91997E2575

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2575/97 by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Commission (24 July 1997)

Subject: Staff and Work of the European Environment Agency (EEA)

The nature and the activities of the EEA are very specifically defined, and its duties are purely consultative, as the leaflet 'Putting Information to Work' published by the organisation in 1995 shows. Despite this, there has been a significant increase in the number of staff employed there, and its budget estimates for 1997 and 1998 seem to be high.

Will the Commission - which supervises this service - state why the EEA called for an increase in its staff complement in 1997, and can it give a breakdown of staff by nationality and specify the exact nature of the scientific work it is supposed to carry out?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (18 September 1997)

The Honourable Member is referred to the answer given by the Commission to his previous written question E-1767/97 ((OJ C 21, 22.1.1998, p. 93. )), wherein it was explained that the European environment agency (EEA) is an independent body with legal personality even though it is funded almost entirely by a subsidy from the Community budget. The Commission does not supervise the work of the agency. The executive director is the legal representative of the agency. He is appointed by the agency's management board and his tasks are defined in Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 ((OJ L 120, 11.5.1990. )) and these include all staff matters. It is to the executive director that questions on recruitment policy and practice must therefore be posed.

In the preliminary draft budget for 1998, the Commission has made a proposal for an unchanged overall budget of 16.5 MECU and the agency staff complement rests unaltered at 62.

The tasks of the agency are defined in its Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 and these consist of the provision of objective, reliable and comparable information at European level which the Community and Member States can use both in the assessment and formulation of policy measures to protect the environment. Such information should also contribute to measures to inform the public on the state of the environment.