Air pollution : national emission ceilings for pollutant gas (SO2, NOx, NH3, VOCs)

The Conciliation Committee reached a final agreement by an exchange of letters on the text of the proposal for a directive. Parliament managed to secure the inclusion in the directive of a specific benchmark date - 2020 - for achieving the long-term goal of not exceeding critical limits and of protecting people against the health risks caused by air pollution. The interim target date for attaining binding limits set for each Member State would be 2010. The compromise also provided for an ambitious review clause, requiring the Commission to assess progress in achieving indicative figures set for the Community as a whole by 2010 and to propose measures to attain them if necessary. It was also agreed that the Commission would examine the pollution caused by aviation and shipping and propose measures to reduce it. �