Considerations on COM(2000)512 - Opinion of the Commission pursuant to Article 251(2) (c) of the EC Treaty, on the European Parliament's amendments to the Council's common position regarding the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council allowing voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2000)512 - Opinion of the Commission pursuant to Article 251(2) (c) of the EC Treaty, on the European Parliament's amendments to the ... |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2000)512  |
| date | March 19, 2001 |
(2) The programme 'Towards Sustainability', presented by the Commission and approved as to its general approach by the Resolution of 1 February 1993, underlines the role and responsibilities of organisations, both to reinforce the economy and to protect the environment throughout the Community.
(3) The programme 'Towards Sustainability' calls for broadening the range of instruments in the field of environmental protection and for using market-mechanisms to commit organisations to adopt a pro-active approach in this field beyond compliance with all relevant regulatory requirements regarding the environment.
(4) The Commission should promote a coherent approach between the legislative instruments developed at Community level in the field of environmental protection.
(5) Council Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 of 29 June 1993 allowing voluntary participation by companies in the industrial sector in a Community eco-management and audit scheme(5) demonstrated its effectiveness in promoting improvements of the environmental performance of industry.
(6) The experience gathered from the implementation of Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 should be used to enhance the ability of the Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) to bring about an improvement in the overall environmental performance of organisations.
(7) EMAS should be made available to all organisations having environmental impacts, providing a means for them to manage these impacts and to improve their overall environmental performance.
(8) In accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality referred to in Article 5 of the Treaty, the effectiveness of EMAS in contributing to improved environmental performance of European organisations can be better achieved at Community level. This Regulation limits itself to ensuring an equal implementation of EMAS throughout the Community by providing for common rules, procedures and essential requirements regarding EMAS whilst the measures that can be adequately performed at national level are left to the Member States.
(9) Organisations should be encouraged to participate in EMAS on a voluntary basis and may gain added value in terms of regulatory control, cost savings and public image.
(10) It is important that small and medium-sized enterprises participate in EMAS and that their participation should be promoted by facilitating access to information, to existing support funds and to public institutions and by establishing or promoting technical assistance measures.
(11) The information provided by Member States should be used by the Commission to assess the need for developing specific measures aimed at greater participation in EMAS by organisations, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises.
(12) The transparency and credibility of organisations implementing environmental management systems are enhanced when their management system, audit programme and environmental statement are examined to verify that they meet the relevant requirements of this Regulation and when the environmental statement and its subsequent updates are validated by accredited environmental verifiers.
(13) It is therefore necessary to ensure and steadily improve the competence of the environmental verifiers by providing for an independent and neutral accreditation system, retraining and an appropriate supervision of their activities in order to ensure the overall credibility of EMAS. Close cooperation between the national accreditation bodies should accordingly be set up.
(14) Organisations should be encouraged to produce and make publicly available periodic environmental statements providing the public and other interested parties with information on their environmental performance.
(15) The Member States could create incentives to encourage organisations to participate in EMAS.
(16) The Commission should provide technical support to accession candidate countries in the setting up of the necessary structures for the application of EMAS.
(17) In addition to the general requirements of the environmental management system EMAS places special significance on the following elements: legal compliance, improvement of environmental performance and also external communication and employee involvement.
(18) The Commission should adapt the Annexes to this Regulation, with the exception of Annex V, recognise European and international standards for environmental issues of relevance to EMAS and establish guidelines in partnership with EMAS interested parties for the purpose of ensuring consistent implementation of the EMAS requirements across Member States. In drafting such guidelines, the Commission should take account of Community policy on the environment and in particular Community legislation as well as international commitments where relevant.
(19) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(6).
(20) This Regulation should be revised, if appropriate, in the light of experience gained after a certain period of operation.
(21) The European institutions should endeavour to adopt the principles laid down in this Regulation.
(22) This Regulation takes over and replaces Regulation (EEC) 1836/93 which should therefore be repealed.