Protection of Environment in the EU

The EU has some of the world’s highest environmental standards. Environment policy helps green the EU economy, protect nature, and safeguard the health and quality of life of people living in the EU.
 

Green growth:

Protecting the environment and maintaining a competitive EU presence on the global market can go hand in hand, and environment policy can play a key role in creating jobs and stimulating investment. ‘Green growth’ entails developing integrated policies that promote a sustainable environmental framework. Environmental innovations can be implemented and exported, making Europe more competitive and improving people’s quality of life. Fairness is paramount in all this.
 

Protecting nature:

Nature is our life support system, so we need to look after it. We share resources like water, air, natural habitats and the species they support, and we also share environmental standards to protect them.
Europe is working to safeguard these natural resources and halt the decline of endangered species and habitats. Natura 2000 is a network of 26,000 protected natural areas, covering almost 20% of the EU’s land mass, where sustainable human activities can coexist with rare and vulnerable species and habitats.
 

Safeguarding the health and wellbeing of people living in the EU:

Water, air pollution and chemicals are among people’s top environmental concerns. To safeguard people from environment-related pressures and risks to health and wellbeing, EU policy aims to:

• guarantee safe drinking and bathing water,
• improve air qualityand reduce noise,
• reduce or eliminate the effects of harmful chemicals.

Global challenges:

As the world population continues to expand, with ever-greater numbers of city-dwellers, global environmental challenges become more pressing. More action is needed to ensure that:

• air, oceans and other water resources are kept clean and secure,
• land and ecosystems are used sustainably,
• climate change is kept to manageable levels.

As a global actor, the EU plays a key role in international efforts to promote sustainable development globally.
Current EU policy up to 2020 is based on the 7th Environment Action Programme – the dual responsibility of the EU institutions and national governments.
 
To reach those goals, the EU formed an agency called The European Environment Agency and below some information is given about that instution.
 
 
The European Environment Agency (EEA)
 
The European Environment Agency (EEA) is an agency of the European Union. İt’s task is to provide sound, independent information on the environment. It is a major information source for those involved in developing, adopting, implementing and evaluating environmental policy, and also the general public. Currently, the EEA has 33 member countries. It provides independent information on the environment, thereby helping those involved in developing, adopting, implementing and evaluating environmental policy, as well as informing the general public. The agency is governed by a management board composed of representatives of the governments of its 33 member states, a European Commission representative and two scientists appointed by the European Parliament, assisted by a committee of scientists.
The European Economic Community (EEC) Regulation 1210/1990 (amended by EEC Regulation 933/1999 and EC Regulation 401/2009). It came into force in late 1993 (30 October 1993) immediately after the decision was taken to locate the EEA in Copenhagen. Work started/ became operational in earnest in 1994. It is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. The regulation also established the European environment information and observation network (Eionet).
The EEA’s mandate is:
– To help the Community and member countries make informed decisions about improving the environment, integrating environmental considerations into economic policies and moving towards sustainability.
– To coordinate the European environment information and observation network (Eionet).
Main clients are the European Union institutions – the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council – and our member countries. In addition to this central group of European policy actors, it also serves other EU institutions such as the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.
The business community, academia, non-governmental organisations and other parts of civil society are also important users of it’s information. It try to achieve two-way communication with it’s clients in order to correctly identify their information needs, and make sure that the information provided is understood and taken up by them.
The member states of the union are members of it; however the Council Regulation establishing it provided that other states may become members of it by means of agreements concluded between them and the EU.
It was the first EU body to open its membership to the 13 candidate countries (pre-2004 enlargement).
The EEA has 33 member countries and six cooperating countries. The European environment information and observation network (Eionet) is a partnership network of the EEA and the countries. The EEA is responsible for developing the network and coordinating its activities. To do so, the EEA works closely together with national focal points, typically national environment agencies or environment ministries. They are responsible for coordinating national networks involving many institutions (about 350 in all).
The 33 member countries include the 28 European Union Member States together with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.
The six Balkans countries are cooperating countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia as well as Kosovo under the UN Security Council Resolution 1244/99. These cooperation activities are integrated into Eionet and are supported by the European Union under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance.
Member countries:
The 33 member countries include the 28 European Union member states together with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. The six Western Balkan countries are cooperating countries: Albania,Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia as well as Kosovo under the UN Security Council Resolution 1244/99.
European environment information and observation network:
The European environment information and observation network (Eionet) is a partnership network of the EEA and its member and cooperating countries. The EEA is responsible for developing the network and coordinating its activities. To do this, the EEA works closely together with the National Focal Points (NFPs), typically national environment agencies or environment ministries in the member countries.
The NFPs are responsible for coordinating networks of the National Reference Centres (NRCs), bringing altogether around 1000 experts from over 350 national institutions and other bodies dealing with environmental information.
Apart from the NFPs and NRCs, Eionet currently covers six European Topic Centres (ETCs) in the areas of air and climate change, biological diversity, climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation, water, land use and spatial information and analysis and sustainable consumption and production.
The European Environment Agency’s main tasks and related legislations are shown below.
 
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The European Environment Agency’s main tasks and related legislations are shown below.
 
1- Environmental Protection of Nature and Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variety of different plants, animals and micro-organisms, their genes and the ecosystems of which they are a part. Biodiversity is important for our survival and economic development. Food security and the discovery of new medicines are put at risk by the loss of biodiversity. Vital goods and services that are often taken for granted, such as clean air and fresh water, are threatened by the deterioration of ecosystems.
There is EU law which aims to ensure biodiversity by conserving natural habitats and wild flora and fauna. These law are The Birds Directive (that is, Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds) and The Habitats Directive (Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora and fauna).The Directive also provides for a ban on the downgrading of breeding and resting places for certain animal species.
2- Pollution Prevention and Control
To ensure a level of environmental protection, the European Union has implemented legislation to prevent or reduce pollution of the atmosphere, water and soil, as well as the quantities of waste arising from industrial and agricultural installations. The law establishes a procedure for authorising industrial and agricultural activities and sets minimum requirements to be included in all permits, particularly in terms of pollutants released.
The EU Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive (Directive 96/61/EC) provides for a permit system for activities including waste management.
 
3- Waste Management Legislation
There are many different types of waste, for example, household waste, packaging waste and electronic waste. In some cases, different types of waste require different methods of disposal. The disposal of waste can have a negative impact on people and the environment. It is important that waste is disposed of correctly. For this reason, there are EU regulations/directives for the disposal of waste for diffferent types of waste like hazardous waste, waste oil, sewage sludge, packaging waste, electric and electronic waste.

4- Air Quality and Pollution
Pollutants in the air create a variety of dangers for health and the environment. Air pollutants emitted directly from traffic, power generation or industry are known as primary pollutants. As well as causing serious problems in their immediate vicinity, primary pollutants can also travel long distances and can chemically react in the atmosphere to produce secondary pollutants such as acid rain or ozone. Certain pollutants can contribute to climate change. Air quality standards have been set out in EU legislation.
 

5- Water Quality

This document deals with the quality of water that is provided for human consumption – drinking, preparing food, making ice, making drinks with water and brushing teeth. For regulation purposes, this is called ‘drinking water’.
Drinking water comes from two different sources. Water from lakes, rivers and streams (surface water) will almost certainly have to be treated to make it safe to drink. Water from springs and boreholes (groundwater) may have to be treated, depending on the quality of its source.
 
Lead and Drinking Water
Lead can be present in drinking water, as lead piping, lead solder and lead-lined water tanks were commonly used in plumbing up to and including the 1970s, so some people may still be getting water through these older plumbing systems. Lead is a danger to health, especially for young children, pregnant women and babies fed on formula, so water for drinking and cooking should contain as little lead as possible. The legal level of lead in drinking water is 10 micrograms per litre.
Other Factors Affecting the Water Quality
Several factors can affect the quality of drinking water sources (raw water). If there is high rainfall, for example, extra organic material may be washed into rivers and streams. Water treatment plants need to be able to deal with this. If rainfall is low, these sources can dry up altogether. Other factors affecting water sources include agricultural practices and the type of soil and underlying ground.
Factors affecting treated drinking water (finished water) include breakdown in the treatment process; lack of disinfection and filtration (or problems with them); problems with equipment; power outages or dirt in distribution pipes. Sometimes, poor quality is due to the water being drawn from an unsuitable source and the best solution is finding an alternative source.

Treatment of drinking water

Most water supplies need to be treated to bring them up to the standards required – see Standards and monitoring below. Groundwater can be of high quality but this depends on the soil and rock formation and on the agricultural practices near the source. It may only need precautionary disinfection. Surface waters almost always contain impurities and these have to be removed by a suitable treatment process, including coagulation, filtration and chlorination.
Standarts and Monitoring
All water for human consumption must be free from micro-organisms and any substances which, if found in sufficient numbers or concentrations, would endanger public health. These standards are contained in the European Union (Drinking Water) Regulations 2014.
 

6- Noise Nuisance

This document outlines the main types of noise that can cause a nuisance and the legislation that deals with such noise. Various bodies have roles as regards complaints about different types or sources of noise – these are described under the relevant headings below. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government publishes general information about noise pollution.
 
Environmental Assessment
The Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (Council Directive 85/337/EEC as amended by Directive 97/11/EC and 2003/35/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment) requires member states of the EU to carry out assessments of the environmental impact of certain public and private projects before they are allowed to go ahead.
The aim of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process is to ensure that projects which are likely to have a significant effect on the environment are assessed in advance so that people are aware of what those effects are likely to be. The assessment must be carried out in certain cases. For example, motorways, large scale developments in agriculture, the food industry, chemical industry, infrastructure and urban developments all require an EIA.
Strategic Environmental Assessment
Assessment (SEA) is the process by which environmental considerations are required to be fully integrated into the preparation of plans and programmes and prior to their final adoption. The EU Directive on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) applies to a number of sectors including agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy, industry, transport, waste management, water management, telecommunications, tourism and land use planning. SEA means that plans and programmes must be assessed for their environmental effect before they are adopted for member states.
 

EU Enforcement of Environmental Legislation

EU environmental legislation is enforced in the same way as other EU legislation. The European Commission monitors its implementation and may bring individual member states to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for failure to properly implement it.
In 2003 the EU agreed a framework decision on the protection of the environment through criminal law (Decision 2003/80/JHA of 27 January 2003, OJ 2003 L 29) (pdf). The European Court of Justice has since annulled this decision (for technical, legal reasons). This means the decision is neither valid nor enforceable. In the course of annulling this decision, the Court ruled that the EU has the power to require member states to establish criminal penalties for the purpose of protecting the environment. The Commission intends to propose such legislation.
 
Summary: EU Policy on the Environment
 
EUpolicy on the environment is reflected in its legislation and supported by some financial programmes. The Sixth Environment Action Programme of the EU, entitledEnvironment 2010: Our future, our choice, runs to 21 July 2012 and focuses on four priority areas for action:

• Climate change including working towards reaching the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol. That is, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the establishment of an emissions trading scheme
• Nature and biodiversity
• Environment and health, and
• Sustainable management of resources and wastes.

 
 
 
 
 
RESOURCES:
http://www.eea.europa.eu/about-us/who
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Environment_Agency
http://europa.eu/pol/env/index_en.htm
file:///C:/Users/ab36909/Downloads/NA0414868ENC_002.pdf
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/environment/environmental_law/protection_of_nature_and_biodiversity.html