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New article name is EPA Network

The EPA Networkis Network of Heads of Environment Agencies in Europe.

Members of EPA Network

EPA Network is an informal grouping of the Heads and Directors of European Environmental Protection Agencies and similar bodies across Europe.

The Network is a forum for the exchange of views and experiences on issues of common interest to organisations involved in the practical day-to-day implementation of environmental policy. The EPA Network was established in 2003 and consists at present of 30 agencies. The Network meets twice a year and has established a number of interest groups dealing with issues of interest to member agencies. The issues dealt with by the interest groups cover a wide range of areas ranging from environmental policy and how to implement it, to cooperation between agencies on common issues. The Network has issued a number of statements on environmental policy

• The Oslo Statement: Improving the Effectiveness of EU Environmental Regulation - A Future Vision
• The Helsinki statement on Barriers to Better Regulation
• Zagreb Statement on Revision of the Construction Product Directive
• The Dessau statement on Sustainable Use of Natural Resources
• The Prague statement on Better regulation

The secretariat is at present hosted by the European Environment Agency 2 which is also a member of the EPA Network and located in Copenhagen

The EPA Network cooperates on common issues witht he network of European Nature Protection Agencies ENCA,, as well as with other networks, such as ,IMPEL

Background

Few realize that some 70–80 % of environmental legislation in the EU Member States and member countries of the European Economic Area is actually decided and agreed at EU level. , The laws developed and adopted at EU level either apply directly or are transposed into national legislation after decision by national parliaments. . This should, though, not come as a surprise. Air and water pollution, acid precipitation, climate change and many other environmental problems tend to ignore national borders. Typically, they present a threat that can affect more than one country. If we want to tackle these problems successfully, it makes more sense to address them at regional, and even in some cases global, level.

It is usually the task of Environmental Protection Agencies within individual countries, with around five exceptions where the ministries have the role, to oversee and implement these obligations and enforce national laws. However, as the legal and institutional structures differ remarkably across Europe, so too do the approaches to implementation of environmental legislation. Consequently there is a substantial variety in the roles of EPAs and what they are tasked with. The design of individual agencies is influenced by a complex interaction of factors such as:

EPAs Main tasks

• Demography:

-size of the country

-population

-population distribution within different regions

• Environmental conditions and areas of risk
• Prevailing social and governmental structures:

-number of governance levels within the country

-distribution of power to regions

-historic role of human activities through the ages:

-settlement

-agriculture

-industry

-power utilisation

-transport arrangements, etc.

The main tasks that EPAs deal with can be divided into two categories with three sub-categories each:

• Information and data handling, including research, monitoring, as well as information systems and assessment
• Operational tasks, including: advice to ministries and citizens, enforcement of regulations and licensing

This demonstrates clearly that, regardless of the diversity of activities across the EPAs, the main task of the majority of the agencies is data and information gathering, information handling and provision of advice. The mandate of the European Environment Agency, EEAis:

• To help the Community and member countries make informed decisions about improving the environment, integrating environmental considerations into economic policies and moving towards sustainability
• To coordinate the European environment information and observation network, EIONET

Although there are a few important exceptions, enforcement of legislation and licensing do not appear to be significant tasks in many EPAs. The secretariat is located at the EEA European Environment Agency

Member Agencies

|EEA|| EEA European Environment Agency |Austria||Environment Agency Austria |- Belgium|| The Flemish Environment Agency (VMM) |- | Croatia ||Croatian Environment Agency (CEA) |- | Cyprus || [||Environment Service Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment Republic of Cyprus|- | Czech Republic ||Czech Environmental Information Agency (CENIA)|- | Denmark||Danish Environmental Protection|- |Estonia|| Estonian Environment Information Centre (EEIC)|- | Finland || Environment Institute – SYKE|- | Germany || Federal Environment Agency |- | Greece || Greece National Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development|- | Hungary ||Central Bureau of Water and Environment |- | Iceland || Environment Agency of Iceland|- | Ireland ||Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)|- | Italy|| ISPRA|- | Latvia || Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Agency (LEGMA)|- | Lithuania ||Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)|- | Malta|| Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA)|- | Netherlands|| Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL)|- |Norway||Norwegian Climate and Pollution Agency (KLIF)|- | ||Directorate for Nature Management (DN) |- | Poland || Chief Inspector of Environmental Protection|- | Romania || National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA)|- |Slovakia|| Slovak Environmental Agency (SEA)|- | || Slovak Hydro meteorological Institute (SHMÚ) |- |Slovenia||Environmental Agency of the Republic of Slovenia | |Spain||Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs|- |Sweden|| Swedish Environmental Protection Agency|- United Kingdom|||Environment Agency of England and Wales|- | |Scottish Environment Protection Agency SEPA|- | |N Ireland Environment Agency|- }

External links

• EnviroWindow, EEA platform for knowledge sharing and development