European Environment Agency
Encyclopedia
European Environment Agency (EEA) is an agency of the European Union
. Its task is to provide sound, independent information on the environment. It is a major information source for those involved in developing, adopting, implementing and evaluating environmental policy, and also the general public. The EEA is governed by a Management Board composed of representatives of the governments of its 32 member states, a European Commission
representative and two scientists appointed by the European Parliament
, assisted by a committee of scientists.
It was established by EEC Regulation 1210/1990, as amended by EEC Regulation 933/1999 and EC Regulation 401/2009, and became operational in 1994. It is headquartered in Copenhagen
, Denmark
.
Professor Jacqueline McGlade
is the current Executive Director of the agency.
As an EU body, member states of the European Union are automatically members; however the Council Regulation establishing it provided that other states may become members of it by means of agreements concluded between them and the EU.
It was the first EU body to open its membership to the 13 candidate countries (pre-2004 enlargement).
The EEA has 32 member countries and seven cooperating countries. The European environment information and observation network (Eionet) is a partnership network of the EEA and the countries. The EEA is responsible for developing the network and coordinating its activities. To do so, the EEA works closely together with national focal points, typically national environment agencies or environment ministries. They are responsible for coordinating national networks involving many institutions (about 350 in all).
The 32 member countries include the 27 European Union Member States together with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.
The seven West Balkan countries are cooperating countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia as well as Kosovo under the UN Security Council Resolution 1244/99. These cooperation activities are integrated into Eionet and are supported by the European Union under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance.
EEA is an active member of the EPA Network
The NFPs are responsible for coordinating networks of the National Reference Centres (NRCs), bringing altogether around 1000 experts from over 350 national institutions and other bodies dealing with environmental information.
Apart from the NFPs and NRCs, Eionet currently covers six European Topic Centres (ETCs) in the areas of air and climate change, biological diversity, climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation, water, land use and spatial information and analysis and sustainable consumption and production.
:
Additionally the EEA cooperates with multiple international organizations and the corresponding agencies of the following countries:
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. Its task is to provide sound, independent information on the environment. It is a major information source for those involved in developing, adopting, implementing and evaluating environmental policy, and also the general public. The EEA is governed by a Management Board composed of representatives of the governments of its 32 member states, a European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
representative and two scientists appointed by the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, assisted by a committee of scientists.
It was established by EEC Regulation 1210/1990, as amended by EEC Regulation 933/1999 and EC Regulation 401/2009, and became operational in 1994. It is headquartered in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
Professor Jacqueline McGlade
Jacqueline McGlade
Jacqueline M. McGlade is a leading marine biologist and environmental informatics professor. Her research focusses on the spatial and nonlinear dynamics of ecosystems, climate change and scenario development....
is the current Executive Director of the agency.
As an EU body, member states of the European Union are automatically members; however the Council Regulation establishing it provided that other states may become members of it by means of agreements concluded between them and the EU.
It was the first EU body to open its membership to the 13 candidate countries (pre-2004 enlargement).
The EEA has 32 member countries and seven cooperating countries. The European environment information and observation network (Eionet) is a partnership network of the EEA and the countries. The EEA is responsible for developing the network and coordinating its activities. To do so, the EEA works closely together with national focal points, typically national environment agencies or environment ministries. They are responsible for coordinating national networks involving many institutions (about 350 in all).
The 32 member countries include the 27 European Union Member States together with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.
The seven West Balkan countries are cooperating countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia as well as Kosovo under the UN Security Council Resolution 1244/99. These cooperation activities are integrated into Eionet and are supported by the European Union under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance.
EEA is an active member of the EPA Network
EPA Network
The EPA Network is Network of Heads of Environment Agencies in Europe. EPA Network is an informal grouping of the Heads and Directors of European Environmental Protection Agencies and similar bodies across Europe....
European environment information and observation network (Eionet)
The European environment information and observation network (Eionet) is a partnership network of the EEA and its member and cooperating countries. The EEA is responsible for developing the network and coordinating its activities. To do this, the EEA works closely together with the National Focal Points (NFPs), typically national environment agencies or environment ministries in the member countries.The NFPs are responsible for coordinating networks of the National Reference Centres (NRCs), bringing altogether around 1000 experts from over 350 national institutions and other bodies dealing with environmental information.
Apart from the NFPs and NRCs, Eionet currently covers six European Topic Centres (ETCs) in the areas of air and climate change, biological diversity, climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation, water, land use and spatial information and analysis and sustainable consumption and production.
International cooperation
In addition to its 32 member and seven cooperating countries (from the Western Balkans), the EEA also cooperates and fosters partnerships with its neighbours and other countries and regions, mostly in the context of the European Neighbourhood PolicyEuropean Neighbourhood Policy
The European Neighbourhood Policy is a foreign relations instrument of the European Union which seeks to tie those countries to the east and south of the EU into the EU...
:
- EaPEastern PartnershipThe Eastern Partnership is a project which was initiated by the European Union . It was presented by the foreign minister of Poland with assistance from Sweden at a the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 26 May 2008...
states: Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgira - UfMUnion for the MediterraneanThe Union for the Mediterranean is a multilateral partnership that encompasses 43 countries from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin: the 27 member states of the European Union and 16 Mediterranean partner countries from North Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans...
states: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia - other ENPI states: Russia
- Central AsiaCentral AsiaCentral Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
states: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
Additionally the EEA cooperates with multiple international organizations and the corresponding agencies of the following countries:
- United States of America (Environmental Protection AgencyUnited States Environmental Protection AgencyThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
) - Canada (Environment CanadaEnvironment CanadaEnvironment Canada , legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment Canada (EC) (French: Environnement Canada), legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment...
) - PR ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
(State Environmental Protection AdministrationMinistry of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of ChinaThe Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China , formerly State Environmental Protection Administration , is a cabinet-level ministry in the executive branch of the Chinese Government . It replaced the SEPA during the March 2008 National People's Congress sessions in...
)
See also
- Agencies of the European UnionAgencies of the European UnionAn agency of the European Union is a decentralised body of the European Union , which are distinct from the institutions. Agencies are established to accomplish specific tasks. Each agency has its own legal personality...
- List of atmospheric dispersion models
- Confederation of European Environmental Engineering SocietiesConfederation of European Environmental Engineering SocietiesThe Confederation of European Environmental Engineering Societies was created as a co-operative international organization for information exchange regarding environmental engineering between the various European societies in this field....
- Coordination of Information on the EnvironmentCoordination of Information on the EnvironmentCoordination of Information on the Environment is a European programme initiated in 1985 by the European Commission, aimed at gathering information relating to the environment on certain priority topics for the European Union . Since 1994, the European Environment Agency integrated CORINE in its...
- European Agency for Safety and Health at WorkEuropean Agency for Safety and Health at WorkThe European Agency for Safety and Health at Work was set up in 1996 in Bilbao, Spain. Its mission is "to make Europe's workplaces safer, healthier and more productive...
(EU-OSHA) - GLOBE Europe