This is the third state and outlook report on the European environment produced by the European Environment Agency (EEA) since 1994. The last report, published in 1999 concluded that, despite 25 years of Community environmental policy, environmental quality in the European Union (EU) was mixed and that the unsustainable development of some key economic sectors was the major barrier to further improvements. That remains the EEA's key conclusion, despite significant progress on some issues demonstrating that environmental policy works. The next report is due in 2010, and the EEA intends to have played its part in reversing unsustainable trends in sectors such as energy, agriculture and transport. This report is in four parts: (A) an integrated assessment of the atmospheric, aquatic and terrestrial environment; (B) a core set of indicators, including pollution, biodiversity, climate change, agriculture, energy, fisheries and transport; (C) country analysis; and (D) a bibliography of EEA publications since 2000.