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Improving the basis for environmental policy The Community will ensure that its environmental policy is based on reliable and comparable data, statistics and indicators, on sound scientific information and on an assessment of the costs and benefits of action or the lack of action. It will ensure coordination of, and cooperation with, the appropriate Community institutions and bodies and will cooperate with the relevant institutions at international level. The European Environment Agency has a key role in monitoring and reporting on the state of the environment. Particular attention will be given to:

(a) identifying and filling the gaps in current basic statistical data on the environment, developing the integration of environmental aspects into the data and statistics which relate to other policies and ensuring the accessibility of this data;

(b) promoting the development of environmental indicators, performance indicators on all relevant policy issues and indicators for sustainable development as benchmark indicators to measure progress towards sustainable development and to provide a basis for the setting of objectives and operational targets;

(c) improving coordination in the development of and securing mutual feedback between scientific research and development policies and environmental policy;

(d) further developing the use of economic evaluation techniques for the environment (cost effectiveness, cost/benefit and business impact techniques);

(e) developing auxiliary or satellite accounts to national accounts as a first step towards the integration of environmental aspects into Member States' and Community accounting concepts and practices with the aim of drawing up a comprehensive system of green national accounting by 1999.