Transcript Transition from PEIP to RENA

REReP → RENA
Vision of the European Commission
PEIP Regional Meeting
28th of November 2008
Joanna Fiedler
Enlargement and Neighbouring Countries Unit
DG Environment
European Commission
28 November 2008
Why a need for RENA?
—1999
Establishment of the Regional Environmental
Reconstruction Programme: REReP
Why? ‒ to improve the environmental situation in the
region in a post-conflict context
‒ to re-establish and facilitate an environmental
dialogue between the Western Balkan countries.
Since then,
The European political landscape has changed substantially.
‒ A future in the EU possible for all the Western
Balkans and Turkey.
‒ A need for further strengthening of the preaccession element in regional co-operation.
—2007
So?
The Commission proposes to replace REReP with
RENA: a new Regional Environmental Network for
Accession.
RENA – the launch of the process
 Ministers for Environment from the Candidate Countries
and potential Candidates plus Bulgaria and Romania
welcoming the initiative (June 2007)
 the Commission was asked to provide a Road Map from
REReP to RENA
Exchange
of
experience
Jointly
tackle
Different
stages
Forum
RENA – the components
 Ministerial Meetings will:
 Increase political commitment
 Increase the visibility of the challenges posed by the
environment chapter
 Steer the technical level cooperation process by setting priority
issues
 Regional Environmental Network for
Accession (RENA)
 Concrete RENA activities identified by Environment Ministers in
2007
 Annual meetings
 4 thematic working groups for the first 2
years (see next slide)
 The Secretariat of the RENA Network
 The Commission will be assisted by a Consultant to be selected by a
tendering procedure.
Priority issues identified by
Ministers
 Strategic planning of the pre-
accession process;
 Public participation;
 Climate change;
 Cross-border Co-operation on
environment;
 Preparation of environmental
investment projects
RENA –
the thematic working groups
 WG 1 "Strategic Planning &
Investments"
 WG 2 "Climate Change“
 WG 3 "Cross-Border Cooperation on
water, nature, EIA & SEA"
 WG 4 “Implementation and
Enforcement“
WG 1 Strategic Planning &
Investments
 Strategic approach towards harmonisation
-
-
-
process – reducing the risk of:
Inadequate alignment that requires a
number of amendments
Complex institutional framework with
overlapping competences
Inadequate strengthening administrative
capacities
Inefficient spending of scarce financial
resources
Using the existing experience
 To continue the Progress Monitoring
exercise:
(monitoring progress towards adoption
and implementation of environmental
legislation)
 To built on experience from PEIP
 Better coordination on planning of
investments
Objectives
 Creation of a forum for officials - to
exchange experience
 Strengthening cooperation in the
field focusing on the strategic
planning of the approximation
process
 Strengthening public participation
WG 1 Strategic Planning &
Investments
 Strategic planning of approximation process e.g






approximation strategies
Effective implementation and enforcement of
acquis including financing
Maintaining and updating a regional list of priority
environmental projects
Assistance in drafting investment and financing
strategies, exchange of information on financing
sources
Public participation in the planning process
Assistance in providing tools for tracking and
assessing progress in preparation for accession
Specific capacity building/information exchange
activities
Results
 Identification of workshop/training
needs
 Best practice documents
 List of priority projects
 Identification of potential multibeneficiary projects
 Progress monitoring report
WG 2 Climate Change
 Focus on:
 keeping the countries fully aware of
developments in relation to Climate change
policy developments
 Preparing countries for implementing EU
Climate Change requirements once members
 Specific activities may include; creation of

inventories, development of strategies,
establishment of ETSs, etc.)
Particular attention will be given to
adaptation and mitigation
WG 3 Cross-Border Cooperation
Focus on:
 Nature Protection including Natura 2000
preparations in a transboundary context
 Water Management in a transboundary
context , including the Water Framework
directive
 Public participation in relation to the above
areas as well as general requirements on
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA),
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
and the implementation of the Aarhus
Convention
WG 4 Environmental Compliance
and Enforcement Network for
Accession (ECENA)
 ECENA established in 2005;
 Exchange best practices on
implementation and enforcement of
environmental law
 Inclusion of ECENA in RENA will allow
the work on implementation and
enforcement to be more closely
linked with other pre-accession tasks
RENA stakeholders
Neighbouring EU
Member States
RENA
focal point
IFIs,
Bilateral Donors,
International
organisations
Other EU
Member States
Environmental
NGOs
RENA - Financing
 Financing through the IPA multi-beneficiary

programme
Tentative planning
 IPA 2009: 2,9 million €
 IPA 20010: 3 million €
 Certain activities will only be started in 2010 –
but most in 2009 (as these are currently covered
by on-going EU project)
 The split between activities is indicative and will
be further fine-tuned, taking into account
relevant developments, before the launch of the
1st tender
Next Steps…..
 Discussion at REReP meeting (this week)
 Countries to consolidate their positions and



provide comments in writing to the Commission
before 1 January 2009
COM to finalise the RENA road map before March
2009
Ministerial meeting to endorse the RENA road
map/mandates for the working groups –
spring/early summer 2009
Launch of RENA – target date - September 2009
?