Ambient air quality: common strategy for assessment and management

Adopting the report by Mr Papayannakis, the European Parliament approved the proposal subject to certain amendments recommending that: - benzene and carbon monoxide should be included in the list of pollutants to be dealt with immediately; - a third list of pollutants to be studied at a later stage (dioxin, volatile organic compounds, methane, ammonia, nitric acid, poly-aromatic hydrocarbons) should be added to the two lists in Annex I; - there was a need for more measures in more places (agglomerations with more than 100,000 inhabitants and highly industrialized zones) and more efficient technologies; - Member States' action plans should act as emergency plans if the limit values set by the experts were exceeded and should, if necessary, include temporary suspension of the industrial process causing the pollution; - the problem of cross-border pollution should be highlighted; - the European Environment Agency and the European Parliament should receive better quality information.�