PURPOSE: to ensure the international comparability of environmental economic accounts modules.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) No 538/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts.

CONTENT: the new Regulation extends the scope of the current legislation by introducing new modules on environmental economic accounts , that is:

· a module relating to Environmental Protection Expenditure accounts,

· a module relating to Environmental Goods and Services Sector accounts,

· a module relating to physical energy flow accounts.

The new modules should contribute directly to the Union's policy priorities of green growth and resource efficiency , by providing important information on indicators such as market output and employment in the EGSS, national environmental protection expenditure and the use of energy.

Delegated powers : in order to take into account technical and scientific progress and supplement the provisions on energy accounts, the power to adopt acts in respect of the specification of the list of energy products referred to in Section 3 of Annex VI as contained in the Annex to this Regulation.

Such delegated acts shall not impose a significant additional burden on the Member States or on the respondents. When preparing the delegated acts, the Commission should proceed to appropriate consultations and ensure that relevant documents are transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council.

The power to adopt the delegated acts shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 11 August 2011 and may tacitly be extended for periods of an identical time. The European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act within a period of two months from the date of notification (this period can be extended for two months). If the European Parliament or the Council make objections, the delegated act will not enter into force.

Implementing powers : in order to facilitate a uniform application of Annex V, the Commission should establish, by 31 December 2015, by implementing acts, an indicative compendium of environmental goods and services and of the economic activities to be covered by this Annex, based on the following categories: environmental specific services, environmental sole purpose products (connected products), adapted goods and environmental technologies.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 16.06.2014.

The European Parliament adopted by 609 votes to 20, with 5 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts.

Parliament adopted its position at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure. The amendments adopted in plenary are the result of an agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council. They amended the proposal as follows:

Need for new measures : the amended text refers to Decision No 1386/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council. This Decision provides that the pace of current developments and uncertainties surrounding likely future trends require further steps to ensure that policy in the Union continues to draw on a sound understanding of the state of the environment , of possible response options and their consequences.

Instruments should be developed with a view to ensuring the preparation of quality-assured data and indicators and to improving its accessibility. It is important that such data be made available in a comprehensible and accessible form.

Delegated acts : in order to take into account technical and scientific progress and supplement the provisions on energy accounts, the power to adopt acts should be delegated to the Commission in respect of the specification of the list of energy products referred to Annex VI as contained in the Annex to this Regulation.

Such delegated acts should not impose a significant additional burden on the Member States or on the respondents. The Commission, when preparing and drawing up delegated acts, should carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work and ensure a simultaneous, timely and appropriate transmission of relevant documents to the European Parliament and to the Council.

The power to adopt delegated acts should be conferred on the Commission for a period of 5 years from 11 August 2011 and could be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration.

Implementing acts : in order to facilitate a uniform application of Annex V, the Commission should, by 31 December 2015, by means of implementing acts , establish an indicative compendium of environmental goods and services and of the economic activities to be covered by Annex V based on the following categories: environmental specific services, environmental sole purpose products (connected products), adapted goods and environmental technologies.

Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety adopted the report by Elena Oana ANTONESCU (EPP, RO) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts.

The committee recommended that Parliament’s position adopted at first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the Commission proposal as follows:

Accessible data : Members considered that it is important that data on environmental economic activity are made available in a comprehensible and accessible form and published together with conventional economic data such as GDP. Environmental protection activities include all activities and actions which have as their main purpose the promotion of good environmental status (GES).

Data transmission : the report noted that:

the first reference year is the year following the year of entry into force of this Regulation; in the first data transmission, Member States shall include annual data from 2014 to the first reference year.

Environmental goods and services sector : accounts for environmental goods and services should be drawn up using existing information obtained from national accounts, structural business statistics, business registers and other sources.

Physical energy flow accounts : statistics shall be transmitted within 21 months of the end of the reference year.

PURPOSE: to ensure international comparability of environmental economic accounts.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (amending Regulation (EU) No 691/2011).

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: sound information on the key trends, pressures and drivers for environmental change is essential for the development of effective policy, its implementation, and the empowerment of citizens more generally. Users put much emphasis on analysis and applications of environmental accounts in modelling and outlooks, both for preparing policy proposals and reporting on policy implementation and impacts.

Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts covers three modules: (i) air emissions accounts ; (ii) environmental taxes ; (iii) material flow accounts. It contains a list of possible new modules to be introduced later based on Commission proposals. In accordance with the Regulation, several such pilot studies have been completed which clearly demonstrate the feasibility of the three new modules.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: no impact assessment was undertaken. The proposal has been discussed, in the framework of the European Statistical System, with data producers and users.

LEGAL BASIS: Article 338(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

CONTENT: the proposal of the amending act seeks to extend the coverage of Regulation 691/2011 to include the following additional modules :

a module for environmental protection expenditure accounts; a module for environmental goods and services sector accounts ; a module for physical energy flow accounts .

These three new modules contribute directly to the Union's policy priorities of green growth and resource efficiency by providing important information on indicators such as market output and employment in the EGSS, national environmental protection expenditure and the use of energy in a detailed NACE breakdown. No new data collection is necessary for implementing the new modules.

The United Nations Statistical Commission has adopted the System of Environmental- Economic Accounting (SEEA) as an international statistical standard at its 43rd session in February 2012. The new modules proposed are fully in line with the revised European Strategy for Environmental Accounting (ESEA 2008).

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: this proposal has no new implication for the Union budget.

PURPOSE: to ensure international comparability of environmental economic accounts.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (amending Regulation (EU) No 691/2011).

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: sound information on the key trends, pressures and drivers for environmental change is essential for the development of effective policy, its implementation, and the empowerment of citizens more generally. Users put much emphasis on analysis and applications of environmental accounts in modelling and outlooks, both for preparing policy proposals and reporting on policy implementation and impacts.

Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts covers three modules: (i) air emissions accounts ; (ii) environmental taxes ; (iii) material flow accounts. It contains a list of possible new modules to be introduced later based on Commission proposals. In accordance with the Regulation, several such pilot studies have been completed which clearly demonstrate the feasibility of the three new modules.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: no impact assessment was undertaken. The proposal has been discussed, in the framework of the European Statistical System, with data producers and users.

LEGAL BASIS: Article 338(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

CONTENT: the proposal of the amending act seeks to extend the coverage of Regulation 691/2011 to include the following additional modules :

a module for environmental protection expenditure accounts; a module for environmental goods and services sector accounts ; a module for physical energy flow accounts .

These three new modules contribute directly to the Union's policy priorities of green growth and resource efficiency by providing important information on indicators such as market output and employment in the EGSS, national environmental protection expenditure and the use of energy in a detailed NACE breakdown. No new data collection is necessary for implementing the new modules.

The United Nations Statistical Commission has adopted the System of Environmental- Economic Accounting (SEEA) as an international statistical standard at its 43rd session in February 2012. The new modules proposed are fully in line with the revised European Strategy for Environmental Accounting (ESEA 2008).

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: this proposal has no new implication for the Union budget.