Danish support to improved water quality in Central and Eastern Europe 1991-2001
Chapter 2
Introduction
| 2.1 | Background |
| 2.2 | Methodology |
Following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the Soviet Union 10 years ago, the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) were left with substantial environmental problems. Denmark was among the first countries supporting environmental improvement in the CEEC and during the last 10 years Denmark has provided support to the environmental sector in the CEEC for about DKK 3.3 billion.
In 1991 the act on subsidies for environmental activities in Eastern Europe was adopted by the Danish Parliament. Later in 1993 a strategy for environmental activities in Eastern Europe was drawn up and has been the basis for environmental assistance to Eastern Europe. The strategy focused on the Baltic Sea Region, EU accession, implementing international conventions, strengthening environmental awareness in the countries and increasing efforts in the newly independent states (NIS countries).
Priority sectors for Danish support to the CEEC until 2001:
 | Water pollution |
| Air pollution |
| Solid and Hazardous waste |
| Biological diversity and sustainable forestry |
| Institutional strengthening and EU accession. |
The Danish support to Central and Eastern Europe (DANCEE) comprises 15 countries.
2.2 Methodology
The report covers more than 400 DANCEE supported projects in the water sector, for which grants have been allocated in the period April 1991-April 2001. The comprehensive overview of the achievements of the DANCEE programme support is based on statistical summary reports submitted to DANCEE, other project reporting and publications available from the Danish EPA.
The report starts by describing the result of 10 years support and its impact on the environment and public health. Then the assistance is described for each action area before focussing on the EUaccession and financing of projects. Finally, the cooperation with the recipient countries are outlined. The review was prepared by COWI, and the opinions reported are those of the review team, and hence they may not fully cover the views of the Danish EPA.