|
|
|
|
|
By Jernej Stritih, REC Executive Director
The current process of enlargement of the European Union (EU) means that some candidate countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) may soon become new members. Key related issues within that process include the challenges and opportunities that enlargement could bring to the EU's 6th Environmental Action Programme (EAP), also currently in preparation. To begin, the reinforcement of the rule of environmental law and policy implementation across the continent is crucial. The candidate countries should comply fully with the requirements of the EU's acquis communautaire within a reasonable time after entry into the Union. So should current EU members -a moral obligation that needs to be upheld by the 6th EAP. Otherwise, the potential for environmental dumping by CEE countries might prove greater than by countries in Western Europe. The second is the further consolidation of the environmental acquis in accordance with advances made by the candidate countries. These countries themselves have brought a dowry of significant legislative and policy-related progress to the process in the last ten years, such as framework environmental laws and flexible mechanisms, strategic environmental assessment, environmental liability and the wide use of economic instruments. Interestingly, several candidate countries already spend a much higher percentage of their GDP on environment than do most EU members. These advances will surely improve the cost effectiveness of EU-wide policies. To note, the costs for the candidate countries to comply with the acquis will also be very high. In response, the 6th EAP could better direct EU funding for environmental enlargement, to strongly influence sustainable development patterns in the new member countries. The third opportunity concerns sectoral integration. The consequences of extending current perverse EU subsidies in transport and agriculture to the candidate countries will be disastrous for the environment, social structures and economies of Europe as a whole. Urban air pollution from traffic, water pollution from agriculture and threats to the many biodiversity-rich areas within the CEE region are particularly significant concerns. The situation is more positive in the energy and industry sectors (CEE countries are among the few countries where greenhouse gas emissions have actually dropped in the last decade), but the remaining potential gains of truly integrating environmental concerns into ongoing restructuring are tremendous. Finally, the process of harmonizing enlargement with the 6th EAP is no longer one of merely spreading current EU policies to the east. Rather, a common policy framework must be developed, based on mutual dialogue, to provide environmental benefits for citizens across the continent. This will be a new experience for both current EU members and candidate countries. Until now, they were both used to a model where the candidate countries just copied or transposed western policies and legislation. The new dialogue will be harder for the candidate countries, which have been locked into a model of receiving orders from imperial or foreign capitals for centuries, including Soviet Moscow. A similar role is now being projected on Brussels. The current members will also have to open up for discussions. The meeting among the CEE and EU ministers and the EU commissioner on June 19 in Szentendre is an attempt at such an open dialogue (see Envisioning enlargement). During their larger dialogue, hopefully the ministers, with participation from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders, will see EU enlargement more as an opportunity for advancing the environmental agenda in Europe than as a barrier that needs to be overcome. Finally, offering leadership on certain issues to the candidate countries would help them assume a fuller role as member countries more quickly. Then they will not remain just as poor relatives, waiting for handouts and instructions from the richer family. This, we believe, is the ultimate goal of the enlargement itself. |
|
     
|
|||
|
