Activites

• 2007/11/06 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Directive 2007/60
  • OJ L 288 06.11.2007, p. 0027
• 2007/10/23 Final act signed
• 2007/10/23 End of procedure in Parliament
• #2818
• 2007/09/18 Council Meeting
• 2007/04/25 Results of vote in Parliament
  • Results of vote in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
  • T6-0143/2007 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Richard SEEBER (EPP-ED, AT), having arrived at an agreement with the Council on the compromise amendments adopted. The main ones were as follows:- Member States shall complete the preliminary flood risk assessment by 22 December 2011 In the interests of solidarity, flood risk management plans established in one Member State shall not include measures which, by their extent and impact, significantly increase flood risks upstream or downstream of other countries in the same river basin or sub-basin, unless these measures have been coordinated and an agreed solution has been found among the Member States concerned. - The impact of climate change shall be taken into account in the report that the Commission is required to draw up in 2018 on the implementation of the directive.- With a view to giving rivers more space, Flood risk management plans should consider where possible the maintenance and/or restoration of floodplains, as well as measures to prevent and reduce damage to human health, the environment, cultural heritage and economic activity. The preliminary flood risk assessment must include floodplains as natural retention areas, and the effectiveness of existing man-made flood defence infrastructures.- Member States should take account of the potential impact of their land use policies on flood risks.  In addition, they call for management plans to include measures to encourage land use practices which are sustainable and improve water retention.- Flood risk maps must include information on potential sources of environmental pollution as a consequence of floods. In this context, Member States should assess activities that have the effect of increasing flood risks.- The annex to the directive describes what flood risk management plans should consist of. Any subsequent changes to this annex will be carried out under the new rules governing comitology (regulatory procedure with scrutiny) and will be subject to scrutiny by Parliament.  MEPs were also successful in ensuring that the plans should lay down priorities among the measures to be taken.- Member States should base their assessments, maps and plans on appropriate "best practice" and "best available technologies" not entailing excessive costs in the field of flood risk management.

• 2007/03/09 Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading
  • A6-0064/2007
• 2007/02/27 Vote in committee, 2nd reading
• 2007/01/18 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 2nd reading
• #2765
• 2006/11/23 Council Meeting
  • 12131/6/2006 summary

    The common position incorporates a number of the European Parliament's first reading amendments, either verbatim, in part or in spirit. These improve or clarify the text of the proposed Directive. The Common Position contains a significant number of changes compared to the Commission’s original proposal. In presentational terms, the text has been streamlined with several of the Articles in the original text being merged and recitals simplified. However, all of the essential elements in the Commission’s original proposal are retained. In terms of the substance, the most important changes in the Common Position as compared to the original proposal and that are not reflected in the Parliaments amendments, concern the streamlined preliminary flood risk assessment, strengthened international cooperation and weakened coordination with Directive 2000/60/EC.Restriction in the definition of floods of the types of floods concerned by the Directive: the Common Position adds an inclusive list of types of floods that are to be covered by the Directive, but also includes the possibility to exclude sewerage floods from the application of the Directive.Smaller units of management than river basin districts: the Common Position establishes that coastal areas and individual river basins may be used as units of managementStreamlining of the preliminary flood risk assessment and the consideration of climate change: the Common Position streamlines and simplifies the preliminary flood risk assessment, in particular as regards the assessment of the future potential extent and consequences of floods and factors changing flood risks. This includes the consideration of climate change, which has been weakened by making it optional until the first review of the preliminary flood risk assessment in 2018. The European Parliament, on the other hand, maintains the Commission's level of ambition as regards climate change, and in addition proposes more detailed requirements in the preliminary flood risk assessment. The Commission can accept the common positions delay of climate change considerations only in the view of an overall compromise, but added a statement to the Council conclusions that citizens expect that the impact of climate change on flood risk is properly assessed and considered.Timetable: the Common Position changes the date for the finalisation of the first preliminary flood risk assessment to 22 December 2012, rather than 3 year's after the entry into force of the Directive.Cooperation in shared river basin: this is strengthened in the common position in relation to all three stages of the Directive, in the preliminary flood risk assessment, the flood maps as well as in relation to the flood risk management plans.Maps: limited requirements to map different probability scenarios depending on the type of floods: the Common Position introduces the possibility to only map the low probability scenario (most extreme scenario) for groundwater floodsand for coastal floods where there are appropriate protection measures in place. Mapping of the high probability floods (less extreme scenario) has also been made optional. Other changes introduced are clarifications that maps shall be made at the appropriate scale, that the flood extent shall be shown in the flood hazard maps and how to describe potential damage to economic activities and the environment in the flood risk maps. Flood risk management plans: the Common Position introduces the possibility to produce more than one flood risk management plan in the river basin district, provided these are coordinated at the level of the river basin district. It also lays down specific cooperation possibility requirements in international sub-basins. It furthermore requires that "objectives of flood risk management" are established, rather  than the desired "level of protection", thus accepting that it may not be possible to guarantee a specific level of protection in the light of unpredictable natural hazards like floods. It also introduces the possibility to increase risks upstream or downstream countries provided there is agreement between the parties concerned. The Common Position also includes a number of other clarifications of the role of the flood risk management plans (links to the maps in Chapter III, specific consideration of the protection of ports infrastructure and navigation, the specification that flood forecasting and early warning systems as part of preparedness shall be in focus, the explicit possibility to use controlled floods of certain areas to reduce overall risk) which do not change the essential components of the proposed Directive.Implementing measures and amendments: the Common Position introduces a deadline for specifying technical formats for reporting to the Commission to two years before the respective deadline. It also limits the possible adaptation of the Directive to scientific and technical progress by Committee procedure to the Annex only.Correlation table: the Common Position moves the requirement to provide a correlation table with the transposition. In the annex a requirement to describe the method for cost-benefit analysis of measures in shared river basins is included, as is a report on monitoring mechanisms for the implementation, along with certain clarification as the formats for components of the plans.

• #2740
• 2006/06/27 Council Meeting
• 2006/06/13 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T6-0253/2006 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Richard SEEBER (EPP-ED, AT) making several amendments to the Commission’s proposal:- to reflect the fact that this piece of legislation is essentially concerned with risks, rather than with actual flood events, the title should read “Proposal for a directive….. on the assessment and management of flood risks”, and this wording should also appear in Article 1 setting out the aims of the directive;- emphasis should be placed on the principles of solidarity and cooperation among neighbouring countries, including non-EU countries, so that flood risk management can be coordinated over the entire area of a cross-border river catchment basin. Networks should be developed for the exchange of information between the competent authorities, and flood risk management plans should take account of the impact of these plans on neighbouring countries. River basin flood management should aim to create a common responsibility and solidarity within the basin. To that end Member States should endeavour to raise awareness and encourage cooperation among all stakeholders as well as in areas that are not, or are less, prone to flooding but which can contribute by their land use and practices to downstream or upstream floods.- the subsidiarity principle should also be given due importance, and considerable flexibility should be left to the local and regional level in particular as regards organisation and responsibility of authorities, flood management plans and risk maps, the level of protection and the measures and the timetables to achieve the objectives set. For example, Member States should be able to lay down specific measures for areas with special characteristics. They should also be allowed some discretion as to what investigation period or what likely return period they wish to use as the basis for their flooding maps;- there should be a broader definition of the concept of “flood”, so as to include heavy rainfall as another cause of this phenomenon;- in order to reduce the administrative and technical burden of implementing the directive, it should be possible for Member States to make use of existing work carried out in the area of flood protection, i.e. existing preliminary flood risk assessments as well as flood risk maps and management plans;- Member States may decide, in respect of river basins, sub-basins and stretches of coastline for which a sufficient potential risk may already be assumed, to dispense with the preliminary flood risk assessment if certain conditions are met;- flood risk management measures, especially those related to building infrastructures, should be subject to a sound and transparent economic and environmental appraisal to ensure their long-term viability for citizens and businesses, taking into account the principle of cost-recovery, including environmental and resource costs;- flood risk maps may divide areas into zones according to land use and vulnerability to any likely damage;- Member States shall determine the specific points at which the flood risk is higher. That information must be taken into account in land use planning;- Member States’ flood risk management plans at the level of the river basin district must describe flooding processes and their sensitivity to change, including the role of flood plain areas as a natural retention/buffer of floods and flood conveyance routes at present or in the future. Plans must also describe development plans that would entail a change of land use or of allocation of the population and distribution of economic activities resulting in an increase of flood risks in the area itself or in upstream or downstream regions;- the flood risk management plan will include measures to prevent accidental pollution from technical installations as referred to in Annex I of Directive 96/61/EC and covered by Directive 96/82/EC as a consequence of flooding;- Member States should inform and actively involve the public “to ensure a high level of preparedness as part of the flood risk management plans”. Member States will provide the inhabitants of risk areas with information and training on a regular basis, so as to enable them to take appropriate pre-flood precautions and post-flood action;- when drawing up its assessment report by the end of 2018, the Commission should take account of the impact of climate change. 

• 2006/06/12 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2006/05/16 Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
  • A6-0182/2006
• 2006/05/04 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
• #2713
• 2006/03/09 Council Meeting
  • 2713 summary

    Pending the opinion of the European Parliament, the Council took note of a report concerning progress achieved during the examination by the Council of a proposal for a Directive on the assessment and management of floods.The progress report mentions the technical issues – related to coordination with the water framework Directive, the preliminary flood risk assessment, flood maps and flood risk management plans – yet to be resolved with a view to reaching political agreement in June if the opinion of the European Parliament is available.

• 2006/02/01 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2006/01/18 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(2006)0015 summary

    PURPOSE: to reduce and manage the risks which floods pose to human health, the environment, infrastructure and property.PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council.CONTENT:  between 1998 and 2004, Europe suffered over 100 major floods. These floods caused some 700 fatalities, the displacement of about half a million people and insured economic losses totalling at least EUR 25 billion. Assets at risk include private housing, transport and public service infrastructure, commercial and industrial enterprises and agricultural land. More than 10 million people live in areas at risk of extreme floods along the Rhine and the potential damage from floods totals EUR 165 billion. In addition, floods can have severe environmental consequences, such as affecting waste water treatment plants or factories holding large quantities of toxic chemicals. Floods can also destroy wetland areas and reduce biodiversity.Although the Commission has a tradition of environmental legislation on water quality, to date the Commission has taken no measures to reduce and manage floods. Its justification for presenting this proposal is based on the fact that most of Europe’s river basins are shared. Rivers and regional seas are not confined to existing geo-political boundaries, instead most river basins and coastal areas are shared between various countries. Under these conditions, a purely national approach to flood risk management, the Commission argues, is neither technically nor economically feasible. Concerted Community action could bring considerable added value and improve the overall level of flood protection. The Commission is preparing this proposal following the publication of its Communication on flood risk management and following a 2004 Council conclusion, in which the Council requested the Commission to submit an appropriate proposal on the management of floods in the EU. The proposal is also being presented following extensive consultation with stakeholders and interested parties. The consultation process revealed broad support for the suggested approach being proposed.In summary, the proposed Directive would provide for flood mapping in all areas at risk of significant flooding, for co-ordination within shared river basins and for producing flood risk management plans through a broad participatory processes. The Directive allows for considerable Member State flexibility, allowing them to determine the level of protection required, the measures to be taken to achieve this level of protection and the timetables for implementing flood risk management plans. River basins, sub-basins and regions which are not at significant risk may be exempted from the any measures under the Directive.The proposed Directive is closely linked to the implementation of Water Framework Directive. As such, the Commission proposes to fully align the organisational and institutional aspects and timing between the Directives based on the river basin districts, the competent authorities and the committee established by the WFD. Once the Flood Directive is adopted, implementation of the two Directives will be closely co-ordinated. The Commission points out that the objective of the Directive, namely Member State co-operation and co-ordinated planning has already commenced under the auspices of International River Commissions such as those for the Danube, Oder, Elbe, Rhine, Maas and the Scheldt.FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS :While implementation and financing of environmental policy is as a rule a right and obligation of the Member States (Article 175(4) of the EC Treaty), the Community has a variety of funding mechanisms which can be used to promote flood protection, e.g. under research policy, cohesion policy and agricultural (rural development) policy. Flood-related initiatives and measures are eligible both under the legislation in force in these policy areas and under legislation proposed for 2007 - 2013. However, this proposal will have no financial implications beyond the proposals already adopted by the Commission.

  • DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/environment/', 'title': 'Environment'}, DIMAS Stavros

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2006)0015
• Debate in Council: 2713
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A6-0182/2006
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T6-0253/2006
• Council position published: 12131/6/2006
• Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading: A6-0064/2007
• Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading: T6-0143/2007
• : Directive 2007/60
• : OJ L 288 06.11.2007, p. 0027

History

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