A four-year programme (EEC) to develop regular official statistics of the environment, 1994-1996

Developing environment statistics forms part of the statistical programme of the European Communities (1989-1992) laid down by Council Resolution of 19 June 1989 (Official Journal No C 161 of 28.6.1989). The fifth action programme on the environment of the European Communities (1993-2000), adopted on 1 February 1993 (Official Journal No C 138 of 17.5.1993) has as its basis the principles of sustainable development, preventive and precautionary action and shared responsibility as set out in the Declaration of the Heads of State and Government of the Community, 26 June 1990, and in the new Treaty on European Union, which has as a principle objective the promotion of sustainable growth respecting the environment (Article 2) and specifies that the environment policy must aim at a high level of protection and must be integrated into the definition and implementation of other Community policies. The policy is required to contribute to promoting measures at international level to deal with regional or worldwide environmental problems. The fourth environmental action programme of the European Communities (1987- 1992) had stated that the environmental component of the statistical programme was to be reinforced with a view to complementing the information produced under the CORINE programme (1985-1990).

Together with the information provided by the European Environment Agency, which will incorporate that supplied by CORINE, this programme is designed to meet the Community's needs in respect of environmental policy and its connections with other Community policies. It will take account of work on environment statistics carried out by other Community bodies and by international organizations. It will contribute to the preparation of the appropriate Commission legislation governing the furnishing of data by Member States and will include:
- Methodological and conceptual studies;
- Practical studies;
- Pilot surveys;
- Concertation;
- Data collection;
- Dissemination;
- Concretization in Community legal instruments.
To provide regular series of key environmental information which will be integrated with official statistics and which will be available to all Member States by the end of 1995.
Priority areas:

- Economic statistics of current expenditure and investment for environmental protection;

- Data collection in collaboration with OECD and ECE/UNO;

- Statistics of the management of waste and dangerous products;

- Statistics of the quality and management of water;

- Linkage of transport statistics to environment statistics (including transport of dangerous goods and waste);

- Linkage of energy statistics to environment statistics;

- Integration of environmental statistics in industrial surveys (definition of environment industries);

- Integration of environmental statistics in agricultural and forestry surveys;

- Linkage of environment with other statistics through land information (collection of space related data).
The programme will be implemented by the Commission and the official statistical services of the Member States assisted by the Committee on the Statistical Programmes of the European Communities as established by Council Decision 80/382/EEC. Pending the setting up of the European Environment Agency and in order that the programme may be carried through, coordination shall be handled by the Commission. The Commission will call on the personnel involved in the CORINE programme, and currently employed in the task force devoted to the European Environment Agency, in order to utilize the CORINE source of information until this is integrated and continued under the aegis of the European Environment Agency. The statistical programme shall be coordinated with the activities of the Agency in the six months following its establishment.

The Commission shall make a progress report to the Council and the European Parliament not later than December 1994 and a further report on completion of the programme.