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Statistics for the environment - Report on four-year development programme

A four-year programme to develop the environmental component of Community statistics was adopted in December 1994 (Council Decision 94/808/EC). The Commission has recently submitted a report describing the actions undertaken under this programme and the results achieved in eac...

A four-year programme to develop the environmental component of Community statistics was adopted in December 1994 (Council Decision 94/808/EC). The Commission has recently submitted a report describing the actions undertaken under this programme and the results achieved in each of the areas covered. It also provides an overall evaluation of the programme. Under this programme, the Commission was charged with establishing the regular official statistics needed to measure both the pressures on the environment resulting from human activities, and also the economic and societal responses aimed at reducing these pressures. The evaluation report shows that the Commission and the Member States have succeeded in developing the frameworks, including harmonized definition and methodologies, needed to proceed with the regular transmission of official statistics in several of the most important work areas listed, notably with regard to waste statistics and environmental expenditures. The report also draws attention to the successful coordination which has been achieved with the European Environment Agency. Progress on establishing regular data flows has, however, been slower than expected, due both to the amount of preparatory work involved and to lack of resources in the Member States. The Commission concludes that, in order to complete the various methodological projects currently underway, notably in the areas of environmental indicators and green national accounting, and also to establish regular data flows, it would be appropriate to propose a prolongation of the four-year programme. A proposal along these lines will be prepared before the end of 1997.