Member States are required to draw up reports concerning their national programmes for the implementation of Directive 91/271/EEC and shall, if necessary, provide the Commission by 30 June every two years with an update of the information on the basis of formats drawn up by the Commission.

The Union is committed to maximising the benefits of Union environment legislation by improving implementation, including by ensuring that the public has access to clear information showing how it is being implemented. Systems which actively disseminate such information should be put in place at national level, and should be complemented with a Union level overview of individual Member States' performance2.

The Commission, in its Communication on the European Citizens' Initiative ‘Water and sanitation are a human right! Water is a public good, not a commodity’3 committed to making information on urban waste water more accessible for citizens, in particular through streamlined and transparent data management and dissemination.

The modifications introduced by this Decision build on the pilot exercise establishing a Structured Implementation and Information Framework as part of the Commission's efforts to develop a simple, clear, stable and predictable regulatory framework for businesses, workers and citizens, with the aim to reduce administrative burden and increase transparency4.

The formats adopted by Commission Decision 93/481/EEC5 require revision taking into consideration the need for simplification and increased transparency, the reduction of administrative burden and new approaches to data management and reporting. That Decision should therefore be replaced.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established under Article 18 of Directive 91/271/EEC,