European environmental economic accounts: new modules

PURPOSE: to ensure the international comparability of environmental economic accounts modules.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) No 538/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts.

CONTENT: the new Regulation extends the scope of the current legislation by introducing new modules on environmental economic accounts, that is:

·        a module relating to Environmental Protection Expenditure accounts,

·        a module relating to Environmental Goods and Services Sector accounts,

·        a module relating to physical energy flow accounts.

The new modules should contribute directly to the Union's policy priorities of green growth and resource efficiency, by providing important information on indicators such as market output and employment in the EGSS, national environmental protection expenditure and the use of energy.

Delegated powers: in order to take into account technical and scientific progress and supplement the provisions on energy accounts, the power to adopt acts in respect of the specification of the list of energy products referred to in Section 3 of Annex VI as contained in the Annex to this Regulation.

Such delegated acts shall not impose a significant additional burden on the Member States or on the respondents. When preparing the delegated acts, the Commission should proceed to appropriate consultations and ensure that relevant documents are transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council.

The power to adopt the delegated acts shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 11 August 2011 and may tacitly be extended for periods of an identical time. The European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act within a period of two months from the date of notification (this period can be extended for two months). If the European Parliament or the Council make objections, the delegated act will not enter into force.

Implementing powers: in order to facilitate a uniform application of Annex V, the Commission should establish, by 31 December 2015, by implementing acts, an indicative compendium of environmental goods and services and of the economic activities to be covered by this Annex, based on the following categories: environmental specific services, environmental sole purpose products (connected products), adapted goods and environmental technologies.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 16.06.2014.