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Danish strategy for environmental assistance to Eastern Europe 2001-2006

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.

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