The CIS
The Community Information System for the control and reduction of pollution caused by hydrocarbons discharged at sea was  first ... Read more
Summary of oil properties
Data on the physical and chemical properties of various oils and emulsions ... Read more
Impact Reference System
The impact reference data in the IRS covers the biological effects of hydrocarbons on marine and estuarine organisms. This can be used by non-biologists in oil spill emergency situations in order to evaluate spill impacts ... Read more
About the CIS page
This website version the CIS has been developed as an integral part of the "framework for co-operation in the field of marine pollution" ... Read more

Community Information System: History of the CIS

The Community Information System for the control and reduction of pollution caused by hydrocarbons discharged at sea was first established by Council Decision 81/971/EEC of 3 December 1981.

The first preliminary version of the Community Information System was prepared in October 1983 and the first operational version was completed in June 1985. The latter was limited to information related to the spillage of hydrocarbons, operational data and information about expertise and equipment available in each Member State.

Since then, Council Decision 86/85/EEC of 6 March 1986 has repealed Decision 81/971/EEC and extended the Community Information System to other harmful substances.

In November 1987, the first version was distributed, i.e. the section providing indication of the resources available in Member States for intervention when harmful substances other than hydrocarbons are spilt at sea.

Seven subsequent versions of the system were prepared (in 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1994), each time in a more streamlined and sophisticated manner, with the dual aim of rationalizing the categories of data collected and providing easier access to the data.

In 1996, at the 28th meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Control and Reduction of Pollution caused by oil and other Harmful substances at sea, several members of the Committee expressed the opinion that the System should be adapted once more and modernized in order to remain the leading tool for Community cooperation in the field of response to accidental marine pollution.

In 1998, the Commission presented a Proposal for a Decision setting up a Community framework in the field of marine pollution. It was in this Proposal that an up-to-date version of the CIS available via the Internet was first envisaged.

In 2000, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Decision 2850/2000/EC setting up a Community framework for cooperation in the field of accidental or deliberate marine pollution. The Decision establishes that the CIS will be simplified by the use of a modern automatic data-processing system. Annex I of the last above-mentioned Decision presents the essential components of the CIS.