The Committee adopted the report by Mr David Bowe (PSE, UK) on integrated pollution prevention and control. This report called for a register of emissions to be kept for certain installations and categories of installation. The register would help disseminate the standards and techniques which applied within the EU and would also help Member States implement the Directive. Member States were to ensure that none of the existing installations remained in operation after 30 June 2005 without a permit issued in accordance with the Directive. The limit values for emissions should be set by Community legislation with the aim of ensuring that environmental standards were not breached. Where an environmental quality standard required stricter conditions than those which could be achieved by the use of "the best available technique" method, additional measures should be provided for in the operating permit. The report also stressed that the Directive should not prevent Member States from maintaining or introducing stricter protection criteria.
Member States should retain the freedom to define areas which were particularly polluted or which required special protection and should be able to prohibit the construction of certain installations in these areas, or at least impose stricter criteria on them.
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