Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) amending Regulation (EEC) No 2158/86 on the protection of the Community's forests against fire
26. 10. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 307 E/33 Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) amending Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 on the protection of the Community’s forests against fire (1999/C 307 E/06) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(1999) 379 final - 1999/0160(COD) (Submitted by the Commission on 22 July 1999) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 175 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of Committee, the Economic and Social Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions, Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty, (1) Whereas, since the rural communities, forest heritage, and in particular in particular foresters and stock farmers, who are the main trustees of Europe’s their professional organisations, play a fundamental role in drawing up regional fire prevention action plans, in prac- tising preventive silviculture and as first-line firefighters, it to create the conditions for the effective is important participation of in the protection of European forests against this abiotic agent; these people (2) Whereas the period of application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 of 23 July 1992 on protection of the expired on 31 Community’s December 1996; against forests fire (1) (3) Whereas forests play an essential part in maintaining fundamental balances, particularly as regards the soil, water resources, climate, flora and fauna; whereas those ecological balances are indispensable for sustainable agri- culture and the management of rural areas; (4) Whereas the conservation of the forest ecosystem is for economic, ecological and social reasons important and contributes, in particular, towards maintaining the social situation of those people working in agriculture and in rural areas; (5) Whereas the Community and the Member States attach their forest particular importance to the protection of resources and whereas they have given international undertakings on the sustainable development of forests and the protection of forest regions, in particular during the United Nations World Conference on the environment and development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and at the pan-European Ministerial Conferences on the protection in Strasbourg in 1990 and in of European forests in 1993; whereas Helsinki the Community scheme provided for by Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 helps to fulfil those undertakings; (6) Whereas, pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92, 60 million hectares of forest, equivalent to about a half of European forests, have been classified as fire-risk zones; (7) Whereas fires continue to restrict the sustainable devel- opment of forests in fire-risk zones; (8) Whereas the Community system of information on forest fires established under Article 5 of Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 has permitted the development of Community cooperation on forest fires; whereas the development of that system will provide an effective instrument for better evaluating forest-fire protection measures and for better analysing the causes of fires; continued, to strengthen the (9) Whereas, therefore, the scheme as provided for by Regu- in lation (EEC) No 2158/92 should be forest particular measures financed in fire-risk zones, to reinforce the fight against the causes of fires and to improve prevention and monitoring systems and whereas the duration of the scheme should be extended for five years, thus bringing the period of application of the scheme to ten years from 1 January 1992; consistency of reference the prime (10) Whereas the financial allocation established by this Regu- the measure and the full duration of lation covers constitutes the budgetary authority during the annual budgetary procedure within Interinstitutional the meaning of point 33 of Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Commission on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure; the Council and the for (11) Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 should therefore be amended, HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Article 10(1) and (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 are replaced by the following: (1) OJ L 217, 31. 7. 1992, p. 3. 1. The scheme shall run for 10 years from 1 January 1992. C 307 E/34 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 26. 10. 1999 2. The financial allocation for the scheme shall be EUR 50 million for the period 1997 to 2001. the implementation of The annual appropriations budgetary authority within the limits of perspective. í shall be authorised by the the financial Article 2 This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of the European Communities. its publication in the Official Journal of This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States