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Danube bridges, USD 24 million
A joint report put together by Hungary and Austria said the ruins of three bridges in Novi Sad destroyed during NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia, including the one above, could be cleared from the Danube in two or three months at a cost of USD 24.1 million, according to a Jan. 25 report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Representatives of the two countries presented the document in Budapest to Helmuth Strasser, chairman of the Danube Commission, on Jan. 24, the report said. Strasser was quoted as saying that, if a consensus is reached, the commission will forward the document to the EU which will then seek bids from member states and other countries. Meanwhile efforts to remediate other damages to the environment are continuing. For more information about post-war efforts, see Green reconstruction in Yugoslavia and The case in Kosovo. The condition of Europe's forests is continuing to deteriorate, despite measures to reduce air pollution, according to a study released Oct. 7, Reuters reported. The study, prepared jointly by the European Commission and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, found that, even though there were signs that the overall health of many of the oak forests in Western Europe had deteriorated, pine forests in parts of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are apparently beginning to improve from their previous state. Still, the study found that pollutants appear to be posing a growing threat to the trees of Europe. About 20 percent of the soils in Europe are highly acidic, with the greatest problems in CEE, Reuters reported. Tree felling also continues to be a threat. Contact the European Forest Institute.
ENERGY The Lower House of the Czech parliament on Jan. 28 approved an energy-efficiency bill that would tax traditional energy suppliers to fund alternative energy sources, according to a Jan. 29 report from Radio Prague. The bill, which would tax energy producers CSK .01 (one hundredth of a crown) for every kilowatt of energy that they sell, would also provide for obligatory energy use audits for certain companies. The bill must still pass the other half of parliament, and it faces some stiff opposition. Contact the Czech environment ministry for more information. A plan to ship roughly 300 metric tons of Slovakian spent nuclear fuel to Russia for reprocessing was abruptly halted by the Slovakian Ministry of Economy, and cancelled indefinitely, because it would cost too much, according to a Jan. 25 report from Environmental News Service. Spent fuel from the Bohunice nuclear power plant in western Slovakia was to be sent to the Mayak nuclear facility near Chelyabinsk, located in the most radioactively contaminated region in the world, in a deal that would cost Slovakia roughly USD six billion. But an alternative plan to deal with the waste, involving construction of a dry storage facility, would only cost around USD 1.7 billion. Contact the Slovak environment ministry for more information. Bulgarian officials made conciliatory remarks following EU demands that the country close four units at the Sovietera Kozloduy nuclear power plant, but they did not commit to any timetable for early closure, according to an Oct. 15 report from Reuters. "Bulgaria is having talks with the European Commission and is sure that we will find acceptable terms which will both satisfy the commission and protect Bulgaria's national interests," foreign minister Nadezhda Mikhailova was quoted as saying by Reuters. The European Commission told Bulgaria on Oct. 13 that establishing an acceptable deadline for the closure of the four reactors was a prerequisite for beginning European Union membership negotiations. Bulgaria and the EU have long been at odds over the closure of four 440- megawatt reactors at Kozloduy. Bulgaria has been struggling to keep two reactors running until 2004-2005 and the remaining two until 2008-2010, while the EU insists on earlier dates. Contact the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Waters for more information. The Lithuanian parliament on Oct. 5 approved the government's energy strategy for 2000-2005, which calls for the closure of the first unit at the Ignalina nuclear power plant by 2005, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE). The measure, which passed by a 63 to 31 vote, is conditional on foreign assistance, which Lithuania expects to come from the European Commission and other sources, Reuters reported. The next energy strategy, due in 2004, will deal with the fate of the second unit at Ignalina, according to RFE. The EC, which has said it would help finance the Ignalina closure and organise a donors' conference in Vilnius, expects Lithuania to shut down Ignalina's second reactor by 2009, according to Reuters.
BIODIVERSITY The Lithuanian Green Movement says it will protest against government plans to expand military training grounds, according to a Jan. 26 report from Radio Free Europe. The movement's leader, Rimantas Braziulis, said on Jan. 25 that demonstrations would continue until the government "comes to its senses." The Defence Ministry plans to acquire 20,000 hectares of state-owned forests, which comprises two percent of the nation's forests, the report said. The Greens vowed to continue protesting the expansion, saying they will also protest outside embassies of NATO countries in Vilnius.
BALKANS The government of Norway has given FYR Macedonia USD 630,000 to help fund the USD 1 million Municipal Employment Project — Clean and Green, a new initiative that will operate in 51 communities and create about 2,000 jobs, according to an Oct. 13 report from Environment News Service. The aim of the program is to restore the country to environmental health and help reverse some of the damage caused by the large influx of refugees, as well as NATO troop movements, during the Balkan conflict. In addition, the British government has given a USD 548,460 grant to help fund a state-of-the art medical waste incinerator for the country, according to an Oct. 4 report from Environment News Service. The need for disposing medical waste first came to light during the Balkan conflict, when the army hospital in Skopje was overwhelmed with medical waste, but Macedonia has needed such an incinerator for some time. The new incinerator will be located at Drisla, a nationally owned community hygiene company in Skopje, and British experts will work with Macedonian personnel during the first months of operation, to train the workers, the report said. Contact the Macedonian Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning.
EU ACCESSION Negotiations between the European Commission and potential EU members in
Central and Eastern Europe on too secretive and could lead to European Commission President Romano Prodi has signalled a significant
reduction in pressure on Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries to
improve their environmental standards to EU levels before they can join the
Union, according to an Oct. 14 report from ENDS Environment Daily. In a
broad policy statement on enlargement, Prodi made clear that the European
Union would be ready to welcome in new members as soon as the year 2002,
even though the European Commission simultaneously concluded that "none of
the countries has made significant
OTHER NEWS The coldest weather of the year in January was blamed for the death of at least 14 people in Romania and three in Croatia, according to a Jan. 28 report from the Albanian Daily News. The storms also wreaked havoc in: Albania, where interruptions to the power grid left large sections of the country in darkness; Bulgaria, where high snow blocked access to 23 villages; and Yugoslavia, where harsh weather compounded existing fuel shortages and spurred power cuts in the capital and other major towns. For the first time in 20 years, snow also fell on the Albanian port of Vlora. Source: The REC's Media Information Service. |
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Danube bridges, USD 24 million ENERGY BIODIVERSITY BALKANS EU ACCESSION OTHER NEWS |
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