Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1210/90 on the establishment of the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation Network

This Regulation establishes the European Environment Agency and aims at the setting-up of a European environment information and observation nework. The main objective hereby pursued is to provide the Community and the Member States with reliable and comparable information so as to take the necessary measures to protect the environment and verify the results of such measures. The Agency shall therefore exercise the functions referred to in article 2 concerning the collection, processing and analysis of data. Such data are classified into three different categories: (i) the quality of the environment; (ii) the pressures on the environment; (iii) the sensitivity on the environment. In accordance with article 3 (2), priority shall be given to the following fields: air quality and atmospheric emissions; water quality, pollutants and water resources; the state of the soil, of fauna and flora, and of biotopes; land use and natural resources; waste management; chemical substances which are hazardous for the environment; coastal protection. Article 4 defines the elements which shall be comprised within the network. Environmental data supplied to or emanating from the Agency shall be made accessible to the public (art. 6).