The European Parliament,

- having regard to Council Regulation No. 1210/90 on the establishment of the European Environment Agency and the European environment information and observation network OJ No. L 120, 11.5.1990, p. 1 , in particular the fourth recital in which the Council affirms that 'it is now appropriate to take the necessary decisions regarding a permanent environmental informtion and observation system',

- having regard to its opinion of 14 March 1990 on the original Commission proposal OJ No. C 96, 17.4.1990, p. 114,

- having regard to Rule 41(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the Council agreed to the creation of the European Environment Agency on 7 May 1990 but left the question of the seat of the Agency unresolved,

B. whereas Article 21 of the Regulation establishing the European Environment Agency lays down that it shall come into force only "on the day following that on which the competent authorities have decided on a seat for the Agency",

C. whereas to date the governments of the Member States have failed to decide on a seat for the European Environment Agency,

D. whereas, therefore, the European Environment Agency has not yet been established; whereas indeed, its work cannot begin even provisionally pending the decision on its seat,

E. whereas the Environment Agency, of all the new Community institutions envisaged, is the one whose establishment is by far the most urgent, especially given the growing importance of environmental protection in all countries of the Community without exception,

F. whereas the European Parliament has already allocated a considerable sum for the establishment of the European Environment Agency in the 1991 budget,

G. whereas the urgency of this need to establish a Community agency for environmental protection is directly linked with the pressure of public opinion, which is increasingly alarmed at the state of the environment in the countries of the Community,

1. Affirms that it is absolutely essential that an immediate decision be reached on establishing the Environment Agency;

2. Deplores in the strongest terms the continued failure of the governments of the Member States to decide a seat for the European Environment Agency, thus causing damage to the Community's environment policy just at a time when completion of the single market is imminent;

3. Calls strongly upon the Member States to de-couple the decision on the seat of the European Environment Agency (which is not a Community institution) from decisions on the location of other Community bodies and institutions so that the actual launching of the European Environment Agency is decided at the next meeting of the European Council;

4. Hopes that all Member State governments will recognise that their failure to decide on a seat for the European Environment Agency, and in some cases their continuing linkage of the decision on the seat of the European Environment Agency with that of other Community bodies and institutions, risks jeopardising seriously not merely the Community's credibility but also the future European Environment Agency's capability to address Europe's environmental problems (not least due to the termination of the CORINE programme prior to the creation of the Agency);

5. Decides to select, as have some Member States, its two nominees (scientific personalities particularly qualified in the field of environmental protection) to the European Environment Agency Management Board as soon as possible;

6. Decides to consider, in cooperation with the Commission, what further action should now be taken to overcome the serious implications which failure to establish the European Environment Agency will have; this should include the possibility of proposing a provisional location for the Agency to enable it to commence work as soon as possible;

7. Welcomes the preparatory work towards the establishment of the European Environment Agency undertaken by the Commission, in particular via its European Environment Agency Task force, and congratulates the Commission for its initiative;

8. Urges the Commission, nevertheless, not to hesitate in undertaking the maximum possible preparatory work prior to the coming into force of the Regulation establishing the European Environment Agency;

9. Reserves the right to reallocate appropriations adopted for the Agency in the 1991 budget if its seat has not been decided by 1 July 1991;

10. Calls on the President-in-Office of the Council to take steps to ensure that this resolution is given full consideration and receives due attention;

11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, Council, the Member States and, in particular, the Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the European Community.