94/808/EC: Council Decision of 15 December 1994 adopting a 4-year development programme (1994-1997) relating to the environmental component of Community statistics

COUNCIL DECISION of 15 December 1994 adopting a 4-year development programme (1994-1997) relating to the environmental component of Community statistics (94/808/EC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 130s, paragraph 1, thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),
Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 189c of the Treaty (3),
Whereas the fifth Community environmental action programme, 'Towards sustainability', of which the general approach and strategy were approved in the Resolution of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting  within the Council of 1 February 1993 on a Community programme of policy and action in relation to the environment and sustainable development (4), requires a high level of priority to be assigned, inter alia, to 'exploiting and strengthening the  experiences and capacities of the European statistical system to deliver environmentally relevant statistics on a regular basis, which will be comparable to and linked to the traditional official statistics in the economic and social fields';
Whereas environment statistics form part of the framework programme for priority actions in the field of statistical information 1993-97 adopted by the Council in Decision 93/464/EEC (5); whereas Article 4 of that Decision foresees the need for further  specific implementing actions to be decided by the Council; whereas the present development programme for environment statistics is such an action;
Whereas there is a clear need for integrated quantitative information on the relationship between the environment on the one hand and the socio-economic activities and policies on the other hand;
Whereas it is essential for developments in official environmental statistics to be coordinated in order to contribute to meeting the main international, Community and national needs at minimum public and private cost, and that this can most  conveniently be done within the established procedures of cooperation between the Commission, the statistical services of international organizations and those of the Member States; whereas it is therefore appropriate to adopt a four-year programme to  ensure this coordinated development;
Wheras important work on the methodology and collection of environmental data is carried out by the statistical services of international organizations, in particular the United Nations' Statistical Office, the Conference of European Statisticians and  the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; whereas the present programme should take account of this work;
Whereas the programme will be coordinated with the European Environment Agency, as provided for in Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 of 7 May 1990 on the establishment of the European Environment Agency and the European environment information and  observation network (6), and on the basis of a joint agreement;
Whereas a defined programme for developing the environmental component of official statistics and incorporating mechanisms for ensuring an input of the European Environment Agency into the determination of the programme will facilitate this cooperation;
Whereas the Management Board of the European Environment Agency has been consulted on the general lines of the proposals for the present programme;
Whereas the Commission shall be assisted by the Committee on the Statistical Programme of the European Communities established by the Council in Decision 89/382/EEC (7) in taking the measures necessary for the execution of the present programme;
Whereas it is necessary to keep the European Parliament and the Council informed of progress on this programme to develop and consolidate the environmental component of official statistics,