22. 4. 97 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 104/37 COMMISSION DECISION of 16 April 1997 on the recognition of the international standard ISO 14001:1996 and the European standard EN ISO 14001:1996, establishing specification for environmental management systems, in accordance with Article 12 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 of 29 June 1993, allowing voluntary participation by companies in the industrial sector in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (Text with EEA relevance) (97/265/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 of 29 June 1993, allowing voluntary participation by companies in the industrial sector in a Community eco- management and audit scheme ('), and in particular Article 12 thereof, Whereas Article 12 of Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 es- tablishes that companies implementing national, Euro- pean or international standards for environmental man- agement systems and audits and certified, according to appropriate certification procedures, as complying with those standards shall be considered as meeting the corres- ponding requirements of Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93, provided that, in particular, the standards and procedures are recognized by the Commission acting in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article 19 of the same Regulation; Whereas Article 12 of Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 states that the references of the recognized standards and criteria shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities; Whereas the Commission has been requested to recog- nize the international standard ISO 14001:1996 and the European standard EN ISO 14001:1996, establishing specification for environmental management systems; Whereas the international standard ISO 14001:1996 and the European standard EN ISO 14001:1996 are identical and include specification for environmental management systems and audit corresponding to certain requirements of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93; Whereas recognition can only be granted in this Decision where the requirements of Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 are covered explicitly in the international standard ISO 14001:1996 and the European standard EN ISO 14001:1996; Whereas the use of the specification of the international standard ISO 14001:1996 or the European standard EN ISO 14001:1996 together with their associated guidance () OJ No L 168, 10. 7. 1993, p. 1. may lead to greater degree of correspondence with the requirements of Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93; Whereas the accredited environmental verifier will continue to check compliance with those elements of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 which are not covered explicitly in the international standard ISO 14001:1996 and the European standard EN ISO 14001:1996, in particular at the document review stage, the accredited environmental verifier should confirm that the elements of Article 3 and Annex I, not mentioned in the Annex of this Decision, are covered; Whereas certification undertaken according to certifica- tion procedures recognized, by the Commission, will ensure that the requirements of Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 Annex II-A to G will have been met; Whereas the measures set out in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee set under Article 19 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93, HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: Article 1 For the purposes of Article 12 of Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 the Commission hereby recognises that the international standard ISO 14001:1996 and the European standard EN ISO 14001:1996, establishing specification for environmental management systems, contain require- ments corresponding to those of the above mentioned Regulation, as specified in the Annex to this Decision. Article 2 This Decision is addressed to the Member States. Done at Brussels, 16 April 1997. For the Commission Ritt BJERREGAARD Member of the Commission