The European
Parliament adopted by 606 votes to 27, with 34 abstentions,
amendments to the 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.
The matter was referred back to the committee
responsible for interinstitutional negotiations.
As a reminder, the proposed Regulation seeks to
streamline the alignment of reporting obligations of the
environment-related legislation, updating specific provisions of 10
sectoral directives and regulations.
Purpose: Members considered that the
Regulation should aim to modernise information management
and ensure a more consistent approach to the legislative acts
within its scope by simplifying reporting so as to reduce the
administrative burden (notably for SMEs), enhancing the database
for future evaluations, and increasing transparency for the benefit
of the public, each time in accordance with the
circumstances.
They stressed the need for a process of timely
and comprehensive reporting of relevant information by Member
States that can be used by decision-makers and the general
public.
The proposed amendments aim in particular
to:
- offer a more transparent access to clear
environmental information for various stakeholders, including
the public, and contribute inter alia to priority objective 4 of
the 7th Environment Action Programme. For example, the Commission
shall continue to carry out at regular intervals the evaluation of
Directive 2007/2/EC establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial
Information in the European Community (INSPIRE) and make this
evaluation available to the public. Comprehensive, accurate and
comparable information shall be made public with regard to the
assessment of Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council relating to the assessment and management of
environmental noise;
- clarify the definitions of various terms in the
basic acts covered by the proposal or detailing certain terms, for
example by introducing the new definition of 'spatial data
services';
-
strengthen the role of
co-legislators, including the
European Parliament, and clarify the role of the European
Environment Agency in the overall reporting and monitoring
exercise;
- introduce in Directive 2010/63/EC (animals used for
scientific purposes) a requirement for the Commission not only to
publish but also to regularly provide update on a Union overview
based on the data submitted by the Member States;
- impose a clear deadline on Member States (by 31 March
each year) for the communication to the Commission, by electronic
transfer, of all the required data specified in Regulation (EC) No
166/2006 (European Pollutant Release and Transfer
Register);
- reduce the reference period for Commission reports
from six to five years for Regulation (EC) No 995/2010 (the Timber
Regulation) so as to allow Parliament to examine Commission reports
and possible legislative proposals during each parliamentary
term.
Delegated acts: according to the amended text,
the Commission may:
- adopt a delegated act to amend Annex VI to Directive
2004/35/EC on environmental liability (ERD) as regards the detailed
criteria to be applied for the classification of the scale and
type of environmental damage;
- adopt delegated acts to complement Directive
2002/49/EC as regards the setting up of the mandatory data
repository and the detailed rules of the digital information
exchange mechanism to share the information from the strategic
noise maps and summaries of action plans. The delegation of
power shall be granted to the Commission for a period of five years
from the date of entry into force of this Regulation.