ETC/ACM
Services
Air Quality Questionnaire
Air Quality Questionnaire
Introduction
EU legislation
The EU air quality legislation requires the Member States to report on zones designated under the
Air quality Framework Directive (96/62/EC) with its four Daughter Directives that set
the limit values, target values, thresholds and objective values for the individual pollutants.
This annual reporting on the levels in comparison to air quality objectives will continue under the new Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality (11 June 2008 entered into force).
New rules for the reciprocal exchange of information will come into effect on 1 Januyary 2014. The Commission has established a pilot to support the transition to the new system ( e-reporting).
Principle
European legislation is built on the principle that the Member States divide their territory into
a number of air quality management zones and agglomerations. In these zones and agglomerations, the
Member States should assess the air quality using measurements, modelling or other empirical techniques.
Delimitations of zones may differ between different pollutants in order to optimize management of
air quality due to differences in sources and abatement strategies.
Where levels are elevated, the Member States should prepare an air quality plan or programme to ensure compliance with the limit value before the date when the limit value formally enters into force. In addition, information on air quality should be disseminated to the public.
The EU Member States submit annually their report on air quality in the form of a predefined questionnaire (Decision 2004/461/EC) to the Commission.
The ETC/ACC produces Technical Papers with overviews and analyses of the submitted information concerning data quality and zone exceedances in the Member States for each reporting year.
