Danish strategy for environmental assistance to Eastern Europe 2001-2006
Chapter 2 - Strategy 2001-2006
"Danish Strategy for Environmental Assistance to Eastern Europe, 2001-2006"
describes the objectives and priority areas where measures will be undertaken and the
performance of the environmental assistance that has been planned for the next five years
in selected areas of Eastern Europe.
The concrete selection of countries and measures is to a large extent based on the changed political conditions in the countries of Eastern Europe, including the fact that the recipient countries are at widely differing stages with regard to adapting to the EU environmental acquis, their readjustment to democracy and a market economy and the administrative reform process. In addition the ratification and implementation of international environmental conventions of a regional and global character in the region as a whole leave a great deal to be desired.
The complexity of the environmental problems
Air pollution from the energy, industry and transport sectors still constitute one of the gravest environmental problems. In many Eastern European cities air quality in particular is extremely poor, resulting in a series of negative effects on the health of the population. This primarily involves respiratory problems and bronchial infections as a consequence of emissions of SO2, NOx, particles and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and an influence on the central nervous system caused by lead pollution, particularly from leaded petrol. Emissions of SO2 and NOx also have an impact on nature in the form of acid precipitation as well as the eutrophication of natural resorts and seawater as a result of nitrogen precipitation. Moreover, in step with economic growth, Eastern Europe increasingly contributes to the world's CO2 emissions. A very distinct problem involves the safety conditions at a number of Eastern European atomic power stations, which will require special measures.
Pollution of lakes and rivers as well as the sea, including the areas closest to the coast, continues to constitute a serious problem, especially in the light of the fact that most countries use surface water as a source of drinking water supplies. In addition to water pollution, water resources in several countries are scarce and water distribution networks are in a bad state of repair, which sometimes results in an extremely high loss of water from the networks. The latter is a contributory cause of the fact that industry and other businesses have a disproportionately high water consumption.
Waste has still not been given sufficiently high priority in the recipient countries.
This applies to collection, sorting, treatment and disposal, as well as legislation and controls. The unfortunate results of this for the environment can be seen in the large number of unauthorised waste tips where household waste, industrial waste and hazardous waste are all deposited. The seepage of oil, chemicals and pesticide residues with a consequent decline in the quality of ground water and drinking water are other effects of inadequate waste treatment and administration.
Where chemicals are concerned very few of the chemicals sold in the region have been properly analysed and many are potentially harmful to health and the environment. In addition to the uncontrolled use of undesirable substances the countries have a considerable number of local problems caused by the inappropriate storage of outdated pesticides and chemicals during former years. A code of practice for the administration and control of the production and marketing of chemicals is still lacking in many places in the region.
Where nature is concerned it is characteristic for the Central and Eastern European countries that they have very considerable nature resources, ecosystems, biotopes and species, which are often quite unique by comparison with Western Europe. The rich biodiversity of these countries is threatened partly by classic pollution problems (air, waste water, waste, chemicals and the introduction of nutrient substances) and partly by impoverishment due to existing and anticipated economic activities, particularly in the agriculture, forestry, transport and tourism sectors with concurrent investments in the infrastructure. Added to this is the fact that nature resource administration will be characterised for many years to come by a highly fragmented ownership structure as a consequence of the reintroduction of private property - also in specially protected, valuable areas of natural beauty.
Approximation with the EU environmental acquis is an absolutely decisive incentive in prompting many of the candidate countries to take steps to combat the problems mentioned above. It is clear that an inability to meet EU environmental requirements and to make the requisite investments can constitute an obstacle to these countries' membership of the EU. At the same time it is a great challenge for these countries to ensure the necessary integration of the environment into the resource-consuming sectors, primarily energy, agriculture, and transport. Compliance with EU environmental requirements not only means concentrating on traditional investments in the environment, it also requires an effort in the form of energy conservation, cleaner technology, etc., as supplementary measures which can achieve good results and make the overall measures less expensive and more costeffective to implement.
Where the CIS countries are concerned measures must primarily focus on those areas most affected by environmental impact and health threatening factors, especially measures to halt the rapid breakdown of drinking water supplies in the light of these countries' extremely limited economic means.
The active involvement of the NGO sector and the general public, as well as the private sector, in the environmental policy decision-making process are important parameters in ensuring that the environmental policy objectives are actually implemented and realised in practice.
Underlying the way in which all environmental problems present themselves is the fact that the economic resources are limited. There is a pressing need for investments in the environment and expenditure for capacity building in Eastern Europe and the CIS countries. Where the EU pre-accession countries are concerned estimates of the expenditure involved in complying with the EU environmental acquis run into approximately DKK 1,000 billion, or around EURO 120 million (1997 figures) and, most recently, are in the region of DKK 700 billion, around EURO 85 million (2000 figures).(9) The EU Commission has estimated that pre-accession countries will have to spend between two and three percent of their GDP over a period of 15 - 20 years in order to fully implement EU requirements in the environmental field. There are no corresponding calculations for the CIS countries.
The major expenditure for these countries will be the public sector's investments in the infrastructure and the private sector's investments to implement legislation, such as in the industrial area. It must be expected that the countries themselves will have to finance the greatest part of the expenditure (approx. 90-95 %) themselves.
There is therefore a pressing need for both EU pre-accession countries and the CIS to attract new financial resources to the area, both nationally and internationally. Deciding on priorities for the necessary measures, the costeffective utilisation of resources, the involvement of the private sector and the identification of new financing mechanisms are therefore important preconditions to carrying out the respective environmental measures in these countries.
Improving health standards in Eastern Europe has also been emphasised as the most important purpose of environmental measures since the European Environmental Action Programme was adopted at the First PanEuropean Environment Ministers Conference at Lucerne in 1993. In this connection the need to strengthen environmental measures from the point of view of health was underlined in the London Declaration at the Third Ministerial Conference on the Environment and Health in June 1999, with the main emphasis on a number of nominated areas.
In accordance with this, the Environmental Assistance Programme will in future place a greater emphasis on health as the general or immediate purpose of projects. More specifically, measures will be addressed to fulfilling the protocol adopted at the London Conference on "Water and Health" and the charter on "Transport, the Environment and Health".
These complex problems are discussed in greater detail in the section on selected areas where measures will be undertaken.
Geographically the strategy covers measures in:
EU pre-accession countries in the Baltic Region and Russia
The general geographical prioritisation will still be the Baltic Region and will, over and above assistance for these countries' EU preparations, continue on a regional basis in connection with common environmental problems. Measures will be undertaken in the countries surrounding the Baltic, i.e. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the neighbouring Russian areas. Assistance will be made available within the established areas of priority in the EU Action Plan on the Northern Dimension(10), which addresses the Baltic Region in particular, the area around the Barents Sea and the new neighbouring Russian areas in connection with an enlarged EU.
Selected EU pre-accession countries in Central and South-Eastern EuropeThe other Eastern European countries applying for EU membership must first and foremost receive assistance to enable them to transpose and implement EU environmental requirements. It is characteristic of these countries that they have not to date made the same progress as the Baltic Region nor had the attention paid to them by donors that the Baltic Region has received. Measures will include Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria as co-operating countries, and the other EU pre-accession countries which are closer to being admitted to the EU (Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovenia) will receive assistance solely where this is a necessary facet of regional projects.
Selected CIS countriesAs the EU accession process progresses, relations with those countries that become new border countries to an enlarged EU will intensify. This should lead to increased collaboration in the environmental area as well.
A common feature of these countries is that they do not at present devote sufficient resources to their environmental administration and the environment has a very low priority as a consequence of their economic situation. In general these countries are losing a great deal of ground relative to solving environmental and health related problems, as public investments are incapable of covering even basic operation and maintenance costs. In addition there is a very low degree of openness and little opportunity to influence the decisions of the authorities relating to the environment.
Activities will focus primarily on Ukraine, Russia (with sharper focus on the neighbouring Russian areas than on other areas of Russia, as the pre-accession countries around the Baltic gradually become EU members), Belarus(11) and, as a new co-operating country, Moldova. Measures in the Caucasus and Central Asia will be limited, solely of a regional character and with close links to the Environment for Europe process and international conventions.
The Balkans
The Environmental Assistance Programme collaborates with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on some aspects of the environment related measures in the Balkans. Measures under the programme cover Croatia, BosniaHerzegovina, Macedonia (FYROM), Albania and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As a starting point measures under the Environmental Assistance Programme will primarily be of a regional character, but support can also be given to concrete environmental infrastructure projects.
The political context
Two general themes will comprise the framework for environmental assistance: the EU accession process and the Environment for Europe process. In practice there will be a very great difference during the strategy period between the countries included as far as environmental policy development is concerned and the speed at which this will move.
EU approximationEU approximation has been established as the general focus of the strategy, both for EU pre-accession countries and for the CIS countries which, due to Partnership and Cooperation Agreements (PCAs) with the EU(12) have committed themselves in principle to approximation with EU requirements, including those in the environmental field. A similar proces is under way with the Balkans in the form op Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAAs).
The position of the Danish government to the enlargement process is that the EU pre-accession countries should as far as is possible maintain the speed of the reform process in order to help, inter alia, to ensure that possible transitional periods will be as brief as possible. Priority is given to the EU framework legislation and provisions relating to international conventions to which the Community has subscribed.
The basis of the strategy is that the effective implementation and enforcement of EU environmental legislation would significantly improve environmental conditions in Central and Eastern Europe and also play an important role in maintaining the rich biodiversity of these countries. There is one clear, homogeneous common objective for environmental policy in the Eastern European countries: that the preaccession countries must take on the entire EU environmental acquis. This includes the obligation contained in Article 6 of the consolidated Treaty establishing the European Community regarding the integration of environmental considerations into Community policies and activities.
Moreover, the more rapidly Danish environmental assistance can help the Eastern European countries to comply with EU requirements, the better. This should be seen in the light of the fact that EU pre-accession countries have asked for transitional periods, primarily in connection with investment heavy requirements in water, air and waste, some of which would range up to eleven years before full compliance with EU requirements would be achieved. The Danish assistance can contribute in a goal-oriented fashion to reduce the length of these transitional schemes, and Denmark should take steps to ensure that the EU accession funds are channelled to areas where longterm transitional schemes are anticipated. A number of countries will have clarified their accession conditions in the environmental area at an early stage of the strategy period. The intervening period from the conclusion of negotiations to full membership could cover a significant part of the strategy time frame, perhaps with some uncertainty regarding the ratification of the results of the negotiations. During this period the countries will not yet be eligible to receive assistance from the EU Structural Funds. In this connection the Danish Environmental Assistance Programme should help to ensure that candidate countries do not lose their incentive to continue with environmental measures during the interim period.
Those pre-accession countries that are not expected to be ready for the next enlargement will continue to be concerned with adapting their legislation to the EU system and with putting the necessary administrative reforms and the concrete work of transposition and implementation into practice.
The Environment for Europe process
This strategy is also closely linked to the "Environment for Europe" processwhich, since 1991, through four PanEuropean Environment Minister Conferences - most recently in 1998 in Aarhus - has created the framework for a considerable extension of environmental cooperation between Eastern and Western Europe. The main objectives of the process are to harmonise and increase the effective-ness of environmental policies in the countries involved and to promote an understanding of environmental problems among governments, industries and the general public. Agreement was reached at the Aarhus Conference to focus to an increasing extent in future on the CIS countries and the Balkans, as the EU accession process for the other Eastern European countries brings these countries' environmental policies and condition into approximation with those of the EU. In this connection the Aarhus Convention was one of the instruments that was signed at the Fourth Pan European Conference for the purpose of strengthening the rights of the general public in the environmental area.
The focus of future measures under the "Environment for Europe" process will be primarily as follows:
| 1. | to implement the countries' national environmental action program- mes(13) to establish new regional environmental centres (new RECs) |
| 2. | to promote the participation of the public in decision-making processes (the Aarhus Convention) |
| 3. | to strengthen environmental administration and monitoring between the region and the EU |
| 4. | to create cleaner technology programmes in order, inter alia, to support the national environmental action plans Both the EU approximation process and the "Environment for Europe" process will promote the implementation and increase the efficiency of international environmental agreements. The promotion of a synergistic effect between international conventions and the Danish Environmental Assistance Programme will create closer ties between the environmental strategy and Danish political interests and strengthen Danish efforts in international negotiations.(14) |
| 9. | The countries' investment requirement has been the subject of much debate in recent years due to a series of analyses. Among these are "Compliance Costing for Approximation of EU Environmental Legislation in the CEEC" (EDC Ltd, EPE asbl), April 1997. In 1997 the Danish Environmental Protection Agency published: The EU's enlargement to the East - environmental perspectives (EU's udvidelse mod Øst - miljømæssige perspektiver), which estimated the costs at approx. DKK 500 billion for a number of selected sectors. Finally the Brussels-based thinktank, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), stated in its report, "The Environment in European Enlargement" from July 2000, that the previous estimates of costs, especially for the industrial sector, had been overestimated. These calculations are based on different methods of calculation and the adoption of new, cost-intensive EU directives such as the EU's Water Framework Directive, and the revised Directive on Large Combustion Plants, were not included in the original basis of calculations. Ongoing specifications are being developed in the individual countries regarding the sector specific plans and cost estimates. |
| 10. | The European Council at Feira adopted the Action Plan for the Northern Dimension in June 2000; Action Plan for the Northern Dimension in the external and crossborder policies of the European Union 2002-2003. An attempt has been made here to provide further details of priorities and objectives with regard to the environment. |
| 11. | The EU Council conclusions from 1997 recommended that member countries should freeze technical assistance to Belarus, with the exception of humanitarian and regional programmes, including assistance for the democratisation process. The TACIS programme for regional cooperation and the cross-border programme for 2000-2003 once again opens up the opportunity for regional environmental assistance, especially including regional projects in collaboration with EU pre-accession countries. Where Denmark is concerned the decision was to follow the EU's recommendations closely. |
| 12. | The EU has signed PCAs with all CIS countries except Tadzhikistan, where the agreement has been left in abeyance. The agreements with Russia, Ukraine and Moldova have come into effect. The agreement with Belarus has been signed, but not yet ratified. |
| 13. | NEAPs: National Environmental Action Programmes |
| 14. | The publication from the Ministry of the Environment and Energy: "Strengthening the Connection between International Environmental Agreements and the Environmental Assistance Programme in the Ministry of the Environment and Energy" (Styrkelse af sammenhængen mellem internationale miljøaftaler og miljøbistanden i Miljø- og Energiministeriet) (December 2000) lists the Climate Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Cartagena Accord, the Ramsar Convention, the Washington Convention, the Basel Convention, the POPs Convention, the Rotterdam Convention (the PIC Convention) and, finally, the Århus Convention as future areas where action will be undertaken. The publication constitutes one of the practical tools on which this effort is based. |