What we do

The core objective of the EEA is to produce European, pan-European and regional integrated environmental data and indicator sets, assessments and thematic analyses in order to provide a sound decision basis for environmental policies in the EU and Member countries and for cooperation with candidate and potential candidate countries and those covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy.

The EEA 2009-2013 Strategy outlines our plans for the five years to come. It is shaped around today’s and tomorrow’s information needs with an overall emphasis on a much wider use of the environmental information that is being collected. We are streamlining our activities, creating new ways of working, and developing new methods to bring environmental thinking into the mainstream of economic and social policy making.

The Strategy is built on three main activities:

• continuing to support the information needs set down in EU and international environmental legislation and  especially the sixth Environment Action Programme;
• providing more timely assessments on how and why the environment is changing and whether environmental policies, including the sixth Environment Action Programme, the EU Sustainable Development Strategy and those in related areas have been effective;
• improving the coordination and dissemination of environmental data and knowledge across Europe.

The Strategy document describes the EEA’s activities under four areas:

• environmental themes;
• cross-cutting themes;
• integrated environmental assessment;
• information services and communications.

Two further strategic areas cover EEA operations, administration and governance. The Strategy will also take forward the Shared environmental information system (SEIS).

Read the EEA 2009-2013 Strategy, EEA Communication Strategy and 2009 Annual Management Plan