The pan-European region: environmental challenges

Europe's environment — The fourth assessment

The latest in a series of assessments of the pan-European environment published over the past 15 years by the EEA, the report assesses environmental progress in 53 countries — an area with a total population of more than 870 million people. The region includes: Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA), South Eastern Europe (SEE), as well as Western and Central Europe (WCE). The report highlights priority areas such as:

• environment-related health concerns (issues related to air quality, inland waters, soil, hazardous chemicals);
• climate change;
• biodiversity loss;
• overuse of marine resources;
• the current patterns of production and consumption; and
• pressures caused by economic activities (agriculture, tourism, transport, energy).

Improved implementation of existing policies and the setting of clear, realistic targets is a key recommendation of the report. However, a shared environmental information system is also urgently required to deal with a prevailing lack of reliable, accessible and comparable environmental information across the pan-European region.

Reports free download

Download the fourth assessment report, its executive summary and a powerpoint presentation with the key messages.