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Ministers to pave the way for CEE regional input into
future EU environment and enlargement policy.
Soon after Europe's environment ministers met at the Aarhus Conference in 1998, the EAP Task Force (see EAP task force news) discussed the main objectives to be achieved for the next Environment for Europe ministerial conference to be held in 2002. To strengthen political support and start preparations for 2002, the Task Force suggested that a ministerial meeting be organised in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in 2000 to discuss key environmental policy issues shaping the region. Last November 26, an informal consultation between EU environment commissioner Margot Wallstrom and the environmental ministers of the EU candidate countries took place in Brussels. The environmental aspects of EU enlargement were discussed and a new common environment investment strategy for the region, the Priority Environmental Investment Programme for Accession (PEPA), was launched. Following an invitation by the commissioner for the candidate countries to provide input into the EU’s 6th Environmental Action Programme (EAP), several CEE ministers suggested that the REC's 10th anniversary would be a suitable forum for the consultation. As a result, the first aim of the consultation, to be held June 19 at the REC, is to have an open discussion among the CEE and EU ministers and commissioner about how EU enlargement should be dealt with in the environment sector and under the EU's 6th EAP. The focus will be on five priority topics identified by the candidate countries including: access into EU environmental policy-making; transport and environment; the protection of biological and landscape diversity in candidate countries; climate change and enlargement; and financing mechanisms for enlargement-related investments. Among the preparations for the above, the REC will prepare a background document on the possible environmental impacts of the transport sector in CEE. The second aim will be a discussion of opportunities for cooperation with the South-Eastern European (SEE) countries to help them implement the Regional Environmental Reconstruction Programme (REReP) for the Balkans. Ministers from the SEE countries will present the programme which they developed and endorsed last March (see full story, Balkans). Opportunities include transferring lessons from advanced transition countries and donor support. The third will be to identify relevant progress and achievements made in the environmental sector by the CEE countries during the 1990s, compared with similar data from the EU. This will be supported by a set of progress indicators, developed by the REC, through the project entitled Progress in Environmental Transition: 1989-1999. The main results of the project will be presented by the REC’s chairman, Dr. Bedrich Moldan, in a keynote speech at the REC anniversary. Finally, the fourth aim will be to prepare for the next Environment for Europe conference, to be held in Kiev, Ukraine in September 2002. The Szentendre ministerial consultation will fall midway between the Aarhus (1998) and Kiev (2002) ministerial conferences. The Committee for Environmental Policy of the UN/ECE will present the planned inputs and agenda items for the Kiev conference. Afterwards, the ministers will be invited to provide input into the planning of the event, including priority issues, possible outcomes and the establishment of policy objectives that could be implemented in the period 2000-2002. Possible inputs into Rio+10, to be held in New York in 2002, will also be discussed. |
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