Introductory text

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 175 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee^f1,

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty^f2,

Whereas:

Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 of 7 May 1990 on the establishment of the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation Network^f3 has been substantially amended several times^f4. In the interests of clarity and rationality the said Regulation should be codified.

The Treaty provides for the development and implementation of a Community policy on the environment, and lays down the objectives and principles which should govern such policy.

Environmental protection requirements are to be a component of the Community’s other policies.

According to Article 174 of the Treaty, in preparing its action relating to the environment the Community is to take account, inter alia, of the available scientific and technical data.

Collection, processing and analysis of environmental data at European level are necessary in order to provide objective, reliable and comparable information which will enable the Community and the Member States to take the requisite measures to protect the environment, to assess the results of such measures and to ensure that the public is properly informed about the state of the environment.

There already exist in the Community and the Member States facilities providing such information and services.

They should form the basis for the European Environment Information and Observation Network to be coordinated at Community level by the European Environment Agency.

The general principles and limits governing the exercise of the right of access to documents, provided for in Article 255 of the Treaty, have been laid down by Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents^f5.

The Agency should cooperate with existing structures at Community level to enable the Commission to ensure full application of Community legislation on the environment.

The status and structure of the Agency should correspond to the objective character of the results it is intended to produce and allow it to carry out its functions in close cooperation with the existing national and international facilities.

The Agency should be granted legal autonomy while maintaining close links with the Community institutions and the Member States.

It is desirable to provide for the Agency to be open to other countries which share the concern of the Community and the Member States for the objectives of the Agency under agreements to be concluded between them and the Community,

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