Review of the Implementation of Directive 2002/49/EC on Environmental Noise

Commission review of Directive 2002/49/EC

The outputs of the current project will serve as a basis for the Commission's report on the implementation of the Environmental Noise Directive, and to the ongoing review.

As requested under Article 11 of the Directive 2002/49/EC, the Commission intends to submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report assessing the implementation of the Directive.

Article 11 of the Directive 2002/49/EC

Review and reporting

  1. No later than 18 July 2009, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the implementation of this Directive.
  2. That report shall in particular assess the need for further Community actions on environmental noise and, if appropriate, propose implementing strategies (...).
  3. The report shall include a review of the acoustic environment quality in the Community based on the data referred to in Article 10 and shall take account of scientific and technical progress and any other relevant information. The reduction of harmful effects and the cost-effectiveness ratio shall be the main criteria for the selection of the strategies and measures proposed. (...)
  4. The report shall be reviewed every five years or more often if appropriate. It shall contain an assessment of the implementation of this Directive.
  5. The report shall, if appropriate, be accompanied by proposals for the amendment of this Directive.

This report will review the implementation of the key provisions of the Directive by the Member States. In addition, it may, if appropriate, be accompanied by proposals for the amendment of the Directive and by an Action Plan outlining further implementing strategies and Community actions on environmental noise.

The 6th Environmental Action Programme adopted in 2002 by the Council and the European Parliament identifies 'Environment and Health and Quality of Life' as one of the four environmental priority domains. Under this priority, the Programme stipulates that Community's environmental policy should take account of World Health Organization (WHO) standards, guidelines and programs and should aim at 'substantially reducing the number of people regularly affected by long-term average levels of noise, in particular from traffic which, according to scientific studies, cause detrimental effects on human health'. Over the past few years, a large body of evidence on the health effects of noise, particularly transport noise, have been published.

Based on the assessment of the reports submitted thus far by the Member States under the Directive and on the technical support from DG JRC the Commission is currently reviewing Directive 2002/49/EC, giving special attention to the recommendations of the WHO on noise and human health, with the overall aim of reaching the objectives of the aforementioned 6th EAP.

Click here to access papers and reports on noise and human health.

This project is being delivered by a consortium consisting of Milieu Ltd, Risk and Policy Analysis Ltd. and TNO. The lead organisation is Milieu Ltd., with RPA providing input on policy and impact assessment and TNO providing technical expertise on noise control measures.