Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2021/1226 of 21 December 2020 amending, for the purposes of adapting to scientific and technical progress, Annex II to Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards common noise assessment methods (Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 June 2002 relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise⁽¹⁾, and in particular Article 12 thereof,

Whereas:

Annex II to Directive 2002/49/EC sets methods of assessment common to the Member States, to be used for the information on environmental noise and its effects on health, in particular for noise mappings, and to adopt action plans based upon noise mapping results. This annex needs to be adapted to technical and scientific progress.
From 2016 to 2020, the Commission cooperated with technical and scientific experts of the Member States to assess which adaptations were needed taking into account the technical and scientific advances in the calculation of environmental noise. This process was carried out in close consultation with the Noise Expert Group, composed of Member States, the European Parliament, industry stakeholders, public authorities of Member States, NGOs, citizens and academia.
The Annex to this Delegated Directive sets out the necessary adaptations of the common assessment methods consisting of clarification of formulas to calculate the propagation of noise, adaptation of tables to the latest knowledge and improvements in the description of the steps of the calculations. This affects road noise, railway noise, industrial noise and aircraft noise calculations. Member States are required to use these methods at the latest from 31 December 2021.
Annex II to Directive 2002/49/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.
The measures provided for in this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Noise Expert Group consulted on 12 October 2020,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Annex II to Directive 2002/49/EC is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Directive.

Article 2

1.

Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 31 December 2021 at the latest. They shall immediately communicate the text of those measures to the Commission.

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 3

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

Article 4

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.