3.5.   The European Environment Agency



At the end of 1993 it was decided to place the EC Environment Agency in Denmark. Denmark had not previously been assigned an EC institution, and Denmark attached great importance to ensuring that this particular Agency should be given to the country.

The Agency’s tasks are defined in EC Regulation 1210/90. The Agency is primarily to process environmental data and ensure the collection of information on environmental conditions in the union, i.e data pertaining to the current state of the environment and to effluents, as well as to the trends in both aspects.

From the legal point of view the Agency is independent. i.e. only bound by Regulation 1210/90. However, since the Agency has among other things to procure information for direct use in the implementation of the EC’s environmental policy, close cooperation with the Commission, especially GD XI, will be a necessity.

The Agency started operating in autumn 1994. During 1995 the Agency is expected to expand to approx. 50 staff members. In addition to the 15 Member States, Norway and Iceland have chosen to participate in the Agency’s work.