November 20, 1998 * Volume 1, Number 14
E U A C C E S S I O N
EU officials, accession nations discuss money,
environment
Representatives from the European Union and officials from the ten
"accession nations" of the region discussed the environmental
investment necessary for EU membership at a conference hosted by the
Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) in
Sztentendre, Hungary this week. Participants from environment ministries
around Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) were told of how to apply for funds
and how to use these funds in the best ways, according to organisers. There
was also discussion of changes in the EU's Phare Programme, which has been
providing funds for programs that help bring CEE nations up to EU
standards. According to a report from ENDS Environment Daily, Phare will
continue to finance some environmental projects, but officials said a new
facility called the Instrument for Structural Policies for pre-Accession
(ISPA) is expected to kick in from 2000. This will allocate about half of
its annual budget of ECU 1 billion to environmental projects, ENDS
reported.
Contact: European
Commission Directorate General for Environment, Tom Garvey or Timo
Makela, tel: (32-2) 299-2300; fax (32-2) 299-0310; or Paul Csagoly, REC, tel: (36-26) 504-000.
Candidate countries warned on environment
Many Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries hoping to join the
European Union are falling behind on the adoption of EU environmental
standards, according to a series of European Commission reports published
in the first week of November, the Environmental News Service (ENS) said.
The reports are the first in a series intended to monitor progress by ten
CEE countries plus Cyprus towards adoption of the acquis communautaire -
the minimum level of compliance to EU law required before new members can
join the Union. The report cited concerns about the level of staff training
in the environment ministries and regional environmental inspectorates of
the region's five "fast track" nations: the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Poland and Slovenia, according to ENS.
Contact: European Commission Directorate General for Environment,
Tom Garvey or Timo Makela, tel: (32-2) 299-2300; fax (32-2) 299-0310
Hungary wants more time to cut noise
Hungary has requested that it be granted a temporary grace period
before it is expected to comply with European Union standards on noise
pollution from airliners and other air transport regulations, according to
a November 16 report carried by Hungary Around the Clock. Although Hungary
is expected to be in full compliance with most EU standards five years
after accession, Hungarian representatives to the ongoing accession
negotiations reportedly requested that the nation be given extra time in
these areas.
Contact: Dr. Judit Moser of the Hungarian environment ministry's
press office, tel: (36- 1) 201-2619.
Auditor: CEE nuclear "time bomb" threatens Europe
The head of the European Union's auditing body said on November 17
that the EU was "sitting on a time bomb" as a result of failure to ensure
safety at Central and Eastern European nuclear reactors, according to a
report from the Environmental News Service. Despite earmarking ECU 850
million for the task over the last seven years, the EU had failed to manage
the spending properly, Bernhard Freidmann, president of the European Court
of Auditors, reportedly told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Friedmann made his comments after his court adopted a special report into
the EU's efforts to tackle the problem, according to Environmental News
Service. The court's report found that only ECU 355 million out of the ECU
850 million had been spent and concluded that the commission's strategy for
dealing with decommissioning, dismantling and waste processing was
"confused," according to the news service.
Contact: European Commission Directorate General for Environment,
Tom Garvey or Timo Makela, tel: (32-2) 299-2300; fax (32-2) 299-0310;
or EU Enlargement Watch, tel: (44- 171) 923-0412.
EU talks with Lithuania said to hinge on
Ignalina
The President of the European Parliament said on November 11 the European
Union wants Lithuania to set a concrete timetable for closing the
Soviet-era Ignalina nuclear plant before discussing membership, according
to Reuters. President Jose Maria Gil-Robles made this statement at a press
conference following a meeting with top parliamentary officials from 12
candidate countries in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, Reuters said.
Lithuania, the most nuclear dependant country in the world, generates 80
percent of its power through nuclear sources. Earlier in the month, a group
of 28 Lithuanian parliamentary deputies from several parties signed an
appeal urging that a commission be set up to study alternative energy
sources to reduce dependence on Ignalina, which many see as Lithuania's
main stumbling block to EU accession, Radio Free Europe/Radio Prague
reported on November 4.
Contact: Lithuanian environmental spokeswoman Natalija Gedvilaite,
tel: (370-2) 723- 251; e-mail: Leidybos.biuras@nt.gamta.lt.
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A R O U N D T H E R E G I O N
CEE nations back controversial motion at Buenos
Aires climate summit
During the Fourth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention
on Climate Change held in Buenos Aires November 2- 13, Central and
Eastern European countries supported a controversial motion to discuss
the issue of "voluntary commitments," the Earth Negotiations Bulletin
reported on November 16. Voluntary commitments refer to commitments that
can be made by developing countries to voluntarily reduce their emissions
of greenhouse gases according to targets. The majority of developing
countries present at Buenos Aires, including China and India, rejected the
idea of including voluntary discussions in the debate. The Czech Republic,
Hungary, Slovenia and Poland - all considered "countries in transition" and
not "developing countries" - supported the idea, along with the U.S.,
Canada, Japan, New Zealand and other developed countries. Argentina and
Kazakhstan announced at the conference that they would voluntarily seek
binding emission targets.
Contact: The International Institute for Sustainable Development web pages include extensive
coverage of the Climate Change Conference.
Gas leak in Hungary forces evacuation
A dangerous gas leak discovered on November 14 in Southern Hungary
forced the evacuation of three villages and continued spewing hazardous
gases for three days before crews were finally able to accomplish the
difficult job of capping the flow, according to news reports. Carbon
dioxide and other harmful gases began to escape from the ground after an
accident near the southwest Hungarian town of Zalaegerszeg at an oil well
owned by MOL, the Hungarian oil company, according to Nepszabadag, a
Hungarian daily newspaper. The accident forced the evacuation of 2,500
residents, and its ultimate impact is not yet known, according to
reports.
Contact: Maria Erdes, Environmental Affairs Manager, MOL Rt., tel:
(36-1) 464-1601; or Dr. Judit Moser of the Hungarian environment ministry's
press office, tel: (36-1) 201-2619.
NGOs develop forum to cooperate for the sake of
the Danube
Representatives from 37 non-governmental organisations from around the
Danube Basin gathered November 13-14 at a conference in Szentendre,
Hungary to establish a forum for their involvement in improving and
preserving the ecology of the Danube River and its environs. According to
the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC),
which organised the workshop, participants agreed to reactivate a
basin-wide NGO platform, called "the Danube Environmental Forum." This
representative body is meant to to ensure that NGOs can participate in the
work of multi- country government-sponsored organisations such as the
International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, the Danube
Programme Management Task Force and the Danube Pollution Reduction
Programme. With the Danube Environmental Forum, NGOs want to influence the
future development of the Danube River region on issues such as ecosystems,
land use and environmental education. Before the workshop was finished,
NGOs from nine different nations had already nominated representatives from
NGOs who would work on the Danube Envrionrmental Forum, organisers said.
The first meeting of the forum is scheduled for March 1999.
Contact: Entela Pinguli, REC, tel: (36-26) 504-000.
E N V I R O N M E N T A N D B U S I N E S S
Finnish firm and Estonian Eesti Energia to cut
CO2
Finland's energy group, Fortum's power unit Imatran Voima (IVO),
said on November 12 it had agreed with Eesti Energia AS to cut carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions at the Narva power plant in
Estonia by about 50,000 tonnes a year, according to a report by
Reuters. The Reuters report quoted company sources as saying that the
emissions would be reduced by improved efficiency of the power plant
processes. The company sources also praised the new agreement as a unique
example of cooperation for the environment, which can serve as a model for
future ventures. An air protection agreement between Finland and Estonia
calls for an 80 percent reduction in CO2 emissions from the 1980
level by 2005, the report said, noting that the Kyoto climate agreement
signed in December last year favours both joint implementation and wider
international emission trading.
Contact: Eesti Energia AS, tel: (372) 625-2222; e- mail: info@energia.ee.
Reuters: Western companies cash in on CEE
cleanup
A November 16 feature article distributed by Reuters takes a look at the
phenomenon of Western firms hoping to cash in on Central and Eastern
Europe's desire to clean up for the European Union accession process.
"With Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland the most industrialised of six
countries on the fast track to join the European Union, competition is keen
for contracts that could total tens of billions of dollars to clean up the
environmental mess left by more than 40 years of communist rule," the
article said.
The article is visible on the "World Environment News" page of the Planet Ark web site.
J O U R N A L I S M N E W S
PWC offers journalism fellowships
PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) has announced that it will sponsor two
fellowships a year on the prestigious Press Fellowship Programme run by
Wolfson College, Cambridge, and journalists from Central and Eastern Europe
are eligible. The Programme, now in its 16th year, enables promising
journalists in mid-career to spend twelve weeks in Cambridge researching a
project of their choice under academic supervision. According to the
announcement, PWC Press Fellows will be drawn from countries in the
European Union and countries aspiring to join it, and will work on projects
in the area of press freedom, democratic institutions and new media. To
apply, or for more information, write: The Director, Press Fellowship
Programme, Wolfson College, Cambridge, CB3 9BB, UK; tel: (44-122) 333-5931;
fax: (44-122) 333-5977; e-mail: hrp26@hermes.cam.ac.uk; web: http://www.wolfson.cam.ac.uk/~p
ressfel/.
W H O W E A R E
About Green Horizon
Green Horizon is a free newsletter designed to help journalists stay
ahead of environmental news in Central and Eastern Europe. Twice a month,
we'll offer tips on upcoming stories to watch for, as well as information
and ideas to help you develop in-depth pieces about the region's
environment. Green Horizon is produced by the Media Information Service (MIS) of the
Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe. The goal of
the MIS is to assist the media in covering environmental issues. It is
funded by the European Commission's DG-XI and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.
For a free subscription, research assistance or to find a source: Send
e-mail to: GreenHorizon@rec.org, or
call Tom Popper at (36-26) 504-000,
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