Environment policy: alignment of reporting obligations

2018/0205(COD)

PURPOSE: to align the EU reporting obligations in the field of environment policy.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: in June 2017, the Commission published a comprehensive fitness check evaluation on reporting and monitoring of EU environment policy and drew up an action plan. This evaluation covered 181 reporting obligations found in 58 pieces of EU environmental legislation.

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:

  • Directive 2002/49/EC (Environment Noise Directive);
  • Directive 2004/35/EC (Environment Liability Directive - ELD);
  • Directive 2007/2/EC (INSPIRE Directive) - Infrastructure for spatial information;
  • Directives 2009/147/EC and 92/43/EEC (i.e. Birds and Habitats Directive);
  • Directive 2010/63/EC (Animal Testing Directive);
  • Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 (European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register Regulation (E-PRTR));
  • Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 (Timber Regulation);
  • Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 (CITES);
  • Council Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 (FLEGT Regulation).

Issues addressed in the proposal are as follows:

  • 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.

CONTENT: this proposal for revision of several existing legislative acts falls under the Commission’s Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT). The objectives of this ‘alignment’ proposal are: (i) to improve the evidence base for the implementation of EU environmental policy; (ii) to increase transparency for the public and; (iii) to simplify reporting in order to reduce the administrative burden.

The proposal has been developed with a view to ensuring a coherent approach across the different legislative acts, as appropriate:

  • improving transparency and subsidiarity (in 8 legal acts);
  • aligning the timing of reporting (in 3 legal acts);
  • clarifying the role that the Commission and, in some cases, the European Environment Agency plays in the reporting processes (in 8 legal acts);
  • providing factual data for future evaluations (in 5 legal acts).