Notice: The Ministerial Conference on Water Management and the Informal Meeting of the Environment Council

On Monday 11 July, a Ministerial Conference on Water Management will be held in Bratislava that is to be devoted to ‘Improving water management through the integration of environment-friendly approaches’. The conference will be opened by the Slovak Minister for Environment László Sólymos and the European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella i.

The conference will primarily centre on water availability in Europe, which has been changing in recent years. The conference will also focus on strategies and international cooperation in the field of integrated water river basin management. Experts will share their views and experience with the river basins of the Danube and the Rhine rivers.

The conference will be followed by an informal meeting of the ministers for environment and climate change of the EU Member States on Monday afternoon. The ministers will discuss the experience of the Member States in addressing water scarcity, droughts and floods. Their discussions will be used to prepare Council conclusions in this area, which are intended to contribute to a wider debate on the nature and focus of the Union’s future water policy.

The informal meeting will continue on Tuesday 12 July. The talks will mainly discuss the anticipated Conference of the Parties on Climate Change, which will also be followed closely by the public in the context of the Paris Agreement adopted in December 2015.

In the afternoon, the ministers for climate change will be joined by the ministers for energy. The Minister for Economy of the Slovak Republic, Mr. Peter Žiga, and the European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union, Maroš Šefčovič, will also take part in the informal discussion. In essence, the talks will build on the debate about open issues concerning the draft revision of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme for greenhouse gas emissions and about a new management system to meet the EU’s climate and energy targets.

A press conference after the discussion is scheduled for Tuesday 12 July at around 16.35 in the Press centre located in Reduta on E. Suchoň Square 1, Bratislava. It will be attended by the Minister for Environment László Solymos, the Environment Ministry’s State Secretary Norbert Kurilla, the European Commissioner Karmenu Vella and the Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate for Climate Action Jos Delbeke.

The issue of water represents a national contribution to the priorities of the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU. The Slovak Republic is fully aware of the fact that climate change has an influence on the occurrence of droughts and floods and their more frequent and intense effects. Even countries with relatively sufficient water resources need to be prepared when it comes to countering this phenomenon, which may affect the health and safety of the population, the environment, and many economic sectors. With that in mind, the Slovak Republic aims to take this issue to a Europe-wide political and professional level.

http://www.minzp.sk/files/agenda-informal-meeting-environment-climate-ministers.pdf