Brussels, 30/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - The proposal for a directive aimed at upgrading the 1976 legislation on the quality of bathing water will be the subject of conciliation procedure between Parliament and Council, beginning 12 October this year.
After the Parliament's vote in second reading in May (EUROPE 8944), informal talks conducted by the trilogue (EP, Council and Commission) to promote an interinstitutional agreement ended on 27 September in Strasbourg. They did allow closer convergence on most amendments concerning the information to be made available to the public, but there are still differences on three points. Controversial points to be covered by conciliation concern: - emergency plans to be implemented by local and regional authorities in the case of pollution; - the sufficient quality criterion, introduced as an additional category in the classification of freshwater; - and the duration of application of this status for water.
The Parliament agreed on the principle of this new status but with more stringent standards than the Council had recommended. It also restricted application of the status to a transitional period of eight years.