No L 207/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 29. 7. 87 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2242/87 of 23 July 1987 on action by the Community relating to the environment THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 130S thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), Having regard to the opinion of the European Parli- ament (%), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (%), Whereas, pursuant to Article 2 of the Treaty, the Commu- nity has as its task #nter alia to promote throughout the Community a harmonious development of economic acti- vities, a continuous and balanced expansion and an increase in stability ; Whereas action by the Community relating to the envi- ronment should have as its objective to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment, to contribute towards protecting human health, and to ensure a prudent and rational utilization of natural resources ; Whereas, in order to ensure the full realization of the objectives formulated in the 1973 (%) and 1977 () action programmes of the European Communities on the envi- ronment and in the 1983 action () of which the general guidelines were approved by the Council and the repre- sentatives of the Governments of the Member States, it is necessary that the Community should contribute financi- ally towards the carrying out of certain specific measures under this Regulation ; Whereas the development of clean technologies is a parti- cularly appropriate way of ensuring preventive reduction in pollution and a more economic use of natural resources in the most economically rational fashion; Whereas the development of techniques for recycling and reusing waste, including waste water, is necessary for better management of waste and natural resources ; Whereas a contribution should be made to the develop- ment of techniques for locating and restoring sites conta- minated by hazardous wastes and/or hazardous substances ; () OJ No C 18, 24. 1. 1987, p. 5. () OJ No C 156, 15. 6. 1987, p. 199. (®) Opinion delivered on 2 July 1987 (not yet published in the Official Journal). () OJ No C 112, 20. 12. 1973, p. 1. () OJ No C 139, 13. 6. 1977, p. 1. (9 OJ No C 46, 17. 2. 1983, p. 1. Whereas the development of clean technologies and of improved techniques for the recycling of waste, including waste water, and for the restoration of contaminated sites is likely to have a positive effect on innovation and employment and to be of particular importance for small and medium sized enterprises ; Whereas experience has shown that it is necessary to encourage the development of new techniques and methods for measuring and monitoring the quality of the natural environment ; Whereas more use should be made of certain results of the Community research and development programmes relating to the environment and raw materials ; Whereas it is important that the Community should be able to make a contribution towards the maintenance and re-establishment of seriously threatened biotopes which are the habitat of endangered species, pursuant to Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conserva- tion of wild birds () ; Whereas it is necessary for the Community to be able to make a contribution towards the protection and re-establishment of land threatened or damaged by fire, erosion and desertification ; Whereas it is necessary that the Community should, within the limits of the budget funds available for these purposes, grant financial support for projects relating to clean technologies, to techniques for recycling and reusing waste, including waste water, to techniques for locating and restoring sites contaminated by hazardous wastes and/or hazardous substances, to techniques and methods for measuring and monitoring the quality of the natural environment and to measures to conserve nature protection zones of Community importance, in the context of implementation of Directive 79/409/EEC, and to protect or re-establish land threatened or damaged by fire, erosion and desertification ; Whereas provision should be made for an amount deemed necessary for these projects to be carried out; whereas the Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission, should be able to review this amount ; \ Whereas an Advisory Committee should be set up to assist the Commission in implementing this Regulation and in particular in selecting the projects for which finan- cial support may be. granted; () OJ No L 103, 25. 4. 1979, p. 1.