Activities The Meeting of Senior Officials on Cross Border Cooperation in Stabilisation and Association Process Countries took place in Belgrade on May 20-21, 2004. During the meeting the “Joint Statement of the Ministers of the Environment and Heads of Delegations on the Progress Achieved within the Stabilisation and Association Process” and the discussion at the 6th REReP Task Force meeting were recalled. Moreover, the status of formal instruments for cross-border cooperation and selected cross-border initiatives and projects under implementation were presented. Senior officials were invited to present the existing and planned cross-border initiatives and projects, report on their progress, and identify obstacles and fields where the assistance is needed to foster them. Representatives of international organisations and programmes were also invited to present international cross-border activities. Conclusions from the event are available here (100-KB PDF file). Ministerial meeting on progress achieved within the Stabilisation and Association process Under the project on facilitating cross-border cooperation in South Eastern Europe, ministries of environment and heads of the delegations in Stabilisation and Association countries met on October 15, 2003 in Skopje, FYR Macedonia to discuss the progress achieved, identify common problems in the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) and propose priorities of high interest for the region for future assistance within the SAP, which is the driving force for environmental improvement in the region. They adopted a Joint Statement (37-KByte DOC file), which identified the following areas for regional, cross-border cooperation and assistance: approximation of legislation and strengthening environmental institutions, including local authorities; joint work on environmental enforcement and compliance, particularly implementation of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control and Seveso II directives; efforts promoting the implementation of the EU’s Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment directives, including EIA in a transboundary context (Espoo Convention); preparatory activities for implementing the heavy investment directives; sustainable and integrated management of water resources based on the EU Water Framework Directive and related directives; preparatory activities for the Framework Directive on Waste and related directives; efforts for strengthening the civil society and for implementation of the principles of the Aarhus Convention, as reflected in the relevant directives; development and introduction of economic instruments; establishing a common market for environmentally friendly technologies, renewable energy and cleaner technologies, introducing EMAS and ISO 14000; environmental education; protection of biological and landscape diversity, including the promotion of sustainable tourism; and integration of environmental concerns into other sectors (e.g. sustainable transport and agriculture) with adequate attention to environmental health issues. In the Joint Statement, the CARDS Programme is recognised as a very important mechanism for technical assistance. However, more environmental investment projects have to be attracted to the region and respective additional programmes are needed, as was the case with the EU candidate countries. However, the ministers and heads of delegations called upon the European Commission, donor countries, international organisations and institutions to mobilise additional resources for assisting the successful implementation of the environmental obligations within SAP following the pattern established for the new EU member states. Collected information The project collects information on existing and planned legal instruments for cross-border cooperation and possible areas for such cooperation. This information, as available to the project team and the REReP Secretariat as of September 2003, was presented at the 6th REReP Task Force meeting in Brussels, Belgium. An update is available here.

Home Introduction Rationale Activities Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) CARDS Programme Information on existing and planned legal instruments for cross-border cooperation Highlights of REReP (3-MB PDF file) REReP Secretariat REReP Projects Beneficiaries Links