UNECE member states have endorsed the "Environment for Europe" process reform
L'ARTICLE N'EST DISPONIBLE QU'EN ANGLAIS : From 27 to 29 January 2009, the Special Session of the Committee on Environmental Policy of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) held in Geneva endorsed the reform of the “Environment for Europe” process.
„The outcome of the Geneva discussion consists in adopting a mechanism for improved efficiency of the EfE process functioning in future, that at the same reflects changes in the geopolitical and economic conditions across the pan-European region," stressed Jiří Hlaváček, Director of Multilateral Relations Department of ME, who was the Head of the Czech Presidency Delegation in Geneva. By endorsing the reform, the UNECE member states confirmed the role of environment as a tool of reinforcing Europe-wide cooperation.
„For the Czech Presidency of the Council of EU, maintaining and achieving improved efficiency of the ‘Environment for Europe’ process was even more important since it was started thanks to the initiative of Josef Vavroušek, the former Czechoslovak Environment Minister at the Dobris Castle in June 1991,” says the President of the EU Environment Council Martin Bursík. The decision on undertaking a reform of the process was adopted at the Sixth Ministerial Conference in Belgrade in October 2007.
The “Environment for Europe” process represents a political forum for the Environment Ministers and other partners (such as industry, trade and nongovernmental organisations), both on increasingly promoting environmental protection and enhancing economic competitiveness and social stability across the common European and North American region within the sustainable development context.
Negotiating the reform involved difficulties due to differing views of the key political actors within UNECE, in particular the USA, EU, Russia and certain countries of South Europe and Central Asia. The key problem issues were those of thematic and geographic priorities of the process, its more efficient linking to the global processes and problems, roles of separate stakeholder groups, as well as increased responsibility of the private sector for the development in the UNECE region.
Eventually, a compromise agreement was achieved with respect to all problem areas. Emphasis will be laid on active involvement of all stakeholder groups, with the UNECE member states in the first place, and on resolution of problems of separate subregions, specifically of South-East Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.
The Geneva session participants appreciated the role played by the Czech Presidency in complex negotiations for the reform.
The final version of the reform is now pending formal endorsement by 63rd session of UNECE at the end of March 2009.
For more information on the “Environment for Europe” process, please visit the UNECE web pages at: http://www.unece.org/env/efe/welcome.html.
Contact:
- Jakub Kašpar, Spokesperson, Ministry of the Environment of the CR
- Tel.: +420 267 122 040, GSM: +420 724 175 927; e-mail: [email protected]
Dernière mise à jour : 10.2.2009 15:00
