According to recent research, a majority of Europeans believe that in the last 10 years air quality has deteriorated, and would welcome stronger actions to address air quality problems at EU level. Despite progress in recent years, several air quality standards are still widely exceeded in the EU's most densely populated areas, especially from pollutants such as particulate matter, ground-level ozone, and nitrogen dioxide.

Acknowledging the widespread concern about air quality, the European Commissioner for the Environment Janez Potočnik declared 2013 "Year of Air", with the aim of attracting further attention on the problem of air pollution and induce the Member States to cooperate more efficiently and to launch more effective measures to improve the health of their citizens.

This happens in conjunction with the planned review of the EU Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution and related policies, which started in 2011 and should be completed this year. For the review of air pollution policy, the Commission is currently conducting a broad consultation process with the organization of a series of Stakeholder Expert Groups in 2011 and 2012, involving a wide range of participants from Member States, industry, NGOs and international stakeholders. The next Stakeholder Expert Group will be held on March 15, 2013.

For more information about the EU air policy review, please visit the Commission dedicated webpage