environment Agency 
play  already  in  the  respective  reporting  processes  should  be  clarified.  Providing  a  regular 
overview  of  factual  information  on  the  implementation  of  legislation  and  the  state  of  the 
environment  in  the  EU  is  simplified  if  up-to-date  information  is  published  using  modern 
information  technology  (e.g.  through  web  pages)  rather  than  preparing  paper-based  reports 
adopted  by  the  Commission.  Instead,  the  Commission’s  formal  role  should  be  focused  on 
carrying  out  evaluations  where  relevant  (see  below).  The  tasks  that  are now  proposed  to  be 
laid  down  in  legislation  will  have  no  impact  on  the  budget  for  the  European  Environment 
Agency (EEA) for tasks undertaken by the EEA in other areas such as climate policy. There 
will be no re-allocation of resources for the work by the EEA in other areas such as climate 
action  towards  the  tasks  set  out  in  the  proposal.  For  other  pieces  of  legislation  that  are 
currently  not  covered,  the  role  and  resourcing  of  the  EEA  in  relation  to  supporting  the 
Commission  in  environmental  reporting  will  be  addressed  following  the  finalisation  of  the 
ongoing evaluation. 

Preparation for future evaluations in 5 legal acts: 

In  line  with  the  Better  Regulation  Guidelines,  there  should  be  regular  evaluation  of  the 
functioning of the acquis in this area. In order to have information on the implementation of 

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EU legislation in this area and the fulfilment of the legislation’s objectives, the Commission 
should carry out evaluations and request Member States to provide the necessary information 
for these evaluations. 

 

Explanations for the need for amending legislation in this proposal 

Directive 86/278/EEC 

It is necessary to amend the reporting obligations laid down in articles 10 and 17 of  Directive 
86/278/EEC  of  the  Council  of  12  June  1986  on  the  protection  of  the  environment,  and  in 
particular of the soil, when sewage sludge is used in agriculture. While Member States should 
continue collecting and publishing the relevant data annually, the reporting obligation to the 
Commission  should  be  simplified.  At  the  same  time,  Member  States  should  be  required  to 
ensure  a  higher  level  of  transparency,  whereby  the  relevant  information  will  be  made 
available  in  an  easily  accessible  manner,  electronically,  in  line  with  the  requirements  of 
Directive 2003/4/EC and the Directive 2007/2/EC, in particular on public access, data-sharing 
and services.  

Directive 2002/49/EC 

A  number  of  amendments  to  the  reporting  and  monitoring  provisions  under  Directive 
2002/49/EC23  are  proposed,  based  on  the  outcome  of  the  recent  evaluations24,  the  second 
implementation report25, the requirements under Article 11 (4) of the Directive itself, and the 
need  to  align  the  provisions  of  Directive  2002/49/EC  with  the  requirements  of  Directive 
2007/2/EC26. 

During  the  evaluation,  representatives  of  Member  States’  competent  authorities  proposed 
extending the time period between reporting on noise mapping and reporting on action plans 
from  one  year  to  two.  This  adjustment  would  help  Member  States  to  better  prepare  their 
action  plans  —  which  must  be  based  on  the  noise  maps  —  and  to  effectively  consult  the 
public on these, as required by the Directive. 

Feedback  received  as  part  of  the  evaluation  does  not  suggest  that  the  process  of  reporting 
itself  constitutes  a  significant  administrative  burden,  as  it  consists  mainly  of  electronically 
sending to the Commission documentation that already exists (noise maps and action plans). 
The reporting mechanism itself is managed by the European Environmental Agency and used 
by nearly all Member States to submit information to the Commission. Making the reporting 
mechanisms  compulsory  for  Member  States  will  allow  the  Commission  and  the  European 
Environmental Agency — who assesses the data for the Commission — to gain a better and 
faster  overview  on  the  noise  exposure  of  people  in  the  EU,  saving  time  and  unnecessary 
administrative  work.  This  will  help  achieve  the  Directive’s  objectives.  The  power  to  make 
detailed technical specifications on the methodology to be followed when reporting the data is 
delegated to the Commission, to be adopted by the comitology procedure. 

Directive  2007/2/EU  will  require  to  make  noise-relevant  geospatial  data  with  a  geospatial 
property  discoverable  and  available  through  metadata  and  network  services  on  national 
geoportals. At the same time Directive 2002/49/EC requires data to be made available to the 

23 

24 
25 
26 

Directive  2002/49/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council of  25 June  2002  relating  to  the 
assessment and management of environmental noise., OJ L 189, 18.7.2002. 
SWD(2016) 454 final and SWD(2017) 230. 
COM(2017) 151 final. 
Directive  2007/2/EC  of  14 March  2007  establishing  an  Infrastructure  for  Spatial  Information  in  the 
European Community (INSPIRE), OJ L 108, 25.4.2007, p. 1-14. 

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public.  The  proposed  changes  clarify  the  obligation  to  publish  data  on  national  geoportals, 
thus ensuring alignment of the two Directives.  

Directive 2004/35/EC 

The Directive’s REFIT evaluation27 found that the availability of information can be further 
improved, in particular for certain key data that potentially affect the environment and human 
health. This would:  

 

 

 

inform the public about instances of environmental damage, in particular where 
people are likely to be affected by such instances; 

enable  operators  and  authorities  to  undertake  the  necessary  preventive  and 
remedial action in such instances; and 

provide  the  Commission  with  the  required  evidence  base  enable  a  proper 
evaluation in relation to the purpose and performance of the Directive.  

To  minimise  the  administrative  burden,  the  focus  should  be  on  ensuring  the  electronic  or 
online  availability  of  information  and  on  ensuring  that  the  information  meets  relevant  EU 
standards  and  is  easy  to  use,  of  sufficient  quality  and  comparable.  In  doing  this,  publicly 
accessible environmental information should meet the requirements of  Directive 2007/2/EC, 
in particular in relation to services and accessibility of data for the public and the authorities. 

Directive 2007/2/EC 

in  201628.  The 

the  REFIT  evaluation  were  completed 

The Commission INSPIRE implementation report to the Council and the European Parliament 
and 
implementation  report 
recommended  that  the  Commission  review  and  possibly  revise  the  rules  under  Directive 
2007/2/EC. To simplify implementation of the Directive and reduce the administrative burden 
related  to  monitoring  by  Member  States,  the  obligation  for  triennial  reporting  will  be 
removed, keeping only the monitoring requirement based on monitoring indicators calculated 
directly  from  the  metadata  of  spatial  data  sets  and  spatial  data  services  to  be  provided  by 
Member  States  as  laid  down  by  Directive  2007/2/EC.  This  will  help  ensure  that  the 
information on implementation is more up to date and available to the public in a transparent 
manner.  In  practical  terms,  Member  States  will  be  asked  to  provide  annual  updates,  if 
necessary,  on  the  country-specific  information  the  Commission  already  publishes29.  The 
Commission  will  provide  simple  tools  and  procedures  for  Member  States  to  update  this 
information. 

As a yearly overview by the European Environmental Agency is envisaged, there is no further 
need  to  prepare  a  Commission  report  to  Council  and  European  Parliament  because  the 
relevant information will be publically available online and annually updated. Therefore, the 
reporting  obligation  will  be  removed.  In  addition,  regular  evaluation  by  the  Commission 
based  on  the  monitoring  indicators,  in  line  with  the  Better  Regulation  Guidelines,  is  being 
proposed instead of an implementation report.  

27 
28 
29 
your-Country 

SWD(2016) 121. 
COM(2016) 478 and SWD(2016) 273. 
See country fiche 2016 available for all EU Member States at  http://inspire.ec.europa.eu/INSPIRE-in-

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Directive 2009/147/EC 
A  Fitness  Check  of  the  EU  Nature  Legislation,  covering  Directives  2009/147/EC30  and 
92/43/EEC,31 was completed in 201632. It concluded that while a three-year reporting cycle is 
required  under  the  Birds  Directives,  whereas  reporting  has  in  practice  followed  a  reporting 
cycle of six years as for the Habitats Directive, with a similar primary focus on providing up-
to-date  information  on  status  and  trends  of  species.  The  need  for  more  streamlined 
implementation of the two Directives explains the need to adapt the legislation to better suit 
the  practice  in  place  in  Member  States.  This  will  also  facilitate  the  preparation  of  the  six 
yearly  reports  on  the  application  of  the  Directives  that  Member  States  submit  to  the 
Commission.  In  the reporting  format  currently used,  Member  States  are  required  to  provide 
relevant  data  in  the  report  necessary  for  the  assessment  of  the  implementation  progress.  In 
particular information on status and trends of wild bird species, the threats and pressures on 
them,  the  conservation  measures  taken  and  the  contribution  of  the  network  of  Special 
Protection Areas to the objectives of the Directive need to be reported on. 

Directive 2010/63/EU 

The existing obligations on transparency and reporting under Directive 2010/63/EU33 aim to 
improve understanding of the reasons for and the value of the use of live animals for research, 
testing  and  educational  purposes,  and  allow  for  a  more  objective  assessment  of  the  actual 
welfare  harm  to  animals.  These  obligations  include  collecting  information  on  the 
implementation  of  the  Directive,  statistical  data,  exemptions  to  methods  of  killing,  and  in 
particular  publishing  non-technical  project  summaries  on  authorised  projects  that  use  live 
animals. 

Member States are also required to carry out a retrospective assessment of certain projects to:  

 

 

 

identify  whether  the  use  of  animals  has  enabled  the  achievement  of  the 
objectives set for the project; 

evaluate the actual harm inflicted on animals; and  

identify  any  elements  that  can  further  contribute  to  implementing  the 
requirement to replace, reduce and refine the use of animals.  

Member States may publish the results of these retrospective project assessments. 

However,  one  third  of  Member  States  do  not  currently  require  non-technical  project 
summaries  to  be  updated  with  these  results.  This  significantly  hinders  wider  access  for  the 
scientific  community,  the  general  public  and  policy  makers  to  essential  information  on  the 
actual benefits, research outcomes and inflicted harm resulting from the use of live animals. 
The  lack  of  systematic  dissemination  may  also  slow  down  the  uptake  of  new  ways  to 
implement replacement, reduction and refinement, defeating the very reason for the obligation 
to carry out retrospective assessments.  

These  issues  were  also  reflected  in the  Commission  report on  the  Directive,  published  on  8 
November 201734, which made specific recommendations on transparency and non-technical 
project summaries in the accompanying SWD35 in particular the following recommendations: 

30 
31 
32 
33 

34 
35 

OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p. 7–25. 
OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7–50 
SWD(2016) 472 final. 
Directive  2010/63/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  22  September  2010  on  the 
protection of animals used for scientific purposes. 
COM (2017) 631. 
SWD (2017) 353. 

EN 

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– 

– 

41.  Member  States  should  ensure  that  non-technical  project  summaries  are 
published in a timely manner. 

43.  The  Commission,  Member  States  and  stakeholders  should  explore 
possibilities for a central repository of (or provide easy, searchable access to) 
all  non-technical  project  summaries  at  EU  level,  taking  into  account  legal 
requirements and linguistic limitations. 

There is an annual obligation to publish national statistical data on the use of live animals and 
to submit these data to the Commission. Implementation reports need to be submitted every 5 
years to the Commission. These reports should be made available at EU level in a more timely 
fashion, using electronic tools and centrally accessible and searchable databases. 

The  Commission’s  obligations  include  making  a  formal  statistical  report  to  the  European 
Parliament and the Council every 3 years and reporting to the European Parliament and the 
Council  every  5  years,  based  on  Member  States’  implementation  reports.  These  obligations 
should  be  replaced  by  submitting  data  electronically  to  central  data  repositories.  This 
statistical  data  should  be  updated  annually,  replacing the  current  rigid  requirement  to  report 
data that is up to 5 years old. 

Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 

The  reporting  obligations  in  Regulation  (EC)  No 166/200636  need  to  be  amended  to 
rationalise  and  simplify  reporting  obligations  in  this  area  and  pursue  the  objective  of  better 
regulation,37 the changes required are as follows:  

 

 

 

The  reporting  obligations  laid  down  in  Article 7  need  to  be  changed  by 
abolishing  the  reference  to  the  reporting  format  in  Annex  III  and  instead 
granting  the  Commission  implementing  powers  to  set  that  format  through 
implementing acts (comitology) and repeal Annex III accordingly. This would 
improve  coherence  with  reporting  under  Directive  2010/75/EU  on  industrial 
emissions38,  which  covers  almost  the  same  activities.  This  will  allow  a  more 
streamlined  approach  and  increased  interoperability  of  data  collected  under 
Directive  2010/75/EU  and  under  Regulation  (EC)  No 166/2006,  in  line  with 
the provisions of the Directive 2007/2/EC. It will also enable the development 
and  use  of  more  efficient  and  consistent  electronic  reporting  tools,  to  be 
developed and maintained with the assistance of the European Environmental 
Agency. 

The  specific  reporting  obligations  for  Member  States  in  Article 16  and  the 
corresponding  Commission  reporting  obligation  in  Article 17  should  also  be 
repealed, as the information referred to is of limited value and/or does not meet 
policy needs. This avoids excessive administrative burden. 

Coherence with reporting obligations on similar facilities under other pieces of 
EU  law  (e.g.  Directive  2010/75/EU  on  industrial  emissions  and  Directive 
2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major-accident  hazards  involving  dangerous 
substances) needs to be improved by amending Article 11 on confidentiality, to 

36 

37 
38 

Regulation  (EC)  No 166/2006  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  18  January  2006 
concerning  the  establishment  of  a  European  Pollutant  Release  and  Transfer  Register  and  amending 
Council Directives 91/689/EEC and 96/61/EC. 
SWD(2017) 710. 
OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 17-119. 

EN 

11 

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clarify that confidential information must also be reported to the Commission, 
but this will not be made public.  

Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 

To improve and facilitate public access to information on the implementation of Regulation 
(EU)  No  995/201039,  data  provided  by  Member  States  on  the  implementation  of  the 
Regulation  should  be  made  publicly  available  through  a  Commission-managed  EU-wide 
overview. This proposal modifies the frequency for providing data on how the Regulation is 
being implemented so that it will be updated annually to cover the previous calendar year, in 
line  with  the  FLEGT  Regulation.  This  will  make  the  data  comparable  with  other  available 
datasets,  such  as  those  providing  information  on  timber  trade  between  the  EU  and  non-EU 
countries.  The  Commission,  assisted  by  the  Committee  set  up  under  Article 18  of  the 
Regulation, will be given implementing powers to set the required format and procedure for 
Member  States  to  make  information  available  under  the  Regulation.  The  proposal  also 
provides for the Commission to publish annual EU-wide overviews of implementation of the 
Regulation.  Formal  reporting  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament  and  to  the 
Council  will  take  place  at  least  once  every  6  years,  reporting  on  the  results  of  the  regular 
review of the Regulation’s functioning and effectiveness. 

Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 

Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 implements in EU law the provisions of the Convention 
on  International  Trade  in  Endangered  Species  of  wild  fauna  and  flora  (‘the  CITES 
Convention’), to which the EU and all EU Member States are parties. In Article VIII(7), the 
CITES Convention  provides that  parties to  the Convention must  report annually on trade in 
CITES-listed  species  and  they  must  also  report  every  two  years  on  a  number  of  measures 
taken to implement the CITES Convention (‘implementation reports’). These provisions have 
been implemented in EU law through Article 15(4) of Council Regulation 338/97. 

At the 17th Conference of the Parties to the CITES Convention in 2016, the CITES parties40 
decided that: 

 

 

the  frequency  of  implementation  reports  should  be  amended,  so  that  these 
reports are submitted by CITES parties one year before each Conference of the 
Parties, which usually take place every three years, rather than every two years; 

a  new  annual  report  on  illegal  trade  should  be  submitted by  31  October  each 
year  by  all  CITES  parties  to  the  CITES  Secretariat,  covering  actions  in  the 
preceding year. 

Article 15(4)  of  Council  Regulation  338/97  therefore  needs  to  be  amended  to  reflect  these 
decisions,  changing  the  frequency  of  the  submission  of  the  implementation  reports  and 
implementing in EU law the requirement for an annual report by the EU Member States on 
illegal trade. 

Council Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005  

To  improve  and  facilitate  the  access  of  the  public  to  information  on  the  implementation  of 
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2173/200541,  the  data  provided  by  the  Member  States  on  the 

39 

40 

Regulation  (EU)  No  995/2010  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  20  October  2010 
laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market. 
Including the EU and its 28 Member States. 

EN 

12 

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implementation  of  the  Regulation  should  be  made  publicly  available  at  national  level  and 
through a Commission EU-wide overview of this data. 

FLEGT  licences  were  issued  for  the  first  time  in  November  2016.  The  experience  that  the 
Commission and Member States gained from first year of FLEGT licensing shows that some 
of  the  Regulation’s  provisions  on  reporting  have  become  obsolete.  In  particular,  the 
description  of  the  contents  of  Member  State  reports  in  Article 8(1)(a),  (b)  and  (c)  is 
ambiguous,  internally  inconsistent  and  prone  to  differing  interpretations.  Even  if  these 
descriptions are non-exhaustive, they provide an incomplete basis to monitor progress on the 
licensing  scheme  and  on  the  implementation  of  the  Regulation.  Therefore,  this  proposal 
deletes  these  paragraphs.  Instead,  the  proposal introduces  a  mechanism  to  carry  out  checks, 
through the Committee set up under Article 11 of the Regulation, allowing the Commission to 
exercise its implementing powers to set the format and procedure for Member States to make 
the necessary information available. The proposal also sets up a regular review of the FLEGT 
Regulation every 6 years (aligned with that required under the Timber Regulation), instead of 
the current one-off review required in Article 9, and includes an obligation to formally report 
to the European Parliament and the Council on the results. 

Main legal provisions of the proposed Regulation 

In  line  with  these  findings,  and  the  proposal’s  general  objectives  of  streamlining  and 
modernising  reporting,  speeding  up  the  availability  of  data  and  reducing  administrative 
burden,  the  amendments  proposed  are  strictly  limited  to  reporting  obligations  and  therefore 
are as follows: 

Article 1 

Amends  Council  Directive  86/278/EEC  by  amending  Article 10  and  Article 17  on 
information and reporting requirements.  

Article 2 

Amends Article 8 of the Directive 2002/49/EC on the deadlines for submitting action plans, 
Article 9  to  increase  transparency  by  referring  to  Directive  2003/4/EC  and  the  Directive 
2007/2/EC,  Article 10  on  availability  of  information  electronically  in  the  data  repositories, 
and  updating  Annex  VI 
information  on 
implementation. 

to  set  up  the  mechanism  for  providing 

Article 3 

Amends Directive 2004/35/EC by:  

– 

– 

– 

deleting Article 14(2);  

replacing Article 18 by requiring information on implementation and evidence base;  

updating Annex VI with the information referred to in Article 18(1) on instances of 
environmental damage and instances of liability. 

Article 4 
Amends the Directive 2007/2/EC42 by:  

41 

42 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2173/2005  of  20  December  2005  on  the  establishment  of  a  FLEGT 
licensing scheme for imports of timber into the European Community. 
Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007 establishing an 
Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE). 

EN 

13 

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– 

– 

– 

amending Article 21(2) on monitoring;  

deleting Article 21(3) on reporting; and  

replacing  Article 23  with  provisions  to  create  a  regular  EU-wide  overview  and 
prepare for the future evaluation of the Directive. 

Article 5 

Amends Article 12 of Directive 2009/147/EC by extending the reporting cycle from three to 
six years. 

Article 6 

Deletes Article 57 of Directive 2010/63/EU and amends the following provisions:  

– 

– 

– 

Article 43(2)-(4) on provisions relating to project summaries and setting up an online 
database; 

Article 51 on exercise of delegated powers; and 

Article 54 on information on monitoring implementation and provision of statistical 
data. 

Article 7 

Amends Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 to: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

delete the triennial reporting requirements in Articles 16 and 17; 

amend  Article  7  to  facilitate  better  integrated  reporting  under  the  Industrial 
Emissions Directive; 

repeal  the  reporting  format  in  Annex  III,  instead  giving  the  Commission 
implementing powers to set the format and frequency of E-PRTR reporting through 
the Committee procedure set out in Article 19(2); and  

amend  Article 11  on  confidentiality,  to  ensure  all  relevant  data  are  reported  to  the 
Commission, while avoiding disclosure to the public. 

Article 8 

Amends  Regulation  (EU)  No  995/2010  by  replacing  Article 20(1)-(4)  on  monitoring  on 
implementation and access to information, setting the frequency of EU-wide overviews to be 
annual and updating provisions on evaluating the Regulation. 

Article 9 

Amends  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  338/97  to  replace  Article  15(4)  (b),  (c)  and  (d)  that 
require the publication of an EU-wide overview. 

Article 10 

Amends  Regulation  (EC)  No  2173/2005  to  replace  Articles  8  and  9  on  information 
requirements  and  requiring  an  EU-wide  overview  on  the  basis  of  the  data  collected  by  the 
Member States. It also updates the provisions on evaluating the Regulation. 

Article 11 

Enacts the entry into force of the draft proposal for a Regulation. 

EN 

14 

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2018/0205 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the alignment of reporting obligations in the field of environment policy and thereby 
amending Directives 86/278/EEC, 2002/49/EC, 2004/35/EC, 2007/2/EC, 2009/147/EC and 
2010/63/EU, Regulations (EC) No 166/2006 and (EU) No 995/2010, and Council 
Regulations (EC) No 338/97 and (EC) No 2173/2005 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Articles 114, 192(1) and 207 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee43,  
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions44,  

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

43 
44 
45 
46 
47 

48 

In  order  to  address  the  need  for  implementation  and  compliance  information, 
amendments  of  several  pieces  of  environmental  legislation  should  be  introduced 
taking  into  account  the  results  of  the  Commission  Report  on  Actions  to  Streamline 
Environmental Report45 and its related Fitness Check46. 

It is necessary that accessibility to data should ensure that the administrative burden on 
all entities remains as limited as possible. It requires active dissemination at national 
level  in  accordance  with  Directives  2003/4/EC47  and  2007/2/EC48  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council and their implementing rules, to ensure the appropriate 
infrastructure for public access, reporting and data-sharing between public authorities. 

Data reported by Member States are essential for the Commission to monitor, review 
and assess the performance of the legislation against the objectives it pursues in order 
to inform any future evaluation of the legislation, in accordance with paragraph 22 of 

OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
COM(2017) 312. 
SWD(2017) 230. 
Directive  2003/4/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  28  January  2003  on  public 
access to environmental information and repealing Council Directive 90/313/EEC (OJ L 41, 14.2.2003, 
p. 26). 
Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007 establishing an 
Infrastructure  for  Spatial  Information  in  the  European  Community  (INSPIRE)  (OJ  L  108,  25.4.2007, 
p. 1). 

EN 

15 

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(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

the Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council of the 
European  Union  and  the  European  Commission  on  Better  Law-Making  of  13 April 
201649.  It  is  appropriate  to  add  provisions  to  several  legislative  acts  in  the 
environmental  sector  for  the  purpose  of  their  future  evaluation,  on  the  basis  of  data 
collected  during  implementation,  possibly  complemented  by  additional  scientific, 
analytical data. In that context, there is a need for relevant data that will allow better 
assessment of the efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, coherence and EU value added 
of Union legislation, hence the necessity to ensure appropriate reporting mechanisms 
that can also serve as indicators for this purpose. 

It is necessary to amend the reporting obligations laid down in Articles 10 and 17 of 
Council Directive 86/278/EEC. The obligation to report to the Commission should be 
simplified and, at the same time, Member States should be required to ensure a higher 
level of transparency, whereby the required information will be made available in an 
easily  accessible  manner,  electronically,  in  line  with  the  requirements  of  Directives 
2003/4/EC and Directive 2007/2/EC, in particular on public access, data-sharing and 
services. 

In accordance with the evaluation of Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament 
and  of  the  Council50  there  is  a  need  to  streamline  the  reporting  deadlines  for  noise 
maps and action plans to allow sufficient time for public consultation of action plans. 
To that end, and for one time only, the deadline for the review or revision of the action 
plans is postponed by one year so that the deadline of the next round (the fourth round) 
of  action  plans  is  not  18  July  2023  but  18  July  2024.  Thus,  from  the  fourth  round 
onwards,  the  Member States will  have approximately two years between making  the 
noise maps and completing the review or revision of action plans instead of one year 
as currently the case. For the following rounds of action planning, the five years cycle 
for  the  review  or  revision  will  then  resume.  Moreover,  in  order  to  better  meet  the 
objectives of the Directive 2002/49/EC and to provide a basis for developing measures 
at Union level, reporting by Member States should be carried out by electronic means. 
It is also necessary to enhance public participation by requiring certain information to 
be  made  publicly  available  while  aligning  this  obligation  to  other  Union  legislation, 
such as Directive 2007/2/EC, without duplicating practical requirements. 

In accordance with the findings of the REFIT evaluation  of Directive 2004/35/EC of 
the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council,51  availability  of  information  can  be 
further  improved  in  particular  on  certain  key  data.  This  will  serve  the  purposes  to 
inform the public on environmental damage instances, in particular where it is likely to 
be  affected  by  such  instances,  to  enable  operators  and  authorities  to  undertake  the 
necessary  preventive  and  remedial  action  in  such  instances,  and  to  provide  the 
Commission  with  the  required  evidence  base  to  carry  out  regular  evaluations  of  the 
Directive. The need to ensure a higher level of transparency is further underpinned by 
the requirements of Directive 2003/4/EC namely to make available information to the 
public  that  might  result  in  an  imminent  threat  to  human  health  or  the  environment. 
Online  information  should  also  fulfil  requirements  of  Directive  2007/2/EC,  in 
particular on services and accessibility of data to the public and to the authorities. 

49 
50 

51 

OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1. 
Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the  Council of 25 June 2002 relating to the 
assessment and management of environmental noise (OJ L 189, 18.7.2002). 
SWD(2016) 0121. 

EN 

16 

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(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

(10) 

52 
53 
54 

55 
56 

57 
58 

59 

Based  on  the  Commission  report  to  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament 
concerning the implementation of Directive 2007/2/EC and the REFIT evaluation52, it 
is  appropriate,  with  a  view  to  simplifying  the  implementation  of  that  Directive  and 
reducing administrative burden related to monitoring by Member States, to no longer 
require  Member  States  to  send  to  the  Commission  triennial  reports,  and  the 
Commission  to  present  to  the  European  Parliament  and  to  the  Council  a  summary 
report,  because  the  reporting  Fitness  Check  confirmed  the  limited  use  of  such 
reports.53 
The Fitness Check of Directives 2009/147/EC54 and 92/43/EEC55 concluded that the a 
three year reporting cycle is required under Directive 2009/147/EC, however this has 
in  practice  already  been  done  with  the  same  reporting  cycle  of  six  years  as  for  the 
Directive 92/43/EEC, with a similar primary focus on providing up to date information 
on status and trends of species. The need for a streamlined implementation of the two 
Directives justifies the need to adapt the legislation to the practice, by ensuring a six-
yearly  status  assessment,  while  acknowledging  that  Member  States  do  the  necessary 
monitoring  activities  for  some  vulnerable  species.  This  joint  practice  should  also 
facilitate the preparation of the six yearly reports on application of the Directives that 
Member States to submit to the Commission. In order to ensure an assessment of the 
policy  progress,  Member  States  should  be  required  to  provide  information,  in 
particular,  on  the  status  and  trends  of  wild  bird species, the threats  and pressures  on 
them, the conservation measures taken and the contribution of the network of Special 
Protection Areas to the objectives of the Directive. 

It is necessary to amend the reporting obligations laid down in Articles 43, 54 and 57 
of Directive  2010/63/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council56.  These 
provisions  include,  with  the  objective  of  improving  transparency  and  reducing 
administrative burden, the establishment of a central, open-access searchable database 
for non-technical project summaries and related retrospective assessments, conferral of 
implementing  powers  on  the  Commission  to  establish  a  common  format  for  the 
submission of non-technical project summaries and related retrospective assessments, 
information  on  implementation  and replacing  the  three-yearly  statistical  reporting  by 
the Commission by the requirement of setting up a dynamic central database hosted by 
the Commission and releasing information on a yearly basis. 
In  accordance  with  the  findings  of  the  REFIT  evaluation57  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
166/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council58, it is necessary to amend or 
abolish  the  reporting  obligations  laid  down  in  that  Regulation.  In  order  to  enhance 
coherence with reporting under Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and 
of the Council59, it is necessary to confer implementing powers to the Commission to 

COM(2016) 478 and SWD(2016) 273. 
COM(2017) 312. 
Directive  2009/147/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  30 November  2009  on  the 
conservation of wild birds (OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p. 7.) 
SWD(2016) 472 final. 
Directive  2010/63/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  22  September  2010  on  the 
protection of animals used for scientific purposes (OJ L 276, 20.10.2010, p. 33). 
SWD(2017) 710. 
Regulation  (EC)  No  166/2006  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  18  January  2006 
concerning  the  establishment  of  a  European  Pollutant  Release  and  Transfer  Register  and  amending 
Council Directives 91/689/EEC and 96/61/EC (OJ L 33, 4.2.2006, p. 1).  
Directive  2010/75/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  24  November  2010  on 
industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 17).  

EN 

17 

  EN 

 
                                                 
establish  the  type,  format  and  frequency  of  information  to  be  made  available  under 
Regulation (EC) No 166/2006, and to abolish the reporting format currently laid down 
in  that  Regulation.  It  is  also  necessary  to  amend  Article  11  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
166/2006  on  confidentiality  to  ensure  greater  transparency  of  reporting  to  the 
Commission.  To  minimise  administrative  burden  on  Member  States  and  the 
Commission,  it is  further  necessary to  abolish the reporting obligations  laid  down in 
Articles 16 and 17 of Regulation (EC) No 166/2006, as these provide information that 
is of limited value or does not correspond to policy needs. 

(11)  To  improve  and  facilitate  the  access  of  the  public  to  information  on  the 
implementation  of Regulation (EU) No 995/2010  of the European Parliament and of 
the Council60, the data provided by the Member States on the implementation of that 
Regulation  should  be  made  publicly  available  by  the  Commission  through  a  Union-
wide  overview  of  this  data;  in  order  to  increase  consistency  of  information  and  to 
facilitate  the  monitoring  of  the  functioning  of  the  Regulation,  implementing  powers 
should  be  conferred  to  the  Commission  to  lay  down  the  format  and  procedure  for 
Member  States  to  make  information  available,  and  the  frequency  and  period  of 
provision of information should be aligned to that of the Council Regulation (EC) No 
2173/200561. 

(12)  Reporting  under  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  338/9762  needs  to  be  streamlined  and 
aligned with the reporting requirements under the Convention on International Trade 
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), signed at Washington, D.C., 
on  3  March  1973,  to  which  the  European  Union  and  all  of  its  Member  States  are 
parties.  The  reporting  requirements  under  CITES  were  amended  at  the  17th  CITES 
Conference  of  the  Parties  which  took  place  in  2016,  to  adjust  the  frequency  of  the 
reporting for measures on the implementation of CITES and to create a new reporting 
mechanism  on  illegal  trade  in  CITES-listed  species.  Those  changes  need  to  be 
reflected in Regulation (EC) No 338/97. 

(13)  To  improve  and  facilitate  the  access  of  the  public  to  information  on  the 
implementation  of  the  Regulation  (EC)  No  2173/2005,  the  data  provided  by  the 
Member  States  on  the  implementation  of  that  Regulation  should  be  made  publicly 
available through a Commission Union-wide overview. On the basis of the experience 
that the Commission and the Member States have gained from the first year of Forest 
Law  Enforcement,  Governance  and  Trade  licencing,  provisions  of  the  Regulation 
related  to  reporting  need  to  be  updated.  The  Commission,  in  exercising  its 
implementing  powers  to  lay  down  the  format  and  procedure  for  Member  States  to 
make  information  available,  should  be  assisted  by  the  Committee  established  in 
Article 11 of that Regulation. The provisions on evaluation of the Regulation need to 
be updated. 

(14)  The European Environment Agency (EEA) is already carrying out important tasks in 
the  monitoring  and  reporting  of  EU  environmental  legislation,  which  should  be 
explicitly introduced in the relevant legislation. For other pieces of legislation, the role 

60 

61 

62 

Regulation  (EU)  No  995/2010  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  20  October  2010 
laying  down  the  obligations  of  operators  who  place  timber  and  timber  products  on  the  market  (OJ  L 
295, 12.11.2010, p. 23). 
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2173/2005  of  20  December  2005  on  the  establishment  of  a  FLEGT 
licensing scheme for imports of timber into the European Community (OJ L 347, 30.12.2005, p. 1). 
Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species of wild fauna and 
flora by regulating trade therein (OJ L 61, 3.3.1997, p. 1).  

EN 

18 

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and resourcing of the EEA in relation to supporting the Commission in environmental 
reporting will be addressed following the finalisation of the ongoing evaluation. 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 
Amendments to Council Directive 86/278/EEC of 12 June 1986 on the protection of the 
environment, and in particular of the soil, when sewage sludge is used in agriculture 

Directive 86/278/EEC is amended as follows: 

1. 

Article 10 is replaced by the following: 

"Article 10  

1. Member  States  shall  ensure  that  publicly  available  up-to-date  records  are  kept,  which 
register: 

(a) the quantities of sludge produced and the quantities supplied for use in agriculture; 

(b) the  composition  and  properties  of  the  sludge  in  relation  to  the  parameters  referred  to  in 
Annex II A; 

(c) the type of treatment carried out, as defined in Article 2(b); 

(d) the names and addresses of the recipients of the sludge and the place where the sludge is 
to be used; 

(e) any other information with regard to the transposition and implementation of this Directive 
provided by the Member States to the Commission pursuant to Article 17. 

Spatial  data  services  as  defined  in  Article  3(4)  of  Directive  2007/2/EC  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council* shall be used to present the spatial data sets included in the 
information registered in those records. 

2. The  records  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  be  made  available  to  the  public  for  each 
calendar year, within three months of the end of the relevant calendar year, in a consolidated 
format  as  laid  down  in  the  Annex  to  Commission  Decision  94/741/EC**  or  another  format 
provided pursuant to Article 17. 

Member  States  shall  submit  to  the  Commission  the  electronic  location  of  the  information 
made publicly available under paragraph 1.  

3. Information  on the methods of treatment and the results of the analyses  shall be released 
upon request to the competent authorities. 

Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007 
the  European  Community 

* 
establishing  an  Infrastructure  for  Spatial  Information 
(INSPIRE)(OJ L 108, 25.4.2007, p. 1). 

in 

Commission Decision (94/741/EC) of 24 October 1994 concerning questionnaires for 
** 
Member  States  reports  on  the  implementation  of  certain  Directives  in  the  waste  sector 
(implementation of Council Directive 91/692/EEC)(OJ L 296, 17.11.1994, p. 42)."; 

2. 

Article 17 is replaced by the following:  

"The Commission is empowered to lay down, by means of an implementing act, a format in 
accordance with  which Member States  are to  provide  information  on the implementation of 
Directive 86/278/EEC as required by Article 10 of this Directive. That implementing act shall 
be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination  procedure  referred  to  in  Article  15(2).  The 

EN 

19 

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Commission services shall publish a Union-wide overview including maps on the basis of the 
data made available by the Member States pursuant to Articles 10 and 17.". 

Article 2 
Amendments to Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
25 June 2002 relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise 

Directive 2002/49/EC is amended as follows: 

1. 

In Article 3 the following point is added: 

‘ (x) ‘data repository’ means an information system, managed by the European Environment 
Agency,  containing  environmental  noise  information  and  data  made  available  through 
national data reporting and exchange nodes under the control of the Member States. ‘. 

2. 

Article 8(5) is replaced by the following:  

"The  action  plans  shall  be  reviewed,  and  revised  if  necessary,  when  a  major  development 
occurs affecting the existing noise situation, and at least every five years after the date of their 
approval.  

For those reviews and revisions, that in accordance with subparagraph 1 would be due to take 
place in 2023, that review and revision shall be postponed to take place no later than 18 July 
2024." 

3. 

Article 9 (1) is replaced by the following: 

‘1.  Member  States  shall  ensure  that  the  strategic  noise  maps  they  have  made,  and  where 
appropriate  adopted,  and  the  action  plans  they  have  drawn  up  are  made  available  and 
disseminated to the public in accordance with relevant EU legislation, in particular Directive 
2003/4/EC of the European  Parliament and of  the Council* and Directive 2007/2/EC of the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  **,  and  in  conformity  with  Annexes  IV  and  V  to 
Directive 2002/49/EC, including by means of available information technologies. 

Directive  2003/4/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  28  January 

* 
2003 on public access to environmental information (OJ L 41, 14.2.2003, p. 26). 

Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007 
the  European  Community 

** 
establishing  an  Infrastructure  for  Spatial  Information 
(INSPIRE)(OJ L 108, 25.4.2007, p. 1).". 

in 

4. 

Article 10(2) is replaced by the following: 

‘2.  The  Member  States  shall  ensure  that  the  information  from  strategic  noise  maps  and 
summaries of the action plans as referred to in Annex VI are sent to the Commission within 
six months of the dates laid down in Articles 7 and 8 respectively. For that purpose, Member 
States shall only report the information electronically to the data repository to be established 
in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 13(3). In case 
a  Member  State  wants  to  update  information,  it  shall  describe  the  differences  between  the 
updated  and  original  information  and  the  reasons  for  the  update  when  making  the  updated 
information available to the data repository." 

5. 

Annex VI point 3 is replaced by the following: 

‘3. Information exchange mechanism 

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20 

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"The Commission, assisted by the European Environment Agency, shall develop a mandatory 
digital  information  exchange  mechanism  to  share  the  information  from  the  strategic  noise 
maps and summaries of action plans, as referred to in Article 10 (2) in accordance with the 
regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 13(3).". 

Article 3 
Amendments to Directive 2004/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
21 April 2004 on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of 
environmental damage 

Directive 2004/35/EC is amended as follows: 

1. 

2. 

Article 14(2) is deleted; 

Article 18 is replaced by the following: 

‘Article 18 

Information on implementation and evidence base 

Member  States  shall  ensure  that  adequate  and  up-to-date  information,  at  least  on  imminent 
threats of damage is available to the public in an open data format online, in accordance with 
Annex  VI  of  this  Directive  and  with  Article  7(4)  of  Directive  2003/4/EC  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council*. For each incident, the information listed in Annex VI of this 
Directive shall be provided as a minimum. 

2.  Spatial  data  services  as  defined  in  Article  3(4)  of  Directive  2007/2/EC  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council**  shall  be  used  to  present  the  spatial  data  sets,  such  as  the 
spatial  location  of  incidents,  included  in  the  information  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  of  this 
Article. 

3. The Commission services shall publish a Union-wide overview including maps on the basis 
of the data made available by the Member States pursuant to paragraph 1. 

4. The Commission shall, at regular intervals, carry out an evaluation of this Directive. The 
evaluation shall be based, inter alia, on the following elements: 

(a) 

(b) 

the experience gathered with the implementation of this Directive;  

the spatial data sets from Member States set up in accordance with this Article and 
the related Union-wide overviews under paragraph 3.  

Directive  2003/4/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  28 January 

* 
2003 on public access to environmental information (OJ L 41, 14.2.2003, p. 26). 

Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007 
the  European  Community 

** 
establishing  an  Infrastructure  for  Spatial  Information 
(INSPIRE)(OJ L 108, 25.4.2007, p. 1).’; 

in 

3. 

Annex VI is replaced by the following:  

‘ANNEX VI 

INFORMATION AND DATA REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 18(1) 

The  information  referred  to  in  Article 18(1)  shall  refer  to  emissions,  events  or  incidents 
causing environmental damage or imminent threat of damage, with the following information 
and data for each instance: 

EN 

21 

  EN 

 
1.  scale  and  type  of  environmental  damage,  date  of  occurrence  and/or  discovery  of  the 
damage.  The  scale  of  environmental  damage  shall  be  classified  as  small,  medium,  large  or 
very large. The type of environmental damage shall be classified as damage to water, marine 
environment, soil, nature/ecosystems or damage to human health caused by pollution;  

2.  activity  which  has  caused  the  environmental  damage,  including,  where  the  damage  falls 
within the scope of this Directive, the activity classification in accordance with Annex III; 

3.  whether  and  when  liability  proceedings  were  commenced,  including  under  which  legal 
regime  (administrative,  civil,  criminal  liability),  and  in  particular  whether  such  a  liability 
proceeding was commenced under this Directive; 

4. whether and when preventive and/or remedial action was commenced, in particular whether 
such preventive and/or remedial action was commenced under this Directive; 

5.  once  available,  the  dates  when  the  proceedings  and  prevention  and/or  remedial  actions 
under points 3 and 4  were closed or finished; 

6. outcome of the remediation process, with particular regard to any primary, complementary 
and/or compensatory remediation under this Directive, where applicable; 

7. costs incurred in relation to the following:  

(a) prevention and remediation measures, which may be either of the following: 

(i) paid by or recovered from the liable party;  

(ii) unrecovered from the liable party;  

(b) precautionary measures of operators for any of the following: 

(i) financial security cover; 

(ii) environmental management or environmental safety systems; 

(iii) introduction of pollution abatement or mitigation technology; 

(c) administrative requirements of: 

(i) operators; 

(ii) competent authorities.'. 

Article 4 
Amendments to Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
14 March 2007 establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European 
Community (INSPIRE) 

Directive 2007/2/EC is amended as follows: 

1. 

(a) 

Article 21 is amended as follows: 

in paragraph 2, the introductory sentence is replaced by the following: 

"2.  No later than 31 March every year Member States shall update and publish their summary 
report.  This  report,  which  shall  be  made  public  by  the  Commission  services  assisted  by  the 
European Environment Agency, shall include summary descriptions of:"; 

(b)  

2. 

paragraph 3 is deleted; 

Article 23 is replaced by the following:  

EN 

22 

  EN 

 
‘The  European  Environment  Agency  shall  publish  and  update  annually  the  Union-wide 
overview  on  the  basis  of  metadata  and  data  made  available  by  the  Member  States  through 
network  services  in  accordance  with  Article  21.  The  Union-wide  overview  shall  include,  as 
appropriate, indicators for outputs, results and impacts of this Directive, Union-wide overview 
maps and Member State overview reports. 

The  Commission  shall,  at  regular  intervals,  carry  out  an  evaluation  of  this  Directive.  The 
evaluation shall be based, inter alia, on the following elements: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

the experience gathered with the implementation of this Directive; 

the  information  collected  by  Member  States  in  accordance  with  Article 21  and  the 
Union-wide overviews compiled by the European Environment Agency; 

relevant scientific, analytical data; 

other information including relevant scientific, analytical data required on the basis of 
the  Better  Regulation  guidelines,  in  particular  by  relying  on  efficient  and  effective 
information management processes.’. 

Article 5 
Amendments to Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds 

Article 12 of Directive 2009/147/EC is amended as follows: 

1. 

paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: 

"1. Member States shall forward to the Commission every six years, at the same time as the 
report  drawn  up  pursuant  to  Article  17  of  Council  Directive  92/43/EEC*,  a  report  on  the 
implementation  of  the  measures  taken  under  this  Directive  and  the  main  impacts  of  these 
measures. This report shall include in particular information concerning the status and trends 
of  wild  bird  species  protected  by  this  Directive,  the  threats  and  pressures  on  them,  the 
conservation  measures  taken  for  them  and  the  contribution  of  the  network  of  Special 
Protection Areas to the objectives laid out in Article 2 of this Directive."; 

*Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of 
wild fauna and flora (OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.)"; 

2. 

in paragraph 2, the first sentence is replaced by the following: 

"2. The Commission, assisted by the European Environment Agency, shall prepare every six 
years a composite report based on the information referred to in paragraph 1.”. 

Article 6 
Amendments to Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
22 September 2010 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes 

Directive 2010/63/EU is amended as follows: 

1. 

(a) 

Article 43 is amended as follows: 

paragraphs 2 and 3 are replaced by the following: 

‘2. From 1 January 2021, Member States shall require the non-technical project summary to 
specify  whether  a  project  is  to  undergo  a  retrospective  assessment  and  by  what  deadline. 

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23 

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Member  States  shall  ensure  that  the  non-technical  project  summary  is  updated  within  6 
months of the completion of the retrospective assessment with the results thereof. 

3. 
Member  States  shall,  until  31 December  2020,  publish  the  non-technical  project 
summaries  of  authorised  projects  and  any  updates  thereto.  From  1 January  2021,  Member 
States  shall  submit  and  publish  the  non-technical  project  summaries,  at  the  latest  within  6 
months of authorisation, and any updates thereto, by electronic transfer to the Commission.' 

(b) 

the following new paragraph 4 is added: 

The  Commission  shall  establish  a  common  format  for  submitting  the  information 
'4. 
referred to  in paragraphs 1 and  2 in accordance with  the regulatory procedure referred to  in 
Article 56(3). The Commission services shall establish and maintain a searchable, open access 
database on non-technical project summaries and any updates thereto.’; 

2. 

(a) 

Article 54 is amended as follows: 

the title of the Article and paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following: 

‘Information on implementation and provision of statistical data 

1. 
Member  States  shall  by  30 September  2023,  and  every  5  years  thereafter,  send  the 
information on the implementation of this Directive  and in particular Articles 10(1), 26, 28, 
34, 38, 39, 43 and 46 thereof. 

Member  States  shall  submit  and  publish  that  data,  by  electronic  transfer  in  a  format 
established by the Commission in accordance with paragraph 4. 

The Commission services shall publish a Union overview on the basis of the data submitted 
by the Member States. 

2.   Member States shall collect and make publicly available, on an annual basis, statistical 
information on the use of animals in procedures, including information on the actual severity 
of the procedures and on the origin and species of non-human primates used in procedures.  

Member States shall submit that statistical information to the Commission, at the latest by 30 
September  of  the  following  year,  by  electronic  transfer,  in  a  non-summarised  format 
established by the Commission in accordance with paragraph 4.  

The Commission shall establish and maintain a searchable, open access database containing 
that statistical information. On an annual basis, the Commission services shall make publicly 
available the statistical information submitted by the Member States in accordance with this 
paragraph and a summary report thereof." 

(b) 

paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:  

"4.  
The  Commission  shall  establish  a  common  format  and  information  content  for 
submitting  the  information  referred  to  in  paragraphs  1,  2  and  3  in  accordance  with  the 
regulatory procedure referred to in Article 56(3)."; 

3. 

Article 57 is deleted. 

Article 7 
Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 18 January 2006 concerning the establishment of a European Pollutant Release and 
Transfer Register and amending Council Directives 91/689/EEC and 96/61/EC 

Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 is amended as follows: 

1. 

in Article 5(1), the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

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24 

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‘The operator of each facility that undertakes one or more of the activities specified in Annex 
I, above the applicable capacity thresholds specified therein, shall communicate by electronic 
means  to  its  competent  authority  the  information  identifying  the  facility  in  accordance  with 
the  format  referred  to  in  Article 7(2)  unless  that  information  is  already  available  to  the 
competent authority.’; 

2. 

Article 7(2) and (3) are replaced by the following: 

2. Member States shall provide, each year, to the Commission by electronic transfer a report 
containing  all  the  data  referred  to  in  Article  5(1)  and  (2)  in  a  format  and  by  a  date  to  be 
established  by  the  Commission  by  means  of  implementing  acts  in  accordance  with  the 
procedure referred to in Article 19(2). The reporting date shall be, in any case, no later than 9 
months after the end of the reporting year.  

3. The Commission services, assisted by the European Environment Agency, shall incorporate 
the  information  reported  by  the  Member  States  into  the  European  PRTR  within  2  months 
from completion of reporting by the Member States in accordance with paragraph 2."; 

3. 

Article 11 is replaced by the following: 

Article 11 

Confidentiality 

Whenever  information  is  considered  confidential  by  a  Member  State  in  accordance  with 
Article 4 of Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament  and of the Council⃰, the report 
referred  to  in  Article  7(2)  of  this  Regulation  for  the  reporting  year  concerned  shall  indicate 
separately  for  each  facility  which information  cannot  be  made  public and  why.  That  reason 
shall be made public.  

⃰ Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on 
public access to environmental information (OJ L 41, 14.2.2003, p. 26)."; 

4. 

5. 

Articles 16 and 17 are deleted; 

Annex III is deleted. 

Article 8 
Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 20 October 2010 laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber 
products on the market 

In Article 20, the title and paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) are replaced by the following: 

"Article 20 

Monitoring of implementation and access to information 

1. Member States shall make available to the public and the Commission, by 30 April of each 
year information on the application of this Regulation during the previous calendar year. The 
Commission  may  establish,  by  means  of  implementing  acts,  the  format  and  procedure  for 
Member States to make available such information. Those implementing acts shall be adopted 
in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 18(2). 

2. Based on the information referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission services shall make 
publicly  available,  on  an  annual  basis,  a  Union-wide  overview  on  the  basis  of  the  data 
submitted  by  the  Member  States.  In  preparing  the  overview,  the  Commission  services  shall 
have  regard  to  the  progress  made  in  respect  of  the  conclusion  and  operation  of  the  FLEGT 
VPAs  pursuant  to  Regulation  (EC)  No  2173/2005  and  their  contribution  to  minimising  the 

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25 

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presence  of  illegally  harvested  timber  and  timber  products  derived  from  such  timber  on  the 
internal market. 

3. By 3 December 2015 and every six years thereafter, the Commission shall, on the basis of 
information on and experience with the application of this Regulation, review the functioning 
and  effectiveness  of  this  Regulation,  including  in  preventing  illegally  harvested  timber  or 
timber  products  derived  from  such  timber  being  placed  on  the  market.  It  shall  in  particular 
consider the administrative consequences for small and medium-sized enterprises and product 
coverage. The Commission shall report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the 
results  of  the  review  and  accompany  such  reports,  if  necessary,  by  appropriate  legislative 
proposals." 

Article 9 
Amendments to Council Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 of 20 December 2005 on the 
establishment of a FLEGT licensing scheme for imports of timber into the European 
Community 

Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 is amended as follows: 

1. 

Article 8 is replaced by the following: 

"Article 8 

1. Member States shall make available to the public and the Commission, by 30 April of each 
year, information on the application of this Regulation during the previous calendar year. 

2.  The  Commission  may  establish,  by  means  of  implementing  acts,  the  format  and  the 
procedure  for  Member  States  to  make  available  the  information  referred  to  in  paragraph  1. 
Those  implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination  procedure 
referred to in Article 11(3). 

3. Based on the information referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission services shall make 
publicly  available,  on  an  annual  basis,  a  Union-wide  overview  on  the  basis  of  the  data 
submitted by the Member States.  

2. 

Article 9 is replaced by the following: 

 “Article 9 

By  December  2021  and  every  6  years  thereafter,  the  Commission  shall,  on  the  basis  of 
information on and experience with the application of this Regulation, review the functioning 
and effectiveness of this Regulation. In doing so it should take into account the progress on 
implementation of the voluntary Partnership Agreements. The Commission shall report to the 
European  Parliament  and  to  the  Council  on  the  result  of  the  review  and  accompany  such 
reports where appropriate, by proposals for improvement of the FLEGT licensing scheme." 

Article 10 
Amendments to Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of 
species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein 

Article 15(4) of Regulation (EC) No 338/97 is amended as follows: 

1. 

points (b), (c) and (d) are replaced by the following: 

"(b)  On  the  basis  of  the  data  submitted  by  the  Member  States  referred  to  in  point  (a),  the 
Commission  services  shall  make  publicly  available,  before  31  October  each  year  a  Union-
wide  overview  on  the  introduction  into,  and  the  export  and  re-  export  from,  the  Union  of 

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specimens of the species to which this Regulation applies and shall forward to the Convention 
Secretariat information on the species to which the Convention applies. 

(c) Without prejudice to Article 20, the management authorities of the Member States shall, 
one  year  before  each  meeting  of  the  Conference  of  the  Parties  to  the  Convention, 
communicate to the Commission all the information relating to the relevant preceding period  
required  for  drawing  up  the  reports  referred  to  in  Article  VIII.7  (b)  of  the  Convention  and 
equivalent information on the provisions of this Regulation that fall outside the scope of the 
Convention. The information to be communicated and the format for its presentation shall be 
specified  by  the  Commission  in  accordance  with  the  regulatory  procedure  referred  to  in 
Article 18(2). 

(d) On the basis of the of the data submitted by the Member States referred to in point (c), the 
Commission shall make publicly available a Union-wide overview on the implementation and 
enforcement of this Regulation."; 

2. 

the following new point (e) is added: 

"(e) The management authorities of the Member States shall communicate to the Commission 
before 15 April each year all the information relating to the preceding year for drawing up the 
annual illegal trade report referred to in CITES Resolution Conf. 11.17 (rev. CoP17).". 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  the    day  following  that  of  its  publication  in  the 
Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from XXX. 

Article 11 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

EN 

27 

  EN