Activites

• 1999/06/22 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Decision 1999/1296
  • OJ L 155 22.06.1999, p. 0007
• 1999/04/29 Final act signed
• 1999/04/29 End of procedure in Parliament
• #2172
• 1999/04/22 Council Meeting
• 1999/04/14 Decision by Parliament, 3rd reading
  • T4-0300/1999 summary

    At third reading under codecision procedure, the European Parliament approved the joint text, approved by the Conciliation Committee, and the relevant joint declaration, for a European Parliament and Council decision adopting a programme of Community action on pollution-related diseases in the context of the framework for action in the field of public health (1999-2001). The Parliament's rapporteur is Christian E.A. Cabrol (UPE,FR).�

• 1999/04/13 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 1999/03/25 Report tabled for plenary, 3rd reading
  • A4-0167/1999
• 1999/03/10 Joint text approved by Conciliation Committee co-chairs
  • 3603/1999
• 1999/02/04 Formal meeting of Conciliation Committee
• #2152
• 1998/12/17 Council Meeting
• 1998/10/08 Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading
  • T4-0565/1998 summary

    In adopting the recommendation for second reading by Mr Christian CABROL (UPE, F), the European Parliament amended the common position of the Council, reinstating most of the amendments adopted at first reading, particularly: -the financial framework: the Council had limited this to ECU 3.9 million for the period 1999-2001 (rather than 1999-2003); Parliament called for the amount to be increased to 7 million for the same period; -the scope of the programme: the programme was to cover pollution-related diseases and allergies in order to improve knowledge and understanding of health risks; an annex was to be inserted indicating the actions to be supported in this context (information campaigns to prevent these diseases, health education, etc.); -specific measures: coordinated epidemiological studies to be carried out throughout the territory of the EU to improve knowledge of the specific impact of certain pollutants, support for measures to improve public understanding of pollution-related health risks, promotion of behaviour patterns, ways of life and eating habits that could reduce the health risks caused by various types of pollution. Parliament also stressed the forward-looking nature of the programme: on the basis of a final report evaluating the programme, the Commission was to submit to the Council and the European Parliament any appropriate proposals for combating pollution-related diseases.�

• 1998/10/07 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 1998/09/23 Vote in committee, 2nd reading
  • A4-0333/1998
• 1998/06/18 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 2nd reading
• #2102
• 1998/06/04 Council Meeting
• #2086
• 1998/04/30 Council Meeting
  • 07147/1/1998 summary

    In its common position on the programme of action on pollution-related diseases, the Council substantially amended the Commission's proposal, limiting both the duration and the scope of the programme. It took the view that the current situation with regard to Community action in the field of public health and budgetary constraints made it necessary to proceed by stages in the field of pollution-related diseases, and therefore: -limited the programme to three years (1999-2001 rather than 2003), stating that the budget for it should be ECU 3.9 m for this period; -limited the general scope of the programme, confining the actions to be undertaken to efforts to improve public information and awareness concerning pollution-related diseases and the effectiveness of prevention in this field: the Commission's emphasis on training, information campaigns and assistance to autonomous groups active in the field of respiratory diseases and allergies vanished entirely from the programme. The Council inserted a reference to Article 228 of the TEU in connection with international cooperation under the programme - this Article implying the conclusion of international agreements rather than technical cooperation as called for by the Commission. The Council called for an evaluation report to be submitted at the end of the 3rd year - a point at which, according to the Council's own wish, the programme would barely have been completed. As regards the Council's treatment of Parliament's amendments, only 2 of the 4 which the Commission had included in its amended proposal survived: -one concerning improving knowledge of the long-term impact of certain pollutants, -one concerning the implementation of actions to improve work on public perception of health risks associated with pollution-related diseases and the impact of the policies adopted. Parliament's amendments concerning the definition of pollution-related diseases and seeking to extend the actions relating to the general public were rejected by the Council.�

• 1998/04/15 Modified legislative proposal published
  • COM(1998)0231 summary

    The Commission's amended proposal adopting a programme of action on pollution-related diseases incorporated 4 of the 12 amendments adopted by Parliament at first reading. These concerned: -the definition of pollution-related diseases, -improving knowledge of the long-term effects of certain pollutants, -the way in which pollution-related diseases may be influenced by behaviour and life style, -the implementation of actions to improve the level of knowledge of specific groups about the impact of different policies on pollution and health. The amendments not incorporated concerned, in particular, the budgetary provisions proposed by Parliament (increasing the allocation) and extending the scope of the programme. The other amendments not incorporated made reference to the Amsterdam Treaty, which has not yet been ratified.�

• 1998/03/11 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T4-0137/1998 summary

    In adopting the report by Mr Christian CABROL (UPE, F), the European Parliament welcomed the adoption of a programme to combat pollution-related diseases, but took the view that its scope was too limited. It called in particular for the programme not to be confined to respiratory diseases and allergies but to deal, more generally, with pollution-related diseases, stressing in particular that the diseases concerned must be defined clearly. Parliament called for the programme to pave the way for priority action by the Community in this field after the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty, and for the current programme to: -contribute to the realization of Community-wide epidemiological studies and the setting up in the Member States of a registration system for pollution-related health complaints to increase knowledge of the impact of certain pollutants, -improve knowledge of behaviour patterns, ways of life and eating habits that could reduce the health risks caused by pollution, -promote actions to improve the level of knowledge of the general public about the impact of the various different policies on pollution and health. Parliament called for the appropriation for the programme for the period 1999-2003 to be increased to ECU 14 million.�

• 1998/03/10 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament summary

    Commissioner Flynn said that he could accept only five of the 16 amendments tabled: Amendment No 7 in full and Amendments Nos 3, 8, 9 and 10 in part. The following amendments therefore had to be rejected: No 5 for budgetary reasons (Mr Flynn recalled that the current financial perspectives did not allow for the sum requested by Parliament), Nos 4, 11, 12 and 13 which exceeded the scope of the proposed action, Nos 1 and 2 referring to the Treaty of Amsterdam which was not as yet ratified and Nos 6, 14, 15 and 16 because the last three would reduce the duration of the programme to the three years needed for the preparatory work alone. Mr Flynn said that the Commission wanted to pay more attention to respiratory disease and allergies which had significantly increased over the last few years. In this respect, he proposed that the Commission should undertake to make widely available the experience acquired by some Member States in this area and to support the work of self-help groups for asthma and allergy sufferers.

• 1998/02/25 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A4-0075/1998
• #2056
• 1997/12/04 Council Meeting
  • 2056
• 1997/06/13 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• #2013
• 1997/06/05 Council Meeting
  • 2013
• 1997/06/04 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(1997)0266 summary

    OBJECTIVE: the purpose of the proposal is to establish a programme on diseases caused, provoked or aggravated by environmental pollution, for the period from 01.01.1999 to 31.12.2003. The programme aims to contribute towards ensuring a high level of human health protection in relation to these diseases by improving knowledge and understanding of the associated health risks and the way to tackle some of them (especially asthma and allergies). SUBSTANCE: the following actions are eligible under the programme: 1) Actions to improve information on pollution-related diseases (better understanding of the role of pollutants in the causation or aggravation of diseases): .identification of diseases in which pollutants play a role; comparison of prevalence and/or incidence; examination of quality of existing data and identification of any gaps in knowledge; studying the toxicology of pollutants; comparison of data and definition of criteria used, including informing the public, .improving the comparability of data used in preventive actions by means of exchanges of information; 2) Actions concerned with risk perception with respect to pollution-related diseases: .support for actions aimed at achieving better public understanding of risks, their assessment and management; promoting work on the public perceptions of pollution-related risks to health, .promoting actions concerning methods of increasing the level of knowledge of the general public and opinion-formers about pollution-related risks; 3) Actions concerned with respiratory diseases and allergies (support for activities aimed at reducing the prevalence and/or incidence of these diseases): .improving the provision of information to the general public and to specific groups on these diseases and the agents that play a role in them; contributing to the development of ways of improving the coordination of information campaigns; contributing to the efforts of self-help or support groups active in the field of respiratory diseases and allergies, .contributing to the comparison of various education and training initiatives used to combat these diseases, with a view to promoting best practice; reviewing the effectiveness of the preventive measures taken. Implementation: the Commission is to implement the programme in close cooperation with Member States. It will cooperate with institutions active in the field in question. It will be assisted by an advisory committee consisting of representatives of the Member States; Consistency and complementarity: the programme must be implemented so as to complement other relevant Community actions and to be consistent with them; International cooperation: the programme is open for participation by the associated countries of Central Europe and Cyprus and Malta. Cooperation with third countries and international organizations with a public health remit is also to be sought; Monitoring and assessment: the Commission is responsible for monitoring and assessing the programme continuously. It is to submit an evaluation report to Parliament and the Council during the 3rd year of operation. A final report will also be submitted to Parliament and the Council at the end of the programme; Budget: ECU 1.3 m for the first year (1999) (the financial framework for the four subsequent years will be decided after the adoption of the next financial perspective).�

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(1997)0266
• Debate in Council: 2013
• Debate in Council: 2056
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A4-0075/1998
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T4-0137/1998
• Modified legislative proposal published: COM(1998)0231
• Council position published: 07147/1/1998
• Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading: A4-0333/1998
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading: T4-0565/1998
• Joint text approved by Conciliation Committee co-chairs: 3603/1999
• Report tabled for plenary, 3rd reading: A4-0167/1999
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 3rd reading: T4-0300/1999
• : Decision 1999/1296
• : OJ L 155 22.06.1999, p. 0007

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)