Environmental data: Commission welcomes Council adoption of new rules to reduce red tape and increase transparency for citizens

The new rules on alignment of reporting obligations in the field of environment policy will cut red tape for administrations and simplify procedures for businesses involved in reporting and regulatory monitoring. In addition, policymakers will have access to higher quality information to support decisions, and citizens will have better access to information on important issues that affect them.

The new Regulation will be published in the EU's Official Journal and will enter into force on the following day, while some provisions will only be applicable as of 2020 and 2022.

Background

The Proposal for a Regulation on the alignment of reporting obligations in the field of environment covers ten pieces of legislation:

• Sewage Sludge Directive
• Noise Directive
• Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE) Directive
• Birds Directive
• European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) Regulation
• Animal Testing Directive
• EU Timber Regulation
• Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation
• Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Regulation (EC)
• Environmental Liability Directive

The proposal was based on an extensive Fitness Check evaluation published in June 2017 which looked at the entire environmental legislation and set out an action plan to modernise environmental data management and create benefits for citizens (better access to information and more transparency), businesses (less red tape) and administrations (more efficient preparation and dissemination of information).