EU ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION

EU environmental policies and legislation protect natural habitats, keep air and water clean, ensure proper waste disposal, improve knowledge about toxic chemicals and help businesses move toward a sustainable economy.

The following is a list of EU Environment and Climate Change related legislation documents and weblinks that are currently available on Lean Business Ireland.

European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR)
Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 January 2006 concerning the establishment of a European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register and amending Council Directives 91/689/EEC and 96/61/EC

This Regulation sets up a European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) in the form of a publicly accessible electronic database. This database will meet the requirements of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers, signed by the EU in May 2003.

This register is available to the public free of charge on the internet. The information it contains can be searched using various search criteria (type of pollutant, geographical location, affected environment, source facility, etc.)

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European Statistics – European environmental economic accounts
Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2011 on European environmental economic accounts

The goal of this regulation is to make it easier to compare environmental economic accounts across EU countries, calling on environment-related data that is understandable and accessible.

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European Statistics – Waste statistics
Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2002 on waste statistics
  • This European Union (EU) law permits the gathering of regular and comparable data on waste in EU countries and their transmission to Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office.
  • The statistics collected allow EU waste policy implementation to be monitored and evaluated.
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European Union forest action plan
Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on an EU Forest Action Plan

The action plan provides a coherent framework for forest-related initiatives at European Union level. It also serves as an instrument for coordinating European initiatives with the Member States’ forest policies. The plan proposes 18 key actions which will be implemented over five years (2007-2011).

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European Union Strategy for the Danube Region
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS European Union Strategy for Danube Region

Following a request from the European Council, the Commission presents a strategy aimed at developing the Danube Region in a coherent and sustainable way. Emphasis is placed on mobility, energy, innovation, the environment, risk management and security.

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Export and storage of mercury
Regulation (EC) No 1102/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2008 on the banning of exports of metallic mercury and certain mercury compounds and mixtures and the safe storage of metallic mercury

The European Union (EU) shall ban all exports of metallic mercury and certain mercury compounds and mixtures from 15 March 2011. With the entry into force of this ban, Member States must guarantee the safe storage of this metal used in or produced by certain industrial activities.

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Exports of genetically modified organisms to non-EU countries
Regulation (EC) No 1946/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2003 on transboundary movements of genetically modified organisms
It seeks to implement certain points of the Cartagena Protocol on preventing biotechnological risks. This is because some genetically modified organisms (GMOs) may have adverse effects on the environment and human health.
To ensure an adequate level of protection, it creates a system for notifying and exchanging information on the export of GMOs to non-EU countries.
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External policies – Environmental integration in external relations [Archived]
Council strategy of 11 March 2002 at the European Council in Barcelona on environmental integration in the external policies of the General Affairs Council.

The European strategy on environmental integration in external relations defines a coherent framework of principles to improve environmental protection at international level. These principles concern the political dialogue with third countries, cross-cutting issues, trade policy and international governance.

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