1 Croatian progress report related to starting the negotiations on Chapter 27 – Environment, with emphasis on DG ENV project on supporting the accession process of the candidate countries Dr Nikola Ružinski, State Secretary MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

2 Starting the negotiations on Chapter 27 – Environment Accession negotiations with Croatia opened 4 October 2005 Working Group (WG) on the Environment Chapter – appointed by the Government on 13 October 2005 Chief Negotiator for the Environment Chapter: dr Nikola Ružinski, State Secretary for the Environment 35 members (from line ministries plus other agencies) 1st WG meeting held in December 2005 preparations for screening initiated: starting point is the (ongoing) DG ENV project “Supporting the Accession Process of the Candidate Countries.” THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

3 Harmonisation of legislation National Programme for the Integration into the EU (NPIEU) for 2004, 2005, NPIEU for 2006: 47 acts envisaged, of which 22 are under the MEPPPC’s competence Further harmonisation of legislation in the course of 2006 and 2007 In addition to MEPPPC, central state administration bodies with environmental competences are: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship, Ministry of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development. Also active in environmental protection: Environment Agency, Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, State Institute for Nature Protection, National Meteorological and Hydrological Service, State Directorate for Protection and Rescue, Croatian Waters. MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

4 DG ENV project – “Supporting the Accession Process” The project started in November 2004 (under the title “Supporting the accession process of the candidate countries and Croatia) and continues until the accession into the EU Project co-ordinator: Ministry of Environmental Protection, Physical Planning and Construction (MEPPPC) Sectors covered: horizontal, air, waste, water, nature, industrial pollution control, chemicals, GMOs and noise 58 directives, 8 regulations and 1 decision included The project is focused on filling in Tables of Concordance and Implementation Questionnaires – 3rd round of updating completed in Dec st Progress Monitoring (PM) Report released in July 2005, 2nd PM report due in July MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

5 Horizontal sector Competent authority – MEPPPC partially harmonised new Environmental Protection Act - due in 2006 – to cover provisions of directives relating to environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment, access to information and public participation, environmental permitting, Seveso II, environmental monitoring and reporting, environmental liability. full transposition to be achieved upon the adoption of pertaining implementing legislation – in the course of 2006 and 2007 Act of Ratification of the Aarhus Convention –due in 2006 the Kyoto Protocol MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

6 Air Quality Competent authority - MEPPPC Full transposition to be achieved by the end of 2007 With regard to the ambient air quality (Air Quality Framework and 3 Daughter Directives, except the Emission Ceilings Directive), a high score of transposition has been achieved Additional legal work is needed in order to transpose directives on product control, material handling and emission trading. Air Protection Act adopted in Nov 2004, pertaining implementing legislation has been drafted ( ) - for the year 2006, 5 regulations and 2 ordinances are planned Act of Ratification of the Convention of Persistent Organic Pollutants – due in 2006 Air Quality Protection and Improvement Plan – due in MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

7 Waste Competent authority - MEPPPC Most of the transposition work to be completed by 2007 Waste Framework Directive is about 50% transposed Landfill Directive - about 40% Waste Incineration Directive – about 30% Hazardous Waste Directive - about 90% (Croatia is party to the Basel Convention) In 2006: amendments to the 2004 Waste Act and drafting of the implementing legislation on specific waste streams (waste oils, waste batteries, waste electrical and electronic equipment, end-of-life vehicles, medical waste, sewage sludge) – 9 ordinances and 1 regulation. MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

8 Waste adopted in 2005: Regulation which transposes the European Waste Catalogue and the Hazardous Waste List; Ordinance on Packaging and Packaging Waste National Waste Management Strategy - adopted in October 2005 Waste Management Plan - due in 2006 (obligation arising from the Accession Partnership). MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

9 Water quality Competent authority – Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Water Framework Directive – partially transposed through the Act on Amendments to the Waster Act, Act on Amendments to the Water Management Financing Act (Dec 2005), Ordinance on keeping water-related documentation (due in January 2006) Timetables for transposition have not yet been determined; the only exception is the Drinking Water Directive, whose transposition was completed in 2004 Due in 2006: implementing legislation on dangerous substances in waters, limit values for indicators of dangerous and other substances in waste waters. MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

10 Water quality Planned for Implementation Strategy for the Water Framework Directive and draft implementation plans for the Drinking Water Directive and the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive CARDS 2003 project "Preparation of a draft strategy and action plan for the approximation of the Croatian legislation with the EU water acquis“ - to provide assistance in planning the legal transposition and implementation of the water acquis. Due to start in early MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

11 Nature protection Competent authority – Ministry of Culture Transposition status relatively advanced - new Nature Protection Act adopted in May 2005, transposing majority of relevant directives (Habitat Directive, Birds Directive) and regulations (Council Regulation 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein, Commission Regulation 808/2001 on the implementation of Regulation 338/97) full transposition is expected in the course of In May 2005 – completion of the LIFE III project “Establishment of the National Ecological Network as part of the Pan European Ecological Network and NATURA 2000 network”, resulting in the proposal of the Ecological network, a data base of the sites covered by the ecological network (compatible with NATURA 2000 data base), and providing a basis for the National biodiversity monitoring system System of nature parks and national parks well established Nature Protection Act prescribes the nature protection requirements for certain categories of protected areas as well as for parts of nature outside protected areas. MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

12 Industrial pollution control and risk management Competent authority - MEPPPC Transposition activities need to be intensified the new Environmental Protection Act (due in 2006) to provide a legal framework for adoption of implementing legislation that will fully transpose the IPPC and Seveso Directives MEPPPC has initiated a pilot project on IPPPC permitting procedures in selected companies; the Environment Agency has started creating a database of risky and potentially risky facilities Certain aspects of Directive 96/82/EC (Seveso II) transposed into the 1999 Environmental Emergency Plan, on the basis of which 20 county environmental emergency plans have been prepared. The transposition of VOC organic solvents and Large Combustion Plants Directives will be achieved by adoption of the Regulation on limit values for emissions of pollutants into the air from stationary sources - envisaged for MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

13 Chemicals Competent authority – Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Chemicals Act (December 2005) – partially harmonised with relevant directives In 2006 – pertaining implementing legislation to be adopted (7 ordinances) related to Directive 67/548/EC on classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances and Directive 98/8/EEC concerning the placing on biocidal products on the market Full transposition planned to be achieved by the end of MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

14 GMOs Competent authorites – 4 line ministries Ministry of Health – responsible for the placing on the market of GMOs and GMO products being used as food and for the use of GMOs and/or products containing and/or consisting of GMOs in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries and in human health care; Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management – responsible for the use of GMOs as animal feed, as reproduction material in agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine, and as veterinary drugs and plant protection products; Ministry of Culture (Directorate for Nature Protection) – responsible for deliberate release of GMOs into the environment; Ministry of Science – responsible for contained use of GMOs in closed systems. Ministry of Health, under the 2005 Act on GMOs, in charge of coordinating GMO-related activities MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

15 GMOs Act on GMOs adopted in 2005; partially harmonised with relevant EU legislation - Council Directive 90/219/EEC on the contained use of genetically modified micro-organisms and Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms and repealing Council Directive 90/220/EEC. Further harmonisation regarding the two directives is planned in the course of 2006, by means of implementing legislation: 8 ordinances are envisaged related to the deliberate release of GMOs into the environment and the contained use of GMOs. MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

16 Noise Competent authority – Ministry of Health and Social Welfare The 2003 Noise Protection Act partially transposes the Noise Directive’s requirements. The Act defines the noise protection measures on land, in water and air, and the enforcement of these measures for the purpose of preventing or abating noise and to avert dangers posed to human health. Majority of the Directives’ requirements – to be transposed by means of implementing legislation in the course of 2006 and MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

17 Forestry Competent authority – Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Forestry sector – not covered by the DG ENV project the Forests Act and the Act on Forest Reproductive Materials adopted in November 2005 Further transposition via implementing legislation in 2006 and 2007 In 2006: harmonisation with Council Directive 1999/105/EC on the marketing of forest reproductive material, EC Regulation 2152/2003 concerning monitoring of forest and environmental interactions in the Community (Forest Focus) and Commission Regulation 804/94 laying down certain detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation 2158/92 as regards forest-fire information systems, by means of 4 ordinances and the List of tree species and artificial hybrids. MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION

18 Starting the negotiations on Chapter 27 – Environment Conclusions: most of transposition activities to be carried out in 2006 strong coordination is needed, in particular in the area of chemicals and GMOs. MINISTARSTVO ZAŠTITE OKOLIŠA, PROSTORNOG UREĐENJA I GRADITELJSTVA THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, PHYSICAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION