Abstract
At the end of July, the European Commission presented a proposal for a Directive on the Assessment and Management of Environmental Noise with the aim of providing a basis for a coherent, integrated EU policy on -environmental noise. The proposal introduces measures to classify and understand the problems caused by noise, as a necessary step to preparing future concrete measures to reduce noise pollution. The Commission is launching the idea of making EU-wide ‘noise maps’ based on common methods and indicators. These maps will be made available to the public and should form the basis for development of action plans and strategies at local, national and EU levels to combat noise pollution. The Directive does not set European-wide noise limits, but anticipates that comparison of levels between Member States will act to drive levels down.
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