At first reading under cooperation procedure, the European Parliament adopted the report by Ria G.H.C. Oomen-Ruijten (PPE,NL), which approves the Commission proposal for a Council directive amending directive 88/609/EEC on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants, subject to amendments, notably in the following areas:
- noting the long-term aim, expressed in the Commission's recent communication on a Community strategy to combat acidification, of a reduction in emissions of SO2 and NOx sufficient to bring residues and concentrations down to levels below the critical loads and levels;
- recalling that limit values for sulphur emissions and content are laid down in Annex V of the 1994 Oslo Protocol to the 1979 Geneva Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution;
- recalling that the Commission is requested to put forward, before the end of 2000, specific proposals for EU-wide economic instruments for reducing emissions of SO2 and NOx in the most cost-effective way and proposing that any taxes or charges proposed will be minimum requirements, leaving the Member States the full freedom to set higher taxes or charges, if they so wish;
- removing the Commission's proposal that technical apparatus used in the propulsion of a vehicle, ship or aircraft and gas turbines used on an offshore platform should be exempted from the directive;
- allowing Member States to provide that new plants having a rated thermal input of between 50 MW and 100 MW and licensed before the deadline for incorporation of directive 94/66/EC into national law shall be obliged to comply with the emission limit values for SO2 by no later than one year after that deadline;
- setting new emission limit values for SO2 (for solid fuels, liquid fuels and gaseous fuels) and NOx to be applied by 01/01/2005 by all plants granted a licence before 01/01/2000, including those plants granted an operating licence before 01/07/87;
- providing that, before 01/07/2007, the Commission shall submit proposals for the revision of the limit values applicable;
- deleting the Kingdom of Spain's derogation, until 31/12/99, from the directive's emission limit values for SO2 for new plants;
- a lowering of certain emission limit values (in relation to those proposed by the Commission) with regard to SO2 and NOx for plants for which the licence is granted on or after 01/01/2000;
- requiring Member States to take appropriate steps to disseminate up-to-date information on total national as well as plant-by-plant total annual emissions of SO2 and NOx to the public by various means, including notification of appropriate organisations;
- providing that a list of the organisations notified be sent to the Commission at the same time as information on determination of total annual emissions of new plants, as detailed in the directive.�