BATHING WATER QUALITY IMPROVING IN THE EU

The annual bathing water report presented today by the European Commission and the European Environment Agency reveals that the large majority of bathing sites across the European Union met EU hygiene standards in 2008. During that bathing season some 96 % of coastal bathing areas and 92 % of bathing sites in rivers and lakes complied with minimum standards. The report provides useful water quality information for the millions of people who visit Europe's beaches every summer.

Commissioner for the Environment Stavros Dimas said: "High quality bathing water is essential for the well-being of European citizens and the environment — and this goes for all other bodies of water too. I am pleased to see that the overall quality of water in bathing areas is improving throughout the Union."

Professor Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, added, "Information sources like this report and our web-based viewing tools enable citizens not only to check the quality of the bathing water in their local community or holiday destination, but also to allow them to get more actively involved in the protection of their environment."

Bathing water quality shows a long-term upward trend
Every summer millions of Europeans head for the beach to enjoy the sun and to cool down in refreshing clean water. To allow Europeans to make an informed choice on which beach to choose, the Commission publishes a yearly report on the quality of coastal and freshwater bathing areas as reported by Member States for the beaches located within their territory. This year the report was prepared by the European Environment Agency (EEA), which is also making available on its website maps and tables with detailed information on specific bathing areas.

In 2008 the number of bathing waters monitored increased by some 75 sites. Of the 21 400 bathing areas monitored throughout the European Union in 2008 two thirds were on the coast and the rest were along rivers and lakes. The largest number of coastal bathing waters can be found in Italy, Greece, France, Spain and Denmark while Germany and France have the highest number of inland bathing waters.

The overall quality of bathing waters in the EU has markedly improved since 11000. Compliance with mandatory values (minimum quality requirements) increased over the 11000 to 2008 period from 80 % to 96 % and from 52 % to 92 % in coastal and inland waters respectively. From 2007 to 2008 compliance increased both for inland and coastal waters (1.1 and 3.3 percentage points respectively).

Twelve Member States monitoring under the new bathing directive
Bathing areas are zones where bathing is explicitly authorised or where bathing is traditionally practised by a large number of bathers and is not prohibited.

To determine their quality bathing waters are tested against a number of physical, chemical and microbiological parameters for which the Bathing Water Directive[1] sets out mandatory values. Member States must comply with the mandatory values but may adopt the stricter standards and non-binding guide values.

In 2006 a new bathing water directive [2] took effect which updated the parameters and monitoring provisions in line with the latest scientific knowledge. The new Directive places greater emphasis on providing information to the public on the quality of bathing areas. Member States have until 2015 to fully implement the new Directive but twelve Member States (Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden) already monitored their bathing areas during the 2008 bathing season according to the parameters of the new Directive.

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Everything about your favourite beach is now at your fingertips

Published: 18 Jun 2009 - How is the water quality at your favourite bathing spot? What do other beachgoers think? What does the beach look like? The European Environment Agency (EEA) and Microsoft environmental information portal 'Eye on Earth' shows not only the latest information on water quality but also user ratings and comments, pictures and live webcam streaming.

Every year, millions of Europeans spend their summer vacations by coastal or inland waters. Bathing water quality can be a key factor in deciding where to go. The Eye on Earth application 'Water Watch' displays the latest information on bathing water quality from more than 22 000 monitoring points across Europe. For some countries (Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Scotland and Slovenia) the data are from the current bathing season and could be the results of water analyses sampled only days before.

'Eye on Earth' allows users to search for a specific beach or zoom in on a given section of a coast or riverbank. The selected area or beach can be viewed both in street map or bird's eye formats. A 'traffic light' indicator (red, amber, green) of water quality provides a user-friendly approximation of national testing results and is complemented by ratings and comments from people who have visited the site. The portal also allows registered users to upload pictures and link to webcams.

The EEA and Microsoft plan to develop the 'Eye on Earth' portal by adding new sets of environmental information in coming years.

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Landfilling down as Europe shifts to better waste management
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Published: 10 Jun 2009
The EEA report 'Diverting waste from landfill' finds that the EU Landfill Directive has been a positive force in altering management of biodegradable municipal waste in the EU. The study explains how setting medium- and long-term targets for reducing landfilling has helped countries to define waste strategies and target investments.

Adopted in 1999, the Landfill Directive was a milestone in EU waste policy. It responded to shortages of landfill capacity in some Member States, as well as methane emissions and water and soil pollution, which were serious concerns by the mid-11000s. The Directive aims to divert refuse from landfill, encouraging re-use, recycling and recovery.

Ten years on, is there a success story to tell? Is the EU succeeding in shifting waste from landfill to more environmentally-friendly ways of managing waste? Which strategies and measures have proven most effective in different national and regional contexts?

The EEA report released today analyses and compares waste management in Estonia, Finland, the Flemish Region of Belgium, Germany, Hungary and Italy to find out how practices and policies have shifted in the last decade. From the strategies and measures reviewed, it extracts important conclusions for policy-makers across the EU that will help in meeting the Directive's next targets in 2016 and beyond.

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EU greenhouse gas emissions fall for third consecutive year

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Press release
Published: 29 May 2009
European Union emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases (GHG) declined for the third consecutive year in 2007, according to the EU's GHG inventory report compiled by the European Environment Agency. The EU-27's overall domestic emissions were 9.3 % below 11000 levels, which equalled a drop of 1.2 % or 59 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent compared to 2006. The EU-15 now stands 5 % below its Kyoto Protocol base year levels.

Falling emissions since 2005 have largely resulted from the lower use of fossil fuels (particularly oil and gas) in households and services — these sectors, not covered by the EU Emission Trading System (ETS), are among the largest sources of GHG emissions in the EU. Warmer weather and higher fuel prices were the primary causes for the drop in emissions in 2006–2007, with most of the decrease occurring in households — particularly in Germany.

Welcoming the reductions, Professor Jacqueline McGlade, EEA Executive Director, stressed that EU Member States need to take positive steps to sustain progress in coming years.

"The economic stimulus packages that Governments are currently adopting represent a crucial opportunity to address the climate crisis and the financial crisis simultaneously", Professor McGlade said. "A strong Copenhagen agreement later this year would drive forward investments vital to our future prosperity."

Selected highlights of the report
Seventeen EU Member States reduced GHG emissions in 2007. Among EU-15 States, all but Spain and Greece reduced emissions.
GHG emissions from international aviation and maritime transport, currently excluded in the national totals, have grown steadily since 11000, reaching 6 % of total EU emissions in 2007.
The report includes for the first time information on the use of data and emissions reported under the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) for the purposes of preparing national GHG inventories in the EU-15. Most Member States used the ETS data to improve and refine the estimation and reporting of CO2 emissions.
The report also contains, for the first time, key information about Member State emission allowances under the Kyoto Protocol.
Inventory data becomes more accessible for experts and the public
The European Environment Agency has updated the data in the greenhouse gas (GHG) data viewer, a web-based interface that simplifies access and analysis of the data in the GHG inventory report. The GHG data viewer can show emission trends for the main sectors and allows comparison of emissions between different countries and activities. In addition, the data viewer can produce graphics and key emission estimates.

Background on the inventory report
The EEA report ' Annual European Community greenhouse gas inventory 11000–2007 and inventory report 2009' has been submitted to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the European Community's official submission..

The UNFCCC, with 192 Parties, is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Their common goal is to stabilise GHG concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that prevents dangerous human interference with the climate system.

EU-27: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom.

EU-15: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom.