High noise levels affect both health and overall quality of life. It raises stress levels, disrupts sleep and can lead to an increased risk of heart disease. Noise also increases the stress already present from difficult social, familial or professional relationships and can intensify the development of mental disorders, among other numerous negative effects.

In it’s 6th Environmental Action Programme the EU has committed to substantially reducing the number of people regularly affected by long-term average levels of noise, in particular from traffic. In it’s Communication on the 6th Environmental Action Programme the Commission has adopted a more concrete target: to achieve a reduction of the number of people regularly affected by long term high levels of noise from an estimated 100 million people in the year 2000 by around 10% in the year 2010 and in the order of 20% by 2020.

What is the EEB doing?
One important instrument to reduce ambient noise in the EU will be the Directive on Environmental Noise (2002/49/EC). The EEB has been very much involved in the development of this directive. In 2007 an important deadline in this directive enters into force: the competent authorities need to have set up strategic noise maps for all cities bigger than 250 000 inhabitants, all major roads railways and airports. On the basis of these maps they need to draw up action plans to reduce noise in 2008. Through it’s noise working group the EEB will follow the implementation of this directive.

Furthermore the EEB is monitoring the Commission´s working groups in the EU Expert Network on Noise.

In our response to the review ot the 6th Environmental Action Programme we have called on the Commission to give more attention to noise pollution, particularly from vehicles and highlighted the urgent need for an ambitious proposal to reduce noise from tyres.

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	For more information, please contact: Dragomira RAEVA email:dragomira.raeva@eeb.org