Legal provisions of COM(2007)470 - Approval of the first and the second amendments to the UN/ECE Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context

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dossier COM(2007)470 - Approval of the first and the second amendments to the UN/ECE Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a ...
document COM(2007)470 EN
date November  9, 2007

Contents

Chapter I - General Provisions

Article 1 - Subject matter

This Directive establishes a framework for achieving a more sustainable use of pesticides by reducing the use of and the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment in line with the precautionary principle and encouraging the promotion and adoption of non-chemical alternatives to pesticides .

Article 2 - Scope

1. This Directive shall apply to pesticides in the form of:

(a)plant protection products as defined in Regulation (EC) No [...] [concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market], for use in agricultural and non-agricultural contexts,

(b)biocidal products as defined in Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market (19) belonging to product types 14 to 19 as defined in Annex V thereto.

2. This Directive shall apply without prejudice to any other relevant Community legislation or to any national fiscal measures to encourage the use of less harmful pesticides .

3. Member States may provide subsidies or take fiscal measures to encourage the use of less harmful pesticides. This may include the introduction of a pesticides levy on all products except non-chemical products or low-risk plant protection products as defined in Article [50(1)] of Regulation (EC) No ... [concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market].

4. The provisions of this Directive shall not prevent Member States from applying the precautionary principle in restricting or prohibiting the use of pesticides.

Article 3 - Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply:

(1)‘use’: means all operations carried out with a pesticide, such as storage, handling, dilution, mixing, and application;

(2)‘ ▐ user’: means any natural or legal person who carries out the use of pesticides in the framework of his ▐ activity, whether he is self-employed , employed or recruited for a special task; regarding ‘professional users’ Member States may distinguish between those entitled to use pesticides only on their own holdings and those entitled to provide pesticide services on holdings belonging to 3rd parties;

In addition, golf courses, tennis courts and other leisure facilities, local authorities with public parks, and infrastructure items such as car parks, roads, railways etc. shall be looked upon as users;

(3)‘distributor’: means any natural or legal person who makes a pesticide available on the market, including wholesalers, retailers, vendors, suppliers;

(4)‘adviser’: means any natural or legal person who has the level of instruction and training stipulated by the Member States in order to be authorised to provide advice on the use of pesticides, in the context of uses authorised by the country in which the pesticide is produced and of the maximum residue limits laid down by the Community;

(5)‘pesticide application equipment’: means any apparatus used for the application of pesticides or pesticide-containing products;

(6)‘pesticide application accessories’: means devices that can be mounted on pesticide application equipment, that are essential for its good working, such as nozzles, manometers, filters, strainers and cleaning devices for tank;

(7)‘aerial spraying’: means any application of pesticides by an air-borne vehicle;

(8)‘integrated pest management’: means integrated pest management as defined in Article [3(23)] of Regulation (EC) No ...[concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market];

(9)‘risk indicator’: means a parameter that can be used to evaluate pesticide use impacts on human health and the environment;

(10)‘non-chemical methods of plant protection and pest and crop management’: means the use of pest control and management techniques that do not rely on chemical properties. Non-chemical methods of plant protection and pest and crop management include rotation, physical and mechanical control and natural predator management;

(11)‘application frequency’: refers to a utilisation indicator which expresses the average number of times that a piece of agricultural land can be treated with the prescribed dose, calculated on the basis of the total quantities of each pesticide sold;

(12)‘pesticide’: means a plant protection product as defined in Regulation (EC) No ... [concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market];

(13)‘use reduction’: means reduction of applications of pesticides and is not necessarily dependent on volume;

(14)‘treatment frequency index’: is based on the fixed standard dose of active substance per hectare needed for one treatment against the pest in question. Therefore, it is not necessarily dependent on volume and can be used to evaluate use reduction.

Article 4 - National action plans to reduce risks and use of pesticides

1. Not later than ... (20), Member States shall adopt a background report in accordance with Annex III with the objective of identifying national trends in pesticide use and risks and the priority areas and crops to be addressed in the national action plan.

2. Member States shall, after consulting farmers' and winegrowers' associations, environmental protection organisations and the industrial and other sectors concerned, adopt and implement without undue delay national action plans to set up targets, measures and timetables to reduce risks, including hazards, and dependence on pesticides. The national action plans shall as a minimum include:

(a)for other than biological pesticides and low-risk plant protection products as defined in Article [50(1)] of Regulation (EC) No ... [concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market], quantitative use reduction targets measured as a treatment index. The treatment index will be adapted to the specific conditions of each Member State. The treatment index will have to be communicated immediately to the Commission for its approval. For active substances of very high concern the reduction target shall be a minimum 50% reduction in relation to the treatment index calculated for the year 2005 by the end of 2013, unless the Member State can prove that it has already achieved a comparable or higher target based on another year of reference from the period 1995-2004;

(b)for pesticide formulations classified as toxic or very toxic pursuant to Directive 1999/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 1999 concerning the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous preparations (21), a quantitative use reduction target measured as sold volumes. This target shall be a minimum 50% reduction calculated in relation to the year 2005 by the end of 2013, unless the Member State can prove that it has already achieved a comparable or higher reduction target based on another year of reference from the period 1995-2004.

Member States may also choose to opt for setting the same targets for risk reduction, instead of use reduction targets. Reduction of risks shall be measured using the risk indicators as provided for in Article 15 and Member States opting for risk reduction shall select a year of reference from the period 1995-2005.

National action plans shall include integrated pest management as referred to in Article 14, priority being assigned to non-chemical crop protection measures and encouragement provided to farmers who opt to use non-chemical crop protection products.

3. The baseline year shall be the average use and risks in the last three calendar years ‘January through December’ before the entry into force of this Directive.

4. When drawing up and revising their national action plans, Member States shall give due consideration to the public health, social, economic and environmental impacts of the measures envisaged , to specific national, regional and local conditions and to all relevant stakeholder groups. Minimum requirements for the national action plans are listed in the guidance document in Annex IV .

The national action plans shall comprise, if necessary, information on the aspects listed in Articles 5 to 14. They shall take into account plans under other Community legislation on the use of pesticides, such as planned measures under Directive 2000/60/EC.

The measures contained in the national action plans may, in particular, be of a legislative, taxation or voluntary nature and should be based on the findings of relevant risk assessments.

Member States shall establish a mechanism for financing the introduction of the national action plans.

5. Not later than ... (22) , Member States shall communicate their national action plans to the Commission and to the other Member States.

The national action plans shall be reviewed at least every three years and , depending on the attainment of objectives, updated. Monitoring shall also include an analysis of whether the risks in the action plan are appropriately taken into account or if they need to be reassessed. Any changes to the national action plans and the essential findings of the monitoring shall be reported to the Commission without undue delay.

Member States shall make the information reported under this paragraph available to the public on a website.

The Commission shall make the information communicated in accordance with this paragraph available to third countries and to the public .

6. The Commission shall draw up every two years a report presenting the results of implementing the national action plans.

The Commission shall establish an Internet portal to inform the public about the national action plans, any changes and the essential results of their implementation.

7. The provisions on public participation as laid down in Article 2 of Directive 2003/35/EC shall apply to the preparation and the modification of the national action plans.

8. Member States shall step up their efforts to monitor and prevent illegal use of pesticides, in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders.

Member States shall report on a regular basis on controls in place regarding illegal use.

Chapter II - Training, Awareness programmes, and Sales of pesticides

Article 5 - Training

1. Member States shall ensure that all professional users, distributors and advisers have access to appropriate and independently organised instruction and training or further training, including regular updating on new information available, on the sustainable and proper use of pesticides reflecting the level of responsibility of those concerned and their specific role with regard to integrated pest management. To this end, minimum requirements that are binding throughout the Community shall be laid down .

In the case of microbusiness-type farms or wineries, Member States shall ensure that one person working as a professional user within the meaning of Article 3(2) has access to such training.

The training or further training shall be designed so as to ensure that sufficient knowledge on the subjects listed in Annex I is acquired.

2. Member States shall ensure that professional users, distributors and advisers are aware of the existence and risks of illegal (counterfeit) pesticides, and are properly trained to identify such products.

3. Not later than ...  (23) , Member States shall establish an assessment system. Appropriate certificates shall be issued to prove knowledge of the matters referred to in Annex I. The system shall incorporate rules on the preconditions for issue, the period of validity and the withdrawal of the certificates .

The certificate issued to a trainee (where that trainee is a professional user from a microbusiness-type farm or winery) shall be valid for that farm or winery, with particular reference to the provisions laid down in Article 6(2).

4. The Commission may, in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 20(2) , amend Annex I for adaptation to technical and scientific progress.

Consequently, as and when deemed necessary by the national authorities responsible, holders of the certificates referred to in Annex I shall be required to undergo refresher training.

Article 6 - Requirements for sales of pesticides

1. Member States shall ensure that distributors selling pesticides ▐ have at least one person in their employment, who has a certificate referred to in Article 5(3), and who shall be present and available at the place of sales to provide information to customers as regards use of pesticides as well as the health and environmental risks and potential adverse impacts associated with them. The certificate shall be not more than 7 years old .

2. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that sales of authorised pesticides are restricted to use only by professional users holding a certificate referred to in Article 5(3) and in accordance with the advice of suitably qualified, competent professionals designated by the Member States .

3. Member States shall require distributors placing pesticides for non-professional use on the market to provide general information regarding the risks and potential adverse health and environmental impacts of pesticide use, in particular on hazards, exposure, proper storage, handling and application, as well as disposal. This shall apply also in the case of sale over the Internet. If the buyer holds a certificate issued pursuant to Article 5(3), it shall be sufficient to produce the certificate in order to purchase pesticides.

The measures provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be established not later than ... (24)

4. Member States shall ensure that existing inspection and enforcement measures are fully implemented to ensure that illegal (counterfeit) pesticides are not offered for sale.

Article 7 - Information programmes , monitoring and research

1. Member States shall promote and facilitate information programmes and the availability of information intended for the general public relating to the use and risks of pesticides and the potential acute and chronic health and environmental effects arising from their use. In addition, information shall be provided on the role of pesticides in agriculture and food production, responsible use of pesticides, hazards and non-chemical alternatives.

2. Member States shall put in place mandatory systems for gathering information on pesticide acute and chronic poisoning incidents, especially among pesticide operators, workers, residents and any other groups that may be exposed to pesticides regularly.

3. Member States shall regularly monitor and collect information on indicator species exposed to pesticides and on pesticides in the environment, such as in fresh and marine waters, soil and air, and report on this information regularly to the Commission.

4. Member States shall carry out long-term research programmes into specific situations where pesticides have been linked to impacts on human health and the environment, including studies on high-risk groups, biological diversity and combination effects.

5. To enhance comparability of information, the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, shall develop a strategic guidance document on monitoring and surveying of impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment not later than ... (25) .

Chapter III - Pesticide application equipment

Article 8 - Inspection of equipment in use

1. Member States shall ensure that pesticide application equipment and accessories in professional use shall be subject to mandatory inspections at regular intervals not exceeding five years .

For that purpose, they shall establish certificate systems designed to allow the verification of inspections.

2. The inspections shall verify that the pesticide application equipment and accessories are satisfying the essential health and safety and environmental requirements listed in Annex II.

Pesticide application equipment and accessories complying with harmonised standards developed according to Article 19(1) shall be presumed to comply with the essential health and safety and environmental requirements covered by such a harmonised standard.

3. Not later than ... (26) , Member States shall ensure that all pesticide application equipment and accessories for professional use have been inspected at least once, and that only pesticide application equipment and accessories having successfully passed inspection are in professional use. Compulsory inspections must subsequently take place at least every five years .

4. Member States shall designate bodies responsible for carrying out the inspections and inform the Commission thereof.

5. The Commission may, in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 20(2) , amend Annex II for adaptation to technical progress.

Chapter IV - Specific Practices and Uses

Article 9 - Aerial spraying

1. Member States shall prohibit aerial spraying subject to paragraphs 2-6.

2. Member States shall define and make public crops, areas and particular requirements for application, where by way of derogation from paragraph 1, aerial spraying may be authorised.

3. Member States shall designate the authorities competent for monitoring aerial spraying , and inform the Commission thereof.

4. Derogations may only be granted where the following conditions are fulfilled:

(a)there must be no viable alternatives, or there must be clear advantages in terms of reduced impacts on human health and the environment in comparison to land-based application of pesticides;

(b)the pesticides used must be explicitly authorised for aerial spraying; substances classified as very toxic (R50) to aquatic organisms shall not be authorised for aerial spraying;

(c)the pilot or operator preparing and carrying out the aerial spraying must hold a certificate referred to in Article 5(3);

(d)aerial spraying must be notified in advance to the competent authority and authorised by that authority;

(e)all the requisite measures must be taken in order to provide warning in good time for residents and bystanders and to protect the environment in the vicinity of the area sprayed ;

(f)the area to be sprayed must not be in close proximity to public or residential areas and there must be no effects on the health of residents or bystanders;

(g)the aerial craft must be equipped with the best available technology to reduce spray drift (e.g. lowdrift nozzles); where helicopters are used, the spray booms must be equipped with injection jets to reduce drift;

(h)the socio-economic and environmental benefits must outweigh the potential effects on the health of residents and bystanders.

5. A professional user wishing to apply pesticides by aerial spraying shall submit a request to the competent authority accompanied by data supporting that the conditions referred to in paragraph 4 are fulfilled. The notification shall contain information about the time of spraying and the amounts and the type of pesticides applied.

6. The competent authorities shall keep records of derogations granted and shall make them available to the public .

Article 10 - Information to the public

Member States may include in their national action plans provisions on informing neighbours who could be exposed to the spray drift.

Article 11 - Specific measures to protect the aquatic environment

1. Member States shall ensure that, when pesticides are used in the vicinity of water bodies, particularly bodies of drinking water, preference is given to:

(a)products that do not present a high risk of entering the aquatic environment;

(b)most efficient application techniques, including the use of low-drift application equipment.

2. Member States shall take the necessary action to protect bodies of water, in particular by ensuring that ▐ buffer zones, where pesticides must not be applied or stored, are established on fields adjacent to water courses, and in particular to safeguard zones for the abstraction of drinking water established in accordance with Article 7(3) of Directive 2000/60/EC.

The dimensions of the buffer zones shall be defined as a function of the risks of pollution and the agricultural and climate characteristics of the area concerned.

Furthermore Member States shall ensure that, in safeguard zones for the abstraction of drinking water in accordance with Article 7(3) of Directive 2000/60/EC, additional measures are taken to prevent contamination of water with pesticides including, where necessary, tighter restrictions on use of some high-risk products, enhanced use of buffer zones, specific training and awareness of advisers and spray operators, and strict enforcement of best practice in filling, mixing and disposal of pesticides.

Member States may establish any pesticide-free zones they deem necessary in order to safeguard drinking water resources. Such pesticide-free zones may cover the entire Member State.

3. Member States shall ensure that appropriate measures are taken to limit the aerial drift and long-range transportation of pesticides at least in vertical crops, including orchards, vineyards, and hops directly adjacent to or near a water course , by ensuring that pesticide use in such areas is reduced to the minimum and non-chemical alternatives are used .

4. Member States shall ensure that application of pesticides is reduced as far as possible or eliminated ▐ on or along roads, railway lines, ▐ surfaces made up of permeable rock, in sloping areas or other infrastructure close to surface water or groundwater, or on sealed surfaces with high risk of run-off into surface water or sewage systems. In all these areas use of non-chemical alternatives should be promoted.

Article 12 - Reduction of pesticide use in sensitive areas

1. Member States shall, taking due account of the necessary hygiene and public safety requirements, ensure that the following measures are adopted:

(a)the use of pesticides shall be prohibited or restricted to the minimum necessary in all areas used by the general public or by sensitive population groups, at least in residential areas, parks, public gardens, sports and recreation grounds, school grounds and playgrounds and in the vicinity of public healthcare facilities (clinics, hospitals, rehabilitation centres, health resorts, hospices) as well as in substantial no-spray zones including in fields around these areas, particularly, although not exclusively, to protect sensitive groups such as babies, children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with preexisting medical conditions and who may be taking medication;

(b)the use of pesticides shall be prohibited or strongly restricted in ▐ conservation areas or other areas identified for the purposes of establishing the necessary conservation measures in accordance with Articles 3 and 4 of Directive 79/409/EEC and Articles 6, 10, and 12 of Directive 92/43/EEC.

2. The prohibition or restriction shall be based on the results of relevant risk assessments.

Article 13 - Handling and storage of pesticides and their packaging and remnants

1. As part of their national action plans, Member States shall adopt the ▐ measures that prove necessary on the basis of relevant risk assessments to ensure that the following operations carried out by users do not endanger the health or safety of humans and the environment:

(a)safe storage, handling, dilution and mixing of pesticides before application;

(b)safe handling of packaging and remnants of pesticides;

(c)treatment of mixtures remaining after application;

(d)preparation, handling, cleaning and storage of the equipment used for application and any accessories, including spraying equipment and chemicals .

2. Member States shall take all necessary measures regarding pesticides authorised for non-professional use to avoid dangerous handling operations.

3. In their national action plans, Member States shall take the measures that prove necessary on the basis of appropriate risk assessments to ensure that storage areas for pesticides shall be constructed in such a way as to prevent unwanted releases.

Article 14 - Integrated Pest Management

1. Member States shall take all necessary measures , including the use of economic instruments, to promote low pesticide-input farming, including integrated pest management with the prioritisation of nonchemical methods of plant protection and pest and crop management , and to ensure that professional users of pesticides switch as quickly as possible to a more environmentally-friendly use of all available crop protection measures, giving priority to low-risk alternatives wherever possible, and otherwise to the products with minimum impact on human health and the environment among the ones available for the same pest problem.

2. Member States shall encourage the use of low-risk plant protection products as defined in Article [50(1)] of Regulation (EC) No ... [concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market].

3. Member States shall establish or support the establishment of all necessary conditions for implementation of integrated pest management and non-chemical methods of plant protection and pest and crop management, and shall draw up descriptions of the best integrated crop protection practices, assigning priority to non-chemical crop protection .

4. In particular, Member States shall ensure that farmers have at their disposal systems, including training in accordance with Article 5, and tools for pest monitoring and decision making, as well as advisory services on non-chemical methods of plant protection and pest and crop management.

5. By 30 June 2011 , Member States will report to the Commission on the implementation of paragraphs 3 and 4, and in particular, whether the necessary conditions for implementation of integrated pest management are in place.

6. Minimum requirements for the development of general standards of Integrated Pest Management are defined in Annex V.

7. Member States shall ensure that, at the latest by 1 January 2014, all professional users of pesticides implement the general standards for Integrated Pest Management.

8. Amendments to Annex V shall be adopted using the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 20(2).

9. Member States shall establish appropriate incentives , training and financial measures to assist users to implement crop-specific or sector-specific guidelines for Integrated Pest Management which take account of the general criteria described in Annex V. In their national action plans pursuant to Article 4, Member States shall refer to the appropriate guidelines .

10. The general standards for Integrated Pest Management ▐ shall be developed in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article of Regulation (EC) No ...[concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market], with public participation of interested stakeholders .

11. The crop-specific standards for Integrated Pest Management referred to in paragraph 9 may be developed in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 6(3) of Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society services (27) .

Chapter V - Indicators, Reporting and Information Exchange

Article 15 - Indicators

1. The Commission shall, in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 20(2) , develop harmonised risk and use indicators. Until those indicators are adopted, Member States may continue to use existing national indicators or adopt other appropriate indicators.

2. Member States shall use statistical data collected in accordance with Regulation (EC) No [...] [of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... concerning statistics on plant protection products] (28) for the following purposes:

(a)calculation of common and harmonised risk and use indicators at national level;

(b)identification of trends in the use of individual active substances, in particular when use restrictions have been decided at Community level in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No [...] [statistics on plant protection products];

(c)identification of trends in the occurrence of pests and disease and development of fungi;

(d)identification of priority active substances or priority crops or unsustainable practices that require particular attention, or good practices that can be set as examples in order to achieve the objectives of this Directive in preventing both health and environmental risks, including hazards, and dependency on pesticides; promoting and encouraging the adoption of non-chemical alternatives to pesticides;

(e)assessment and adaptation of the national action plans.

3. Member States shall communicate the results of the evaluations carried out pursuant to paragraph 2 to the Commission and to the other Member States and shall make this information available to the public .

The results shall be published via the Internet portal referred to in Article 4(6).

4. The Commission shall use statistical data collected in accordance with Regulation (EC) No ... [statistics on plant protection products] and the information referred to in paragraph 3 to calculate risk and use indicators at Community level, in order to estimate trends in risks from pesticide use.

This data and information shall also be used by the Commission to assess progress in the achievement of the objectives of other Community policies aimed at reducing the impact of pesticides on human and animal health and on the environment.

The results shall be made available to the general public via the Internet portal referred to in Article 4(6).

5. For the purposes of paragraph 2(a) and paragraph 3, risk and use indicators shall be calculated on the basis of data inputs concerning hazard and exposure, pesticide use records, data on characteristics of pesticides, weather data and soil data.

6. The gathering of data may not impose on Community farmers and wine producers any additional documentary requirements or any unreasonable requirements to make information available.

Article 16 - Recordkeeping and reporting

1. Pesticide dealers shall maintain records showing the receipt, sale, delivery or other disposal of all pesticides or pesticide application equipment for a period of two years.

2. The Commission shall , every three years, submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the progress in the implementation of this Directive and an assessment of national action plans , accompanied where appropriate by proposals for amendments.

3. Member States shall report annually to the Commission on their national action plans.

Article 17 - Exchange of information and best practice

The Commission shall establish a platform for the exchange of information and best practice in the field of sustainable use of pesticides and integrated pest management.

Chapter VI - Final provisions

Article 18 - Penalties

1. Member States shall determine penalties applicable to infringements of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties imposed shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

2. Member States shall notify those provisions to the Commission not later than ... (29) . and shall notify it without delay of any subsequent amendment affecting them.

Article 19 - Standardisation

1. The standards referred to in Article 8(2) of this Directive shall be established in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 6(3) of Directive 98/34/EC.

The request for developing these standards may be established in consultation with the Committee referred to in Article 20(1).

2. The Commission shall publish the references of the standards in the Official Journal of the European Union.

3. When a Member State or the Commission considers that a standard does not entirely satisfy the essential requirements which it covers, the Commission or the Member State concerned shall bring the matter before the Committee set up by Directive 98/34/EC giving its arguments. That Committee shall deliver its opinion without delay.

In the light of that Committee's opinion, the Commission shall decide to publish, not to publish, to publish with restriction, to maintain, to maintain with restriction or to withdraw the references to the harmonised standard concerned in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 20 - Committee

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health established by Article 58 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to (4) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

▐

Article 21 - Expenditure

In order to support the establishment of a harmonised policy and systems in the field of sustainable use of pesticides, the Commission may finance:

(a)the development of a harmonised system including an appropriate database for gathering and storing all information relating to pesticide risk and use indicators, and for making such information available to the competent authorities, other interested parties and the general public;

(b)the performance of studies necessary for the preparation and development of legislation, including the adaptation of the Annexes of this Directive to technical progress;

(c)the development of guidance and best practices to facilitate the implementation of this Directive;

(d)the creation of an Internet portal in line with Article 4(6).

Article 22 - Transposition

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive not later than ... (30) . They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those measures and a correlation table between those measures and this Directive.

When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 23 - Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 24

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.