24.1.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 18/5
II
(Preparatory Acts)
COMMISSION
Proposal for a Council Regulation on action by the Community relating to the environment
COM(86) 729 Final
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 30 December 1986)
(87/C 18/05)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community, and in particular Article 235
thereof (*),
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-
liament,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,
Whereas, pursuant to Article 2 of the Treaty, the
Community has as its task inter alia to promote
throughout the Community a harmonious development
of economic activities, continuous and balanced
expansion and an increase in stability;
Whereas the Single European Act states that action by
the Community relating to the environment shall have as
its objective to preserve, protect and improve the quality
of the environment, to contribute towards protecting
human health, and to ensure a prudent and rational
utilization of natural resources;
Whereas in its declaration of 22 November 1973 (') the
Council adopted an action programme of the European
Communities on the environment which was continued
and extended on 17 May 1977 (2); whereas, in their
resolution of 7 February 1983, the Council and the
representatives of the Governments of the Member States
meeting within the Council approved the general
guidelines of an action programme of the European
Communities on the environment (1982 to 1986) (3);
Whereas, in order to ensure that the objectives
formulated in this action programme are fully realized, it
is necessary that the Community should contribute
financially towards the carrying out of certain specific
measures;
(*) If the Regulation is adopted after the entry into force of the
Single European Act the legal basis should be changed to
Article 130 S.
(') OJNoC 112,20. 12. 1973, p. 1.
O O J N o C 139, 13.6. 1977, p. 1.
(3) O J N o C 46, 17. 2. 1983, p. 1.
Whereas the development of clean technologies is a
particularly appropriate way of ensuring a preventive
reduction in pollution and a more careful use of natural
resources in the most economically sensible fashion;
Whereas the development of techniques for recycling
and reusing waste is necessary for better management of
waste and/or natural resources;
Whereas a contribution should be made to the
development of techniques for locating and restoring
sites contaminated by hazardous wastes and/or
hazardous substances;
Whereas the development of clean technologies and of
improved techniques for the recycling of waste and for
the restoration of contaminated sites is likely to have a
positive effect on innovation and employment and to be
of particular importance for small and medium sized
enterprises;
Whereas experience has shown that it is necessary to
encourage the development of new techniques and
methods for measuring and monitoring the quality of the
natural environment;
Whereas more use should be made of certain results of
the Community research and development programmes
relating to the environment and raw materials;
Whereas it is important that the Community should be
able to make a contribution towards the protection,
maintenance and re-establishment of areas of particular
Community-wide importance for the conservation of
nature and especially seriously threatened biotopes which
are the habitat of endangered species;
Whereas it is necessary for the Community to be able to
participate in the implementation of conservation
programmes, particularly on populations of species in
danger of extinction in the Community;
Whereas it is necessary that the Community should,
within the limits of the budget funds available, grant
financial support for projects relating to clean
technologies, to techniques for recycling and reusing
No C 18/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 24.1.87
waste, to techniques for locating and restoring sites
contaminated by hazardous wastes and/or hazardous
substances, to techniques and methods for measuring
and monitoring the quality of the natural environment,
to schemes of importance for the conservation of nature
and the conservation of species in danger of extinction in
the Community;
"Whereas an Advisory Committee should be set up to
assist the Commission in implementing this Regulation
and in particular in selecting the projects for which
financial support may be granted;
Whereas application of Council Regulation (EEC) No
1872/84 (') has demonstrated the benefits of a
Community system to support action relating to the
environment and the practicability of the procedures
introduced under that Regulation;
Whereas the said Regulation should therefore be
replaced, taking account of new requirements;
Whereas the Treaty does not provide the necessary
powers (**),
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. The Community may grant financial support for: .
(a) demonstration projects aimed at developing new
clean technologies, i.e. technologies which cause
little or no pollution and which may also be more
economical in the use of natural resources;
(b) demonstration projects aimed at developing
techniques for recycling and reusing waste;
(c) demonstration projects aimed at developing
techniques for locating and restoring sites
contaminated by hazardous wastes and/or hazardous
substances;
(d) demonstration projects aimed at developing new
techniques and methods for measuring and
monitoring the quality of the natural environment;
(e) projects providing an incentive and aimed at contri-
buting towards the protection, maintenance or re-
establishment of areas of particular Community-wide
importance for the conservation of nature and
especially of seriously threatened biotopes which are
the habitat of endangered species and are of
importance to the Community;
(«) OJNoL 176, 3.7. 1984, p. 1.
(**) This whereas should be removed if the legal basis is
changed to Article 130 S.
(f) projects providing an incentive and aimed at
implementing programmes on the conservation or
restoration of populations of species in danger of
extinction in the Community.
Projects covered by (a), (b), (c) and (d) which are
eligible for financial support under other Community
instruments of a structural nature shall be excluded.
2. The necessary appropriations shall be entered
annually in the statement of expenditure in the budget of
the European Communities.
3. The financial support may:
(i) be not more than 30 % of the cost of the projects
referred to in paragraph 1 (a) and (b) and not more
than 50 % of the cost of the projects referred to in
paragraph 1 (c) and (d); and normally not more than
50 % of the cost of the projects referred to in
paragraph 1 (e) and (f);
(ii) be over 50 % in exceptional cases where Community
financial support of 50 % would be insufficient for
projects referred to in paragraph 1 (e) or (f)
concerning the habitat or populations of species
threatened with extinction in the Community; for
projects referred to in paragraph 1 (e) Community
financial support shall be not more than 75 %.
Article 2
1. To be eligible for financial support, a project must
be of interest to the Community and in terms of
protection of the environment and/or the management
of natural resources.
2. The projects referred to in Article 1 (1) (a), (b) and
(c) must:
— implement innovatory technologies or procedures for
which the research phase may be considered
completed but which are still untested or not yet in
existence in the Community,
— by their demonstration value, be such as to
encourage the creation of other installations or the
application of processes of the same type which are
capable of noticeably reducing adverse effects on the
environment,
— first and foremost concern installations or procedures
which:
— because of the large amounts or the particularly
dangerous nature of their emissions seriously
harm the environment, or
— make it possible to recycle or reuse waste of a
nature posing serious environmental problems or
— make it possible to locate and/or restore sites
contaminated by wastes and/or substances
hazardous to human beings and the environment.
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3. The projects referred to in Article 1 (1) (d) must
cover first and foremost the major air, water and soil
pollutants and contribute towards harmonization of
methods of measurement and the compatibility of
measurement results obtained within the Community.
4. Financial support for the projects referred to in
Article 1 (1) (e) shall be commensurate with the
importance of the area to the Community and with the
urgency of the need for the financial support in question.
5. Financial support for the projects referred to in
Article 1 (1) (f) shall be commensurate with the urgency
of the need to implement the programme and of the
need for Community financial support.
Article 3
1. Applications for financial support for projects
covered by Article 1 (1) (a), (b), (c) and (d) that have
been drawn up in response to an invitation to submit
projects prepared by the Commission and published in
the Official Journal of the European Communities shall be
sent to the Commission, with copies to the competent
authorities of the Member State concerned.
2. Applications for financial support for the projects
referred to in Article 1 (1) (e) shall be sent to the
Commission by the Member States and contain the
information specified in Annex I.
3. Applications for financial support for the projects
referred to in Article 1 (1) (f) shall be sent to the
Commission by the Member States and shall contain the
information specified in Annex II.
In cases where urgent action is needed to safeguard
endangered species the Commission may study projects
of the type referred to in Article 1 (1) (f) on its own
initiative.
Article 4
1. An Advisory Committee consisting of represen-
tatives of the Member States and chaired by a
Commission representative is hereby set up. The
Committee shall draw up its rules of procedure.
2. The Commission shall consult the Advisory
Committee on, inter alia:
(i) the general conditions governing submission of the
applications for financial support referred to in
Article 3;
(ii) preparation of the invitations to submit projects
referred to in Article 3 (1);
(iii) any additional criteria to be applied in selecting
projects for which applications for financial support
have been submitted;
(iv) the choice of projects for which financial support is
to be granted in accordance with Article 5;
(v) the levels of financial support to be granted to
projects;
(vi) the arrangements for disseminating the results.
3. The Committee shall deliberate on requests for its
opinion from the Commission. When the Commission
makes the request it may set a time limit within which
the Committee should give it the opinion. No vote shall
be taken at the end of the Committee's deliberations.
However, each Committee member may ask for his
opinion to be recorded in the minutes.
Article 5
1. The Commission shall decide whether to grant or
refuse financial support for projects after consulting the
Advisory Committee referred to in Article 4.
2. Where appropriate the Commission shall negotiate
and conclude the necessary contracts.
Article 6
Financial support may be granted to the natural persons,
or the legal persons constituted in accordance with the
law of the Member States, who are responsible for the
project.
If the creation of a legal entity for the purpose of
carrying out a project involves additional costs for the
participating undertakings, the project may be carried
out simply by cooperation between natural or legal
persons. In that case, responsibility for complying with
the obligations resulting from Community support must
be specified in the contract to be concluded with the
Commission.
Article 7
Recipients of Community financial support shall send the
Commission, each year or at its request, a report on the
fulfilment of the obligations towards the Commission,
and in particular on the progress of work on the project
and the expenditure incurred in carrying it out.
Article 8
The benefits granted by the Community must not affect
conditions of competition in a manner incompatible with
the principles embodied in the relevant provisions of the
Treaty.
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Article 9
In the event of commercial exploitation of the results of
a project, the Community may request repayment of its
financial contribution in accordance with arrangements
to be laid down in the contract.
Article 10
A list of the measures for which Community financial
support has been granted shall be published each year in
the Official Journal of the European Communities.
Article 11
Every three years the Commission shall submit a report
on the implementation of this Regulation to the
European Parliament and the Council.
Article 12
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day
following its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
directly applicable in all Member States.
ANNEX I
List of the particulars to be provided under Article 3 (2)
The location of the site in question and, where necessary, a map showing the boundaries of the area
covered by the project,
the importance of the site to the Community for the conservation of nature and, in appropriate cases,
the degree of the risk to the biotopes and species concerned,
the nature and extent of the problems which the project is intended to solve, and in particular the
nature and extent of the threat,
a detailed description of the project, and in particular of the organization of its management and of the
results expected,
the timetable for carrying out the project,
the cost of the project, its viability and the financing arrangements proposed,
the extent to which the Community financial support is urgently needed in order to implement the
project,
any other evidence supporting the application,
the protection provided for the site in question at present and the protection planned,
the proposed method of disseminating the results of the project.
ANNEX II
List of particulars to be provided under Article 3 (3)
The situation as regards conservation of the endangered species, and in particular the degree and
immediacy of the threat of extinction,
detailed description of the project, and in particular of the organization of its management and of the
results expected,
the timetable for carrying out the project,
the cost of the project and the financing arrangements proposed,
the extent to which Community financial support is urgently needed in order to carry out the project,
any other evidence supporting the application,
the proposed method of disseminating the results of the project.
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