Relevant future measures are described below. Areas where action is required include air quality, water quality, waste treatment, chemicals and biodiversity. Higher priority will also be given to cross cutting effort designed to strengthen institutions and enhance professional expertise in the relevant countries, to promote the participation of the public in the environmental area, to increase responsibility in the countries' private sectors with regard to taking their share of the burden in the environmental area and, finally, to strengthen the countries' fulfilment of their obligations under international environmental conventions.

The number of areas where action will be undertaken has increased relative to the 1993 strategy due to the inclusion of chemicals and the higher priority given to the interdisciplinary approach. This reflects the greater differentiation in the need for assistance and a greater diffusion with regard to developments in the group of co-operating countries.

Through the forthcoming revision of existing Country Programmes the Environmental Assistance Programme will determine the country-specific needs and, in a dialogue with the cooperating countries, select the relevant areas in which action is required for the country or region in question.

Developments in the EU preaccession countries and progress in their negotiations for accession, as well as developments in the countries outside the group of pre-accession countries, will make it necessary to adapt this strategy and the Country Programmes in order to ensure the best possible fulfilment of the objectives of the strategy. Allowances will also be made for the objectives through continued Danish support for improved donor co-ordination between the leading stakeholders in the area.

Improving air quality

Air pollution continues to be a serious environmental problem in the Central and Eastern European countries. Healththreatening air quality in urban and industrial areas and enormous quantities of SO₂, NO_x and CO₂ from inefficient power stations and industrial plants are familiar images from the 1980s and early 1990s in Eastern Europe. Although the situation has changed over the past ten years, this is largely due to the breakdown in the economies of these countries.

The primary sources of air pollution and a higher concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are the burning of fossil fuels containing sulphur for heating purposes, electricity production and a considerable increase in motor vehicle traffic, particularly in metropolitan areas. In addition there are emissions of harmful substances from industries.

Real reductions can be seen in emissions of SO₂, NO_x, particles and lead in those countries that have made greatest progress in the EU approximation process. These reductions are not solely due to a decline in economic activities, but also to environmental measures actually implemented. They have led to a situation in which emissions continue to fall after the countries began to achieve positive economic growth in the middle of the 1990s.

Finally, CO₂ emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are the most important source of climatic change. Even though CO₂ emissions in Eastern Europe fell during the 90s due to restructuring and the resultant economic recession, they are expected to rise in line with the economic growth of these countries, especially in the transport sector.

Where both CO₂ emissions relevant to climate change and emissions of SO₂ and NO_x relevant to acidification are concerned, these are closely linked to the energy sector which is still characterised by poorer energy efficiency than is the case in the EU. Improved energy utilisation by power stations, in industry and the housing sector will to a significant extent help to ensure the fulfilment of the obligations that the countries have taken on in an international context (the Kyoto Protocol, for example) and also help to comply with EU legislation relating to air quality.

Future demands on competitiveness in the EU Single Market regarding the industrial and energy sectors and Single Market requirements in such areas as the control of car exhausts and fuel quality will help to maintain this development in the long term. The cost of putting these requirements into practice will be largely defrayed by users.

Electrostatic precipitators are being replaced at the Dolna Odra Power Plant, Poland, to reduce fly ash emissions.

Assistance to EU pre-accession countries will focus on such areas as the implementation of the EU framework Directive regarding air quality and its subsidiary "daughter" Directives, including support for drawing up action plans designed to improve air quality, and improving the institutional arrangements for implementation and monitoring.

The implementation of the daughter Directives, as well as the EU strategies for addressing acidification and ozone pollution of the troposphere, will make considerable demands on the new member countries as they will on the current EU Member States. There will probably be a need for several years of monitoring and planning before the countries will be able to draw up their action plans. Long-term improvements in air quality will necessitate major structural changes in industry, the energy sector and the transport sector, which are also described in the section on sectorintegrated environmental programmes.

Future measures will also build on the experience gained from improving air quality by establishing such alternative energy sources as geothermal heating, in order to reduce SO₂ emissions and other air pollutants, and by installing filters at power stations, district heating stations and at larger industries to reduce emissions to the air.

It is expected that direct measures will be implemented in relation to the Climate Change Convention⁽²⁰⁾, including the development and testing of mechanisms designed to fulfil the Kyoto Protocol in the form of joint implementation (JI), for example, in the Baltic Region. Capacity building in the preparation of national strategies to stabilise and further reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including specific planning tools and models, will be another important area where assistance can be given. A large number of other initiatives regarding the improvement of energy efficiency, the promotion of energy conservation and the promotion of cleaner fuels, including alternative energy sources, are complementary measures that will take climatic considerations in energy policies into account, as well as the sustainable use of energy in the co-operating countries.

Where the CIS countries are concerned measures relating to air quality should be seen in relation to the international agreements in this area, primarily the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP) with its accompanying Protocols. The special pan European strategy for phasing out lead in petrol will similarly form the background for supporting the countries' rapid solution to this environmental problem and other problems related to poor fuel quality.

Measures in the Balkans will primarily be undertaken through the Regional Environmental Reconstruction Programme for South Eastern Europe⁽²¹⁾, although air quality is not expected to be prioritised until the most pressing tasks regarding water, hazardous waste and institutional capacity have been addressed.

One special measure is designed to close down unsafe nuclear power stations. There are no atomic power stations in Denmark and the possibility of transferring Danish knowledge and know-how in this field is therefore limited. But there is great interest in Denmark in contributing to security with respect to the unsafe nuclear power stations in Eastern Europe and this work is therefore supported through Danish contributions to the multilateral measures that are being carried out under the auspices of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The EBRD has established a number of funds for this purpose: the Ignalina Decommissioning Fund, the Chernobyl Shelter Fund and the Nuclear Safety Fund. In addition to this, projects involving energy conservation and the establishment of alternative energy sources can also be supported, especially under the Danish Energy Agency's sector programme.

Activities relating to air quality and energy are co-ordinated in close collaboration with the sector programmes in this area under the Danish Energy Agency, the Emergency Management Agency, and the Ministry of Transport, particularly with regard to measures in the Baltic Region.

Protection of water quality and drinking water supplies

Water is the area that requires the greatest investments and which to date has received the greatest share of overall Danish environmental assistance to Central and Eastern Europe. Of this, the majority has been used to promote investments in urban and industrial waste water treatment.

During the administrative reforms which most Central and Eastern European countries are undergoing at present, the responsibility for waste water treatment and drinking water supplies lies with the municipal authorities. However, financing is often still managed on a central basis and it is as yet unclear how the municipalities can become self-financing to a greater degree. The challenge of obtaining sufficient funds for financing in this area therefore demands comprehensive planning and legal measures to be taken at a central level. The municipal authorities will be faced with extremely demanding tasks in connection with implementation at a local level through municipal investment planning and the preparation of individual projects.

The most important priority for EU preaccession countries is to strengthen administrative capacity at regional and local level in order to administer water resources in accordance with the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive and to secure the very considerable investments that can meet EU requirements with regard to drinking water, waste water collection and waste water treatment in urban areas.

The Water Framework Directive extends water protection measures to include all water resources and lays down legally binding goals designed to ensure "good water quality conditions". The administration must in future focus on river basin areas which often cross national borders as well as administrative boundaries within the individual countries. An overall river basin area, from its source up to and including coastal waters, must be treated as an indivisible whole. Implementing the Directive⁽²²⁾, especially including the preparation of river basin management plans, will demand far-reaching collaboration between the parties involved, whether on a regional basis or throughout the EU or the candidate countries. The Directive also provides that all river basin management plans or revisions of these plans must be subject to public hearings. Finally there will be a need to improve the countries' monitoring systems so that these comply with EU requirements.

It is similarly an important part of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive to encourage the integration of water quality objectives into other sector policies such as agriculture, industry and regional policies, as well as local and regional planning.

One of the most pressing problems in the CIS countries is the run-down state of the infrastructure in connection with drinking water supplies, wastewater treatment and the sewerage network in cities. The results of this are shortcomings in water supplies and serious health problems characterised by an increase in water-borne diseases (cholera, hepatitis, dysentery and typhoid fever). The problems connected with drinking water supplies and waste water treatment in cities is even worse in the regions around the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea, where there is a lack of water, extensive water pollution and a need for regional collaboration in order to solve these problems.

Also the Regional Environmental Reconstruction Programme for South Eastern includes strengthening of regional collaboration on water resource management as an important element.

Future Danish assistance will place greater emphasis on supporting the development of systems and capacity to administer overall water resources with the aim of supporting the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive and the administration of water resources on a river basin basis (national and international).

The forthcoming strategy period will also continue to provide assistance in the development of financial strategies relating inter alia to water, in order to promote more cost-effective investments. Support will also be provided to environmental funds, in countries where this is relevant, in order to establish the necessary infrastructure and carry out preparatory work on projects (feasibility studies). In addition, there will be Danish co-financing of infrastructure investments in connection with water.

Measures relating to water treatment area in connection with infrastructure projects will be supplemented, especially in the CIS countries, by strengthened measures connected with drinking water supplies. The code of practice adopted at the London Conference on "Water and Health" will constitute an important framework in this connection.

Waste

The framework for the EU environmental policy with regard to waste was established in its Fifth Environmental Action Programme and in the EU Waste Strategy from 1996.⁽²³⁾ The hierarchy in waste handling, in accordance with the Waste Framework Directive is, in order of priority:

1. waste prevention/minimisation,
2. recycling (such as sorting at source) and recovery including incineration with reclaimed energy and other utilisation, and
3. finally, disposal/deposit.⁽²⁴⁾

The principles of proximity and selfsufficiency mean that member countries are obliged to establish an integral and adequate network of disposal facilities whereby both the EU and each member country becomes capable of disposing of its own waste. Finally, waste must be handled in such a way as to avoid harm to the environment or to people and the costs of handling waste must be met by the owner and/or the previous owners of or manufacturers responsible for the waste.⁽²⁵⁾

The most important priority for EU preaccession countries is to establish waste handling systems that meet the requirements of relevant EU legislation and its waste strategy. These systems must be able to handle increasing quantities of household and industrial waste, including hazardous waste, sludge from waste water treatment plants and residual products from energy production. Among other things this means that systems must be developed to categorise and register waste for the purposes of planning, control and reporting in accordance with the relevant EU Directives.

This also involves establishing new, regional landfill sites (waste tips) which comply with the requirements of EU Landfill Directive and the secure closure of a large number of illegal and environmentally harmful smaller landfill sites. In continuation of this, there will in practice be a need for assistance in establishing new, regional waste collection companies and support for regional and municipal authorities in connection with waste treatment. The countries need solutions in order to improve their handling of hazardous waste, possibly including incineration, and, in the slightly longer term, will also need solutions for handling biodegradable waste.

In the CIS countries the problems are connected with such areas as household waste and, especially in big cities, hazardous waste. The administrative systems and the infrastructure to handle these problems are as a general rule inadequate to prevent environmental and health problems. There is a pressing need to develop national and regional strategies to manage waste, establish safe disposal systems and to develop systems to characterise, register and treat hazardous waste. The petrochemical industry and the metallurgy industry are specific sources of hazardous waste.

Particular emphasis has been placed on hazardous waste and transporting hazardous waste across national borders in the Regional Environmental Reconstruction Programme for South Eastern Europe. As an after-effect of the military operations in the Balkans, it is becoming necessary in many places to reestablish the decentralised administration of waste, and to ensure that chemicals from damaged factories and pipelines do not spread to the environment.

Considerable assistance has also been provided by Denmark to preaccession countries for the establishment of more efficient waste systems and for the construction of landfill sites in accordance with EU requirements.

Assistance has been provided for measures relating to hazardous waste in connection with the implementation of the Hazardous Waste Directive and the special Directives on hazardous waste (the Directive on waste oils, the Battery Directive, and the PCB/PCT Directive). Focus has also been directed to the implementation of the Basel Convention⁽²⁶⁾ as the most important international agreement on waste, including assistance to promote the ratification of the amendment under the Convention prohibiting the export of hazardous waste from OECD countries to non OECD countries.

Continued Danish assistance will be provided to carry out and follow up on national and regional action plans for handling waste. The measure will be strengthened in order to promote the minimisation of waste, recycling and other utilisation so that these objectives will gain greater weight in the overall treatment of waste.

Assistance will also continue in preparatory project work (feasibility studies) and in financing investments connected with waste treatment and the construction of landfill sites, as the investment requirement in this area is extensive. The Landfill Directive introduces a series of measures and procedures designed to prevent or limit environmental impact from landfills, such as pollution of surface water, ground water, soil and air, and impacts on the global environment from methane emissions, as well as the risks to human heath from depositing waste.

Focus will similarly continue to be directed towards assistance in the implementation of the Basel Convention and the establishment of reception facilities in harbours for waste from ships. A regionally based measure will continue in the Baltic and Black Sea regions.

Control of chemical pollution

With regard to chemicals the most important EU legislation comprises Regulations and Directives on marketing hazardous chemical substances and products, including safety data sheets, the registration of new chemical substances, risk evaluation of new and existing substances, limitations on the sale and marketing of hazardous substances and products and exporting and importing certain hazardous chemical substances. In addition, the pollution of surface water is controlled through the Directive on pollution caused by dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment.⁽²⁷⁾ This provision will in future be carried into effect through the Water Framework Directive, which covers the protection of both surface water and ground water.

In the EU pre-accession countries and the CIS, only a small minority of chemicals on the market have been thoroughly analysed and many are potentially harmful to human health and the environment. Undesirable substances that are forbidden in the rest of Europe are still used in some products and for various purposes in these countries and can consequently be found in waste, residual products, slag and sludge. In addition to this, the countries have a number of local problems due to the inappropriate storage of discontinued pesticides in former years, chemically polluted soil, etc.

It is necessary for the EU preaccession countries to introduce EU legislation relating to chemicals, to develop the appropriate administrative capacity for effective implementation and control, and to give higher priority to signing and ratifying international conventions and complying with the international rules in general.

The CIS countries have no effective institutions or systems to control chemicals and now lack assistance to develop a solid capacity to handle chemicals in a more adequate manner and to phase out those chemicals that constitute serious health and environmental risks locally, regionally and globally. Chemical pollution in the CIS countries stems in particular from the chemical and petrochemical industries and intensive cotton cultivation. A number of CIS countries have signed international conventions in connection with chemicals and there is a growing awareness of chemicalrelated risks in the countries.

1. Under the Regional Environmental Reconstruction Programme for South Eastern Europe, the problems with chemicals are primarily handled as part of the clean-up process after military operations, but activities have also been incorporated that enhance general knowledge in this area. The programme also includes approximation with the EU chemical legislation.

Denmark has provided assistance for projects both in the EU preaccession countries and the CIS countries connected with chemical safety and the phasing out of substances that deplete the ozone layer in accordance with the Montreal Protocol, the phasing out of lead in petrol and the collection and destruction of discontinued pesticides and PCBs, substances that accumulate in the environment.

Danish environmental assistance will in future focus on building capacity and administrative structures for effective risk evaluation and the management and control of chemical substances, in accordance with the relevant international codes of practice, as an absolutely decisive factor in handling chemicals responsibly throughout their lifecycles.

Over and above the implementation of the relevant EU legislation, concrete measures will support the countries' ratification of the Rotterdam Convention on the procedure for prior informed consent (PIC) in connection with trade in certain hazardous chemicals, and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (the so-called POPs Convention). This continued Danish assistance will be based on experience gained in phasing out chemical substances, including substances that deplete the ozone layer.

As chemical pollution is of a global nature, more regional measures will be required in the future. Regional measures in the Baltic Region regarding the prevention of oil pollution still have high priority under the MARPOL Convention and the HELCOM Conventions. Measures will take the form of development of oil contingency plans and the establishment of reception facilities for waste generated by ships. Similar regional measures would be relevant in the Black Sea, for example. Another important regional measure is also being prepared relating to POPs with the aim of eventually phasing out these substances and reducing dioxin emissions. It is to be expected that the phasing out of other hazardous chemicals will also be initiated. Among such measures is the fulfilment of the generational objective in the Baltic Sea, i.e. stopping the emission of POPs into the Baltic Sea within 20 years.

Natural resource management

There is a pressing need for measures designed to conserve unique natural resources which are characteristically European and which, unlike the case in Western Europe, have thus far been preserved in Central and Eastern Europe.

Since 1993 the Environmental Assistance Programme has supported more than 80 projects connected with the administration and protection of nature and sustainable forestry. To date the measures have been concentrated in the Baltic Sea area and, since 1997, have been undertaken as programmed measures which are described in the publication "Sustainable Management of Nature and Forest Resources in Central and Eastern Europe".

The projects have emphasised the implementation of international conventions, the building of institutional capacity, the inclusion of the public, strengthening the work of NGOs, environmental training and information on nature, in addition to the promotion of sustainable agriculture and the local development of ecotourism. In recent years the introduction of EU legislation has become of great importance in the Co-operation with the EU preaccession countries.

Measures relating to natural resource management will in the coming years also be spread to co-operating countries outside the neighbouring Baltic Region. The most important priority in EU pre-accession countries will be the implementation of the Wild Bird and Habitat Directives and the Directives relating to genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In addition, implementation of EU rules on trade in endangered species that stem from the CITES Convention, are of considerable importance as the current pre-accession countries will form part of the enlarged EU border to the east, with Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova as the new border countries.

Almost without exception the Central and Eastern European countries have subscribed politically to the international agreements relating to biodiversity and nature conservation. However, the resources necessary to implement these obligations are often non-existent. Danish measures in this area in Central and Eastern Europe will also be prioritised in the coming years. They will cover such areas as the implementation of the Biodiversity Convention, the PanEuropean Biodiversity and Landscape Strategy and, in the nature conservation area, the Ramsar, Bern and Bonn conventions, in addition to the international recommendations on forests, etc. As a consequence of the EU legislation related to these international agreements, their implementation by the preaccession countries is similarly an important element in the EU enlargement process.

It is generally the case in the Central and Eastern European countries that the administrative institutions for protecting biodiversity lack resources. In the EU pre-accession countries, the nature conservation area is often in a "tight squeeze" relative to the very heavy investments necessary in this area.

The forestry sector is undergoing reorganisation from pure state management to a combination of state and private management. This reorganisation is a great challenge to the forestry authorities which in future must handle forest policy, the management of their.

Chapter 5 - Multidisciplinary areas where measures will be undertaken

Institutional strengthening, inspection and control, training and education

Experience shows that those countries with the best functioning administrative structures and staff have made the greatest progress in relation to obtaining respect for environmental protection in their own countries. They have also been able to obtain the most national funding for the environment and to attract most international funding in the form of assistance for investments from international financial institutions (IFIs) and donors.

It is necessary for EU pre-accession countries to not only develop their administration and build their capacity centrally, but also at a regional and local level. The need at a central level is at present addressed to the preparation of legislation for the purpose of incorporating EU legislation into national legislation (transposition). Implementation as such, however, only begins in earnest when the legislative framework, including the EU framework legislation, is in place, and this means that the role of the regional and local authorities as implementing authorities must be strengthened.

In the EU pre-accession programme the countries must document their will and readiness to implement the directives. On the part of Denmark emphasis will be placed on creating holistically oriented implementation solutions which contain legislative measures, capacity building, and socio-economic analyses and evaluations of implementation scenarios (including the speed at which implementation can be carried out in the light of social developments in general).

The regional and local levels in particular will be responsible for complying with the rules laid down in legislation, including carrying out the inspection and control necessary to ensure compliance. New demands will also be made on the supervising authorities ("environmental inspectorates"), which must actively perform both preventive inspections to ensure that industries comply with EU requirements as part of the general inspection programme, inspections resulting from complaints, and the issuing or revision of environmental permits. The supervising authorities will to a greater degree take on an advisory function with regard to businesses and citizens similar to the role that the supervising authorities have in the EU member countries based, inter alia, on the EU Council and Parliament recommendations for minimum criteria for inspection and control and the work undertaken by IMPEL⁽²⁸⁾ and AC-IMPEL.⁽²⁹⁾

Ongoing or foreseen administrative reforms in several of the countries make it more difficult to clarify the division of competence among national, regional, and local authorities, which prolongs the implementation process. One of the goals of Danish environmental assistance is to promote satisfactory administrative practices in the countries so that the authorities can be strengthened at a central level in issuing guidelines and advice to regional and local authorities in the decentralisation process, and in including the public in the relevant decision making processes relating to the environment.

Administrative capacity relating to the environment needs to be built in the CIS countries, including the capacity to manage and implement local environmental projects. At a central level the influence of the CIS countries in international forums needs to be amplified and regional Co-operation between the individual CIS countries needs strengthening.

Measures designed to strengthen national reform processes, including the clarification of the division of competence, decision-making processes and financial administration will be emphasised in support of the decentralisation process, at the same time as the CIS countries will be strengthened in their implementation of and compliance with international environmental agreements.

Capacity building is one of the five main measures in the Regional Environmental Reconstruction Programme for South Eastern Europe. International experience from assistance programmes in such countries as Bosnia showed that these programmes failed to develop local capacity to continue the work of reconstruction because the authorities and the public in the countries in question had been involved only to a limited extent.

The reconstruction programme represents an attempt to enhance capacity in the Balkan countries as an integral part of the overall programme. The programme covers capacity building at central level, with emphasis on interdisciplinary Co-operation between the countries in the region, as well as capacity building at a regional and local level in the countries.

The EU pre-accession countries and the CIS and Balkan countries have found it difficult to handle the implementation of new legislation, carry out administrative structural changes and obtain financing for the necessary investments at one and the same time. The demand for Danish assistance for capacity building has therefore been increasing in recent years and must be expected to continue for some years to come. Capacity building and similar activities will - where possible - become an integral part of future investment projects, or alternatively be designed as independent projects.

There is a demand for capacity building in the EU pre-accession countries, particularly for drawing up draft bills and regulations to comply with the EU environmental acquis, and with regard to the environmental economy, e.g. for financing environmental investments on the part of private investors and the state, as well as technical assistance for identifying, preparing and managing projects.

Some of this institution building is carried out under the EU PHARE Twinning Programme as a twinned project collaboration between the respective institutions in the EU Member States and the candidate countries. Denmark will continue to support supplementary activities connected with Danish participation in the EU PHARE Twinning Programme in the light of the experience gained from previous Danish participation in the programme in areas such as environmental administration in Danish counties and municipalities.

There is also a need for the countries to continue building their own environmental knowledge and resource bases and for the interchange of technological knowledge between Danish and international research institutions and similar institutions in Central and Eastern Europe. This will help the preaccession countries fulfil their reporting and monitoring obligations to such bodies as EUROSTAT and the European Environment Agency, in accordance with the relevant EU Directives. If these requirements are to be met in a satisfactory manner it will be necessary for the countries to develop and consolidate systems for the collection, analysis, handling and administration of information on the environment.

Assistance for public participation

An actively participating civil society is a precondition for a stable democracy and stability in regions which, like those of Central and Eastern Europe, are undergoing extensive changes. This includes a strong NGO movement, clearly understandable decision-making processes and an opportunity for the public to contribute to these processes.

NGOs have helped to place the environment on the political agenda in these countries and, with the help of clear, easily accessible information, strengthened the general public's knowledge of and commitment to the environment.

Since the beginning of the 90s one of the most important tasks of the Regional Environmental Centre in Hungary (REC) has been to support NGOs in EU pre-accession countries and in the Balkans. Similar 'new' RECs have now been established in the CIS countries, at present in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia in the Caucasus and Kazakhstan, covering Central Asia.

The need to support NGOs will continue in the years to come and will take the form of support for subsidy programmes and individual projects which can enhance the opportunity of these organisations to create a dialogue with the authorities in the recipient countries and promote Co-operation between Eastern European and Danish and other Western European NGOs across national borders in international forums. A continued effort will be made to promote the participation of NGOs in investment and institution building projects.

In the future themes such as the implementation of prioritised international conventions and matters related to the enlargement of the EU, particularly the integration of the environment into other sectors and areas where NGO effort should be encouraged, will be given special emphasis. Furthermore a significant subsidiary goal is to support organisations in becoming self-sufficient. Finally, special measures with regard to the new RECs in the CIS countries could be relevant when these centres have been established and are fully functioning.

Strengthening environmental responsibility and the inclusion of the private sector

The investments required and the need for capacity building in both public and private sectors in order to handle environmental problems are very considerable in Central and Eastern Europe. It is therefore important for these countries to include the private sector, as well as the foreign capital obtained by the private sector, to a greater degree than previously in solving environmental problems.

During the period of central planning in the CEE and CIS countries, industry and the energy sector often emitted highpollution waste products, which resulted in high concentrations of heavy metals and particles in the air and water. Many companies used outdated production methods with the result that they seriously polluted their surroundings. In the absence of market-based pricing mechanisms, industrial facilities had little incentive to cut costs so most industrial production consumed large amounts of resources, resulting in high levels of polluting waste.

During the economic reconstruction of recent years many of the formerly stateowned industries in the CEE countries have been or are in the process of being privatised, primarily in the candidate countries that have made most progress in the EU accession process.

Experience from the privatisation process to date in Central and Eastern Europe shows that direct foreign investments in the industrial sector usually also bring about an improvement in the environment. Highly polluting production plants are closed down and new, more resource conserving production equipment and equipment to limit emissions is often installed as an integral part of the overall investment.

Some international financial institutions such as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have laid down criteria and guidelines relating to the environment in connection with direct foreign investments as a condition for raising loans and investments. This has helped to promote private sector investments in environmental improvements.

The Environmental Assistance Programme will continue to support projects that can help the authorities in the countries to effectively implement the IPPC Directive in order to reduce the environmental impact of industry. The transition to integrated environmental permits implies a significant change in the permit issuing procedures for all EU applicant countries. The interrelationship between the IPPC, EIA and Seveso Directives is particularly important in this connection. Implementing the demands contained in the IPPC Directive on the use of the best available technology (, BAT) will require extensive technical resources and a considerable effort on the part of both the authorities and industry.

Whereas all industrial production that has a major and or potentially major environmental impact will be covered by the BAT requirement in the IPPC Directive, cleaner technology projects could still play a certain role in connection with the group of small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) that are not covered by the IPPC Directive or other overall EU regulation, but which still give rise to considerable pollution.

However, this means that individual cleaner technology projects must be included in the relevant legislative context and that there are suitable financial incentives for environmental improvements are in place so that the experience from the individual demonstration projects has real penetration and is disseminated within the industry in question.

Reception and treatment facilities ship generated waste water in Szczecin, Poland.

Experience regarding the involvement of the private sector in the financing, management and ownership of environmental plant, such as that used in drinking water supplies, waste water treatment and landfills, is still limited. Whilst to date it has traditionally been the public authorities that have performed these services, both in the Eastern European countries and in Denmark, in the light of the very high public investment requirements anticipated in Central and Eastern Europe it is clear that other innovative possibilities for Cooperation between the private and public sectors should be investigated in greater detail.

However, experience has shown that an important precondition for the successful involvement of private partners is the existence of a relevant legislative framework and that in questions regarding decentralisation, for example, the quality of supplies and their price are important factors. The degree of involvement can vary from supplying various services to full ownership.

The Environmental Investment Facility for Eastern European Countries (MIØ) under the Investment Fund for Central and Eastern Europe, and the Environmental Credit Programme for Eastern Europe (MKØ) are instruments which are suitable for transferring environment friendly production methods and equipment. Danish companies can also obtain assistance to establish Danish - East European joint ventures through the Environmental Investment Facility if the companies are being established with the aim of improving the environment. Attempts will be made in the future to strengthen the interplay between the Investment Fund for Central and Eastern Europe and the Environmental Assistance Programme.

The Sector-integrated Environmental Programmes undertaken by the Agency for the Development of Trade and Industry in relation to the environmental management systems EMAS and ISO 14001, particularly for the purpose of introducing better control of companies' resource consumption including energy and raw materials, constitutes an important element in measures connected with the private sector and further supports the approximation of the EU preaccession countries with EU requirements.

In future an attempt will be made to better utilise the synergy between these instruments in an effort to strengthen market economic development under sustainable conditions.

Sector-integrated Environmental Programmes

The integration of environmental consiespecially economically important sectors such as energy, industry and agriculture, has been given high priority, both in Denmark and the EU. In many cases the concrete results have not (as yet) lived up to expectations, although various analyses show that sector policy measures have greater potential and are more advantageous from a socioeconomic point of view than traditional environmental policy measures.

The situation in the pre-accession countries and in the other countries covered by the strategy in this area is largely the same as in the EU countries. There is much to indicate that the difficulties of ensuring the integration of environmental considerations are also comparable: traditional sector-specific thinking and a lack of incentives.

The success of the pre-accession countries in integrating environmental considerations into the economic sector policies will necessarily reflect developments in the EU countries. Transport systems in the new member countries must be coherent with the EU's transport systems. The energy and industrial sectors must compete within the Single Market and developments in agriculture will depend on the common agricultural policy. In spite of these externally imposed framework conditions, however, there are still good opportunities for the individual countries to pursue a higher degree of sustainability in their economic development, similar to the way this has been achieved, for example, in agricultural and energy polices in Denmark.

Environmental measures in this area will first and foremost be handled through the sector-integrated environmental programmes, i.e. the programmes that are managed by the respective sector ministries. The ministries taking part in these measures are the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (the Emergency Management Agency), the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the Danish Energy Agency. Activities are coordinated by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy.

Sector-integrated environmental programmes are part of the action plan for the Baltic Agenda 21, which was adopted by the countries surrounding the Baltic in 1998, for the purpose of promoting environmentally sustainable development based on market economic principles in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Russian regions, St Petersburg and Kaliningrad. The Baltic Agenda 21 takes its point of departure in the global Agenda 21, which was adopted by UN members in Rio in 1992. Another main objective is to support the pre-accession countries in their preparations for membership of the EU.

Activities are undertaken as a series of partnerships between a number of Danish ministries and their colleagues in the recipient countries. The environment ministers in the recipient countries are included in the joint effort to develop programmes, which must be approved as being in accordance with the respective country's environmental policies and action plans.

With regard to nuclear safety the Emergency Management Agency carries out sector programmes for the purpose of improving preparedness in the event of a nuclear accident and to increase the safety of atomic power stations.

The environmental sector programmes under the Danish Energy Agency are undertaken in three prioritised areas: the improvement of energy efficiency, energy conservation, and increased use of cleaner fuels, including bio-fuels, as well as support for the training and development of institutions in the energy sector. The purpose of this is to procure sustainable alternatives to existing energy supplies, including the unsafe nuclear power stations, and in general to reduce the environmental impact of the energy sector. The focus in this connection is particularly on reducing CO₂ emissions, but priority is also given to SO₂, NO_x emissions and particles.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs carries out environmental sector programmes in the housing area for the purpose of promoting energy conserving initiatives in housing.

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries is carrying out sectorintegrated environmental programmes in agriculture in order to limit the use of fertiliser and pesticides, and to promote the establishment of organic farming. The sector-integrated environmental programme relating to the labour market supports capacity building in relation to health and safety inspections and technical inspection. Emphasis is placed on Co-operation between the health, environmental and working environment authorities in the recipient countries. Special measures are being undertaken in relation to chemical companies and in connection with asbestos. Further measures include job creation schemes, activation and training in the field of nature conservation, restoration of natural sites, environmental protection and waste management.

Environmental measures relating to transport have been initiated by the Ministry of Transport to promote sustainable transport and, in particular, to reduce the negative effects of transport on the environment, initiate specific Baltic Agenda 21 actions, assist with the implementation of EU legislation, and improve public transport systems. The environmental impact of transport stems predominantly from private cars and lorries.

The Ministry of Education is working on the development of its programme in the field of environment for 2001 and onwards.

The sector-integrated environmental programmes relating to forestry are financed under the Environmental Assistance Programme.

In addition to continuing to give the coordination of these activities high priority, the Ministry of the Environment and Energy will ensure that the principle of integrating environmental considerations into other sectors to the greatest possible extent is reflected in the individual Country Programmes. To this end, concrete projects to be supported under the Environmental Assistance Programme should have additional value relative to the sector integration principle.

Ignalina nuclear power plant. Lithuania.

Chapter 6 - Implementation of the strategy