Eurocommissaris Dimas toetst Bulgaarse milieuwetgeving aan EU-normen (en)

SPEECH/06/233

Stavros Dimas

Member of the European Commission, Responsible for Environment

New Bulgarian University

Sofia, Bulgaria 10 April 2006

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. My theme will be the EU's efforts to advance environmental protection both in the EU and globally - and I hope these efforts will soon be reinforced by the accession of two more countries to the Union, Bulgaria and Romania.

The EU plays an important role in environmental policymaking. Environmental problems, such as air and water pollution, climate change and the decline in biodiversity, do not respect borders, so cooperation at EU level is necessary and well developed. As your government is aware, the existing body of EU environment law - known as the acquis - comprises more than 300 pieces of legislation! Looking around the current 25 Member States, we estimate that as much as 70-80% of national environmental legislation originated at EU level. This clearly reflects the EU's crucial role in this field.

Environmental protection is a policy area that EU citizens consider very important. Surveys consistently show that Europeans care greatly about the state of the environment. They consider it almost as important as the economy and equally important as social issues. For me as the Environment Commissioner, it is very satisfying to work on issues that are so relevant to citizens.

The EU is also taking the global lead in promoting environmental protection. We are at the forefront of international action on climate change, we have the most comprehensive network of protected nature areas, and we are promoting sustainable development worldwide.

The EU is not working on environmental protection solely in order to preserve the beauty of nature and ensure a high quality of life for citizens - environmental protection is also an economic necessity. The cost of doing nothing in terms of negative effects on human health, on our economies and on the stability of societies around the world would be disproportionately higher than the cost of taking protection measures.

Before I go into more detail, I would like to touch briefly upon Bulgaria's preparations for accession.

My visit to Bulgaria takes place around a month before the publication of our next Monitoring Reports on Bulgaria and Romania's preparedness to join the EU. The Reports are currently being prepared, and I cannot of course prejudge their final findings. However, I am pleased to note that Bulgaria has made further progress since the last report. At the same time, I should also say that in certain areas, the Commission had expected to see Bulgaria in better shape less than one year before the planned accession date.

In the environment field, Bulgaria has made significant efforts. Given the amount of environmental legislation, you can be proud of what you have achieved! Of course, there are a few areas where more efforts are needed. For example, the administrative capacity to put EU environmental legislation into practice must be further strengthened, particularly at local and regional levels, and there are three areas of legislation - waste, water and horizontal legislation - where transposition still needs to be completed and implementation assured.

The recent peer review - an exercise conducted by experts from Member States and the Commission -reassured the Commission that outstanding problems in these areas can and will be addressed in time for accession, which I most welcome.

Of course, sustained efforts in terms of people and money will be required after accession too,as Bulgaria has been granted transitional periods until 2014 for some of the most costly environmental laws. And they will have to continue even after that, since environmental protection is a constantly evolving policy field!

Implementation of the environmental acquis needs investments. Bulgaria is receiving substantial assistance from the EU through the pre-accession instruments ISPA, Phare and Sapard. Roughly 20% of this financial support is dedicated to the environment. This year alone Bulgaria is receiving some 65 million euros of support for environmental protection. After accession, assistance in the environmental field will almost triple.

Also, there are significant economic benefits from applying EU environmental legislation. The main benefit is to public health. Cleaner air to breathe, cleaner water to drink and better waste management all reduce health budgets.

According to a study we commissioned in 2001, the number of premature deaths from respiratory diseases in Bulgaria will be reduced by between 400 and 1400 if EU air legislation is fully implemented. Around a quarter of all households will be connected to drinking water supply systems with assured quality. Wheat yields will increase by around 5% due to lower exposure to sulphur dioxide levels.

Overall, the economic benefits that Bulgaria will reap from implementation of EU environmental legislation are estimated at between 300 million euros a year -the lower estimate - and 2 billion euros a year!

Some benefits can be calculated, but numerous others cannot be accurately measured in monetary terms. As an example, the private sector will benefit from modern technology that will increase productivity. More efficient waste management will reduce production and maintenance costs.

I would also like to stress that the EU too will benefit from Bulgaria's accession. Bulgaria is an extremely biodiverse country and hosts around 200 species endemic to the Balkans. Its accession will immensely enrich Europe's natural heritage. By introducing high environmental standards, Bulgaria will help improve the situation in neighbouring countries and in the Black Sea. And we are looking forward to welcoming one more government to reinforce our efforts to tackle global environmental challenges, such as climate change and biodiversity loss.

Climate change is probably the most urgent environmental threat we are facing. Its effects are already manifest and will increase in frequency and intensity over the coming years if we do not take action.

The five hottest years recorded since the 1860s have occurred within the last decade, with 2005 being the hottest year ever according to data from NASA. It saw forest fires, droughts and floods in Europe, and a record number of 15 hurricanes, with Hurricane Katrina causing 80 billion US$ in damage.

In Bulgaria, you were hit by the worst floods in 50 years, which affected thousands of people and destroyed hundreds of houses. In this respect, civil protection assistance was provided by your European partners. Working together, when facing such tragedies, is a clear demonstration of European solidarity. There was heavy rainfall this year again, and new floods.

Globally, sea levels are rising and will submerge low-lying islands and costal regions - in Europe, some 70 million people could be at risk. Climate change will also affect the natural resource base, and cause food and water shortages in many parts of the world.

The EU is convinced there is still time to win the battle against climate change if the international community agrees to take serious action. Based on scientific findings, EU leaders believe that global temperature increases must be limited to a maximum of 2º Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The EU has put in place one of the most comprehensive climate change programmes in the world to reduce emissions domestically. It has also launched the world's first greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme.

Bulgaria's emissions are well below its Kyoto target, but I would hope that it will make efforts to further reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. There is great potential to improve energy efficiency, which translates into cost savings, and the economic restructuring provides an opportunity to take advantage of investment cycles and to generate cost-efficient emission reductions while modernising the economy.

The way in which Bulgaria is meeting the requirements of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive, which seeks to reduce emissions from industrial installations, illustrates the opportunities that environmental protection measures bring: the overhaul and technical modernisation of old facilities allows industry to leapfrog to new more efficient production processes.

Coming back to climate change, the global challenge at hand is to agree on a new climate change regime after expiry of the Kyoto targets in 2012. Discussions of future global action are starting next month in Bonn. Bulgaria supports the EU positions on climate change and we appreciate that.

The ongoing destruction of habitats and species is steadily weakening the intricate web of life on which we all depend. We are in danger of undermining the Earth's life support systems to the point where one day they could collapse, with untold consequences for future generations. Last year's landmark UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment shows that two thirds of ecosystems that provide essential services to our economies - such as food and fibre, clean air and fresh water - are being significantly degraded. In Europe, many marine ecosystems are degraded, and at the species level, 42% of Europe's native mammals, 43% of birds and 52% of freshwater fish are threatened with extinction.

Tackling this challenge was at the centre of our discussions at the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity last month in Brazil. The EU, for its part, is committed to halting the loss of biodiversity within its frontiers by 2010, and next month I hope to present an action plan setting out how we can reach this target. I am glad to say that Bulgaria is also committed to this target, since it was endorsed by all Europe's environment ministers at their meeting in Kiev in 2003.

One of our main tools to stop biodiversity loss in the EU is the Natura 2000 network of protected nature areas. It includes some 20,000 sites that safeguard vulnerable species and important habitats, and cover some 18% of EU-25 territory. Progress in designating Natura 2000 sites in Bulgaria is ongoing, and I am looking forward to the contribution it will make to the network.

Concerns for biodiversity have also been integrated into the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and measures to protect the environment form an integral part of EU Rural Development Policy. The reformed CAP is now the major EU funding instrument for the management of Natura 2000 sites and also supports organic farming.

In conclusion, I would like to thank Bulgaria for what it has already done to implement EU environmental legislation and to improve environmental protection, and to encourage it to stay the course. As I mentioned, this requires some initial investment.

A comprehensive and realistic investments strategy needs to be in place, which considers the capacity to absorb EU funds, allocates national resources, involves the private sector and is based on co-operation with international financial institutions.

An important source of assistance after accession will be the Structural and Cohesion Funds. The ongoing preparation of the Sectoral Operations Programme is crucial. It highlights the main priorities and sets up the institutional structures at national and regional level. Let me also stress that it is important to establish good coordination at regional and local levels in order to ensure smooth implementation of future projects.

I could carry on for much longer, but as time is short, I must bring things to a close. I am looking forward to Bulgaria's accession because, among other important benefits, it will enrich Europe's natural and cultural heritage and strengthen our efforts to advance environmental protection at international level. Thus it will bring us a step closer to sustainable development.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I will stop there, and end by saying - in fluent Bulgarian! - Merci