In parallel, two public consultations were organised: a first at the end of 2011 focused on review of the strengths and weaknesses of the existing air quality policy framework; the second on-line public consultation of all stakeholders on the main policy options available to address the remaining air quality problems in early 2013.[7] A Eurobarometer survey seeking the view of the general public on air pollution issues was conducted and reported in 2012.[8] The Commission and the European Environment Agency (EEA) also conducted an Air Implementation Pilot project, bringing together 12 cities from across the Union to assess local experie ...[+++]nce with implementing the air policy framework.[9]

New online maps published today by the European Commission and the European Environment Agency, in close cooperation with the Joint Research Centre, the Commission's in-house science service, allow citizens for the first time to pinpoint the main diffuse sources of air pollution, such as transport and aviation.

The project will reach out to European citizens via existing European, national and local air quality platforms such as the European Environmental Agency's (EEA) Eye on Earth, and major national weather information platforms across Europe that have hundreds of thousands of visitors daily. Citizens will be able to sign up to receiving information and alerts on the levels of pollutant emissions in their area, primarily Sulphur Oxides (SOx), Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), Ozone (O3), Carbon Monoxide (CO), and Particulate Matter (PM), in real time.

In fact, the lack of a specific reference to a parliamentary hearing is mostly due to the fact that the Regulation establishing the EEA is older than the regulations establishing the other agencies, dating back (in its original version) to 1990.

The headings in this chapter represent the key questions that the Commission requested to be addressed in the independent study it commissioned in order to review the progress and tasks of the EEA in relation to the overall Community policy on the environment: appropriateness of the Agency's mandate and of its resources, policy relevance and focus of its work, co-operation with partner organisations, necessary degree of autonomy, co-operation with non-EU countries, network of permanent collaborators, governance structure, products and services and future challenges.

Analysis provided by the European Environment Agency (EEA) supports the Commission's conclusions that there are two main reasons for this.