Environmental Policies

and Strategies
Environmental Policies in the
European Community

In 1957 six European countries, Belgium, France, Italy,

Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty
of Rome, establishing the European Economic Community (EEC).
The Treaty of Rome was a document which focused on
economical, political and legislative problems.
In February 1986 the 12 members of the early Community (Belgium,
Denmark, France, West Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain)
signed the Single European Act (SEA) the decisive step
towards outlining an European environmental policy. The
importance of the SEA in environmental problems it introduced
for the first time two explicit references, concerning the influence of
the Community in the area of environmental protection:

Article 100a- lays down the criteria of the environmental protection law. This
article states the connection between the single market, the protection of the
environment and work safety and health.
Articles 130r, 130s and 130t- specify the goals, the means and the
procedures used to adopt the law concerning the environment (unanimous
decision);
Article 130r establishes the objectives of the environmental protection
policies in the European Community (EC):
Preserving, protecting and enhancing the quality of the environment;
Improving peoples health;
Cautious and reasonable usage of the natural resources.
The environmental policy of the European Union by adopting a number of
simple measures :
- less pollution;
- the obvious need to take action in order to allocate financial
responsibility for environmental damage.
This leads to the following principles:

Article 130r establishes the objectives of the environmental

protection policies in the European Community (EC):
Preserving, protecting and enhancing the quality of the environment;
Improving peoples health;
Cautious and reasonable usage of the natural resources.
The environmental policy of the European Union by adopting a
number of simple measures :
- less pollution;
- the obvious need to take action in order to allocate
financial responsibility for environmental damage.
This leads to the following principles:

 The Polluter pays principle: underlies the fact that the polluter
bears the costs of the pollution control measures established by the
public authorities; the cost of this measures will be reflected in the
price of the goods and services that cause the pollution.
The principle of preventive action: is based on the general rule
Prevention is better than cure;
The precautionary principle: states that one should implement
precautionary measures when an activity threatens to affect the
environment or human health, even though a cause-effect
relationship is not scientifically proved;
The sustainability principle: establishes that the EU environmental
policies should pursue a high level of environmental protection;
The integration principle: lays down that environmental protection
requirements should be taken into account when defining and
implementing other Community policies;
The proximity principle: aims to encourage local communities to
assume responsability for the wastes and pollution they produce .

Observation: the integration principle is the most important provision

of the article. Environmental protection is the only section of the
Community policy which imposes such demanding requirements.
Article 130r includes the subsidiarity principle, which stipulates
that the Community will act, only if its goals will be reached easier
by acting at Community level, than by individual efforts of the
member states
At the same time the article admits partnerships with countries
outside the European Community and international organization .

The highlight in the development of the

environmental policy was the 1992 Rio Summit. EU
committed itself quickly in the process of adopting new
strategic approaches for economical sustainability, and
the Treaty of Maastricht, adopted the same year,
granted the environmental actions developed by the
Union the status of policy for the first time. Through
this Treaty, the Community intends to facilitate the
development of a common market, an economic
and monetary Union, the adoption of joint policies
and actions and the furtherance of a high level of
protection and improvement of the quality of the
environment. In order to achieve all these, the
Community action requires, among other things, a new
environmental policy (art.3).

In 1987, through the amendments brought to the EEC Treaty,

reinforced by the Treaty of Maastricht, a new official provision was
added environmental protection was integrated into the
Community policies.
In 1972, the Commission submitted in front of the Council its first
report on environmental policies. This report led to an intense
debate on the means of approaching environmental problems
(whether they should be dealt with at Community level or in the form
of intergovernmental agreements between the member states by
coordinating national environmental policies). The Commission,
seconded by the European Parliament, was in favor of acting at
Community level.
The importance given by the Community to environmental
protection could no longer be questioned after the Treaty of
Amsterdam(1997) was adopted. First of all, the new treaty coined
the concept of sustainable development.

Article 6 of the Amsterdam Treaty states that the

environmental requirements must be taken into account
when defining and applying Community policies and
actions, so as to promote sustainable development. Thus,
sustainable development becomes a key objective of the Union,
and the principle of integration is the main mechanism in the
process of achieving this goal. Also, the treaty simplifies the
decision-making procedures and introduces the external
dimension of environmental integration. Article 177 states that
through the cooperation policy, which completes the other
policies of the member states, the Community wants to achieve
economic and social sustainability for developing countries.

I.1.The Evolution of The Environmental

Policies in The European Community

The EU environmental policies are the results of the decisionmaking procedures established in the Community treaties.
Community institutions operate under the subsidiarity principle and
they count on the cooperation between the governments of the
member states, non-governmental organizations, interest groups,
various specialized organizations and, obviously, on the studies and
reports provided by the European Environmental Agency.
In the 50s, European policies sought to rebuild Europes prosperity
and to ensure future peace, by creating a common trade area.
Because of the economic growth, at the end of the 60s it became
even clearer that drastic and effective environmental measure
needed to be adopted.
In 1970, the global dimension of pollution became obvious, and
in 1973, after the Stockholm Conference (1972), the Community
adopted the first environmental program.

This program has established the principles and the priorities which
guide the future Community policies. The fundamental principles of
the first European environmental action program have been
included in the amendments of the Rome Treaty through the Single
European Act.

The first and the second environmental action

programs (1973-1977; 1978-1982)
The documents underlying the EU environmental policies are the
Environmental Action Programs (EAP).
The first and second environmental action programs established
detailed list of actions, needed to control a wide range of pollution
problems.
Eleven principles were formulated, which remained valid in the
further action programs (DG XI, 1992).
1.Prevention is better than cure. This became the most important
principle of the following four environmental action programs.
2.Environmental impact assessment should be taken into
consideration in the early stages of the decision-making process.
3.The means of exploitation which produce significant damage to the
environmental balance should be prevented.
4.Scientific knowledge should be improved, so as appropriate
measures to be taken.

5. The polluter pays principle; the cost of preventing and repairing

environmental damage should be borne by the polluter.
6. The activities carried by a state should not produce damage to the
environment of another state.
7.The environmental policies of the member states should be
established by taking into account the interests of developing
countries.
8.The European Community should promote environmental protection
actions at international level, with the help of international
organizations.
9.Everybody has the responsibility to protect the environment, that is
why the people should be educated in this matter.
10.The subsidiarity principle - the environmental protection measures
must be implemented at an appropriate level, taking into account the
type of pollution, the required action and the geographical area that
needs protected.
11.National environmental problems should be coordinated on the basis
of joint, long-term concepts, and national policies should be
harmonized within the Community.

The third environmental action program

(1983-1986)

The third environmental action program, 1983 the global

strategy for environmental and natural resources protection in
the European Community. There was a change of focus, the
concept of pollution control made room for the pollution
prevention one, and the concept of environmental protection was
broadened to include:
Land use planning;
Corroborating environmental policies with other EC policies;
Financing agricultural activities, regional economic development
and helping the countries from Africa, Pacific and Caribbean
Islands, according to Lom Convention (1989).

The fourth environmental action program

(1987-1992)

Highlights four areas of activity:

1. Implementing effectively the existing Community legislation;

2. Regulating the impact of pollution sources upon the environment;
3.Increasing the public access to information and disseminating it;
4.Creating new jobs.

The Fourth Environmental Action Program promotes an integrated

approach to environmental policy and introduces the concept of
"sustainable development.

The fifth environmental action program (19932000)

The fifth environmental action program, also called Towards

Sustainability, transformed sustainability into an environmental
strategy.
Thus, environmental sustainability means:
preserving life quality;
maintaining unlimited access to natural resources;
avoiding long-term damage of the environment;
understanding sustainability as the capacity to meet the present
needs, without affecting the ability of the future generations to fulfil
their owns .
Other new elements brought by EAP 5 are:
- transforming the environmental policy into a policy based on
consensus and consulting the stakeholders in the process of
decision-making;
- moving from an approach based on control to one based on
prevention by using financial and fiscal means.

The sixth environmental action program

(2001-2010)
The sixth Environmental Program, also called Our Choice, our
future, is the consequence of the overall evaluation process of
the EAP 5 (2000) results and sets the environmental priorities for
the present decade .

4 primary areas define the aims of this environmental policy:

1. Climate change and global warming- the objective is to reduce gas
emissions, which are guilty for the greenhouse effect; the level of
emissions has increased by 8% since 1990 (according to Kyoto
protocol).
2. Protecting nature and biodiversity- the objective is to reduce the
threats to endangered species and their habitats in Europe ;
3. Health in relation to the environment- its objective is to provide an
environment that does not have a significant or dangerous impact
on human health;

4. Conserving natural resources and waste management- its objective is to

recycle wastes and to prevent their occurrence.
EAP 6 maps out seven thematic strategies: soil protection, marine
environment conservation and protection, pesticide usage in the context
of sustainable development, air pollution, urban environment, wastes
recycling, resource management and usage in the context of sustainable
development.

Six strategies have been introduced as follows:

1. Air quality- a strategy introduced by the Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) 9
program, launched in March 2001 developing a strategic and
integrated set of recommendations, with the aim to combat the negative
effects of air pollution upon the environment and human health; the
recommendations were put forward to the Commission at the end of
2004/ the beginning of 2005 and they underlie the strategy for combating
air pollution.

2. Soil. In The Thematic Strategy on Soil Protection, April 2002, the

European Commission treated the matter of soil protection, as an
independent one and the existing problems were presented, along
with the particular functions and features of such an
environmental policy.
3. Sustainable use of pesticides. The Thematic Strategy on The
Sustainable Use of Pesticides began in June 2002 .
4. Marine environment protection. The Thematic Strategy on The
Protection and Conservation of Marine Environment was
launched in October 2002 and it aims to protect and conserve
marine ecosystems, oceans, estuaries, sea-coasts and
biodiversity areas.

5. Waste prevention and recycling. This thematic strategy, which

was launched in May 2003, treats recycling and waste prevention
as separate matters. It investigates ways of promoting product
recycling (when needed) and it analyses the best options by
taking into consideration the cost-efficiency relation.
6. Urban Environment. This thematic strategy has set 4 primary
topics:
urban transport;
sustainable urban management;
construction management;
urban architecture.
An innovative aspect of EAP 6 is that it adopted an Integrated
Product Policy, which aims to reduce the number of products
which may damage the environment, thus creating an ecological
product market.

I.2. Introducing the concept of

sustainable development in the fifth
Environmental Action Program

The overall aim of this program was to present the new EC strategies on the
environment and the measures to be applied in the period 1992-2000 for
sustainable development. The Towards Sustainability Program establishes
long-term objectives, with a global approach.
Political Context
Over a period of 20 years, the environmental policy of the Community was
to elaborate a legal framework, whose main objective was and still is fighting
pollution and protecting the environment.
The founding treaty of EC, as amended by the Single European Act,
established explicit stipulations, regarding the development and
implementation of a Community Environmental policy.
The Heads of States and Governments, who met at the Council on June 26
1990, promoted a new Action Program on Sustainable Development.

They proposed policies and strategies for continued economic and

social development, without damaging the environment and natural
resources, which are vital for human activities.
The Treaty of Maastricht had as main objective promoting
sustainable growth, without neglecting the environment.
The 5th Environmental Action Program aims to transform the
economic growth patterns, so that they could promote
sustainable development. According to the program, the features
of sustainability are:
Preserving the quality of life;
Maintaining continuous access to natural resources;
Avoiding environmental damages with long-term effects;
Considering development to be sustainable, if it leads to fulfilling
the needs of the present society, without damaging the ability of the
future generations to meet their own needs.

The program lays the foundations for a new approach to an

environmental policy, based on the following considerations:

adopting a new global attitude, which should cause some change at the
level of various agents and activities that produce unwanted effects on
natural resources or that pollute the environment;

willingness to change the present courses and practices that affect the
environment;

encouraging change in social behavior, by engaging all the significant

factors (public authorities, citizens, consumers, companies etc);

implementing the concept of sharing responsibilities;

using new environmental instruments.

The community has the following priorities:

natural resources long-term management: soil, water, rural areas and
strands;
integrated approach to pollution and waste prevention actions;

reducing consumption of energy produced from non-renewable sources;

improving transport management, by creating efficient and non-pollutant
means of transport;
Improving citizens health and safety, mainly by industrial risk management,
nuclear safety and protection against radiation.
The program stresses the importance of the Community intervention in a
number of selected target sectors. The target sectors are:
Industry. The Community intends to improve the relations with the industry;
to encourage voluntary agreements; to elaborate rational plans for resource
management; to provide the consumers with more relevant information; to
adopt Community standards for both manufacturing processes and for the
products, avoiding distortion of competition, protecting the domestic market
and maintaining the European competitiveness.

Energy Sector. Changes in this field are vital if sustainable development is to

be achieved; this involves improving energy efficiency, reducing the
consumption of fossil fuels and promoting renewable energy sources.
Transport. Transport and traffic have developed along with the domestic market
Urgent measures need to be implemented in order to:
- improve the infrastructure and vehicle management;
- develop public transport;
- improve the fuel quality.
Agriculture. It causes environmental damage, by using intensive agricultural
practices, fertilizer and accumulation of surpluses it is necessary and
indispensable:
- to reform the Common Agricultural Policy;
- to develop forestry (taking into consideration the environmental requirements).
Tourism. It is developing quickly and it leads to deterioration of coastal and
mountainous areas. The proposed measures include:
- improving the management of mass tourism and service quality, by promoting
new alternative tourism forms, organizing campaigns to inform the public and to
raise the public awareness.

The program also requires international cooperation.

For a long periods of time, the Community environmental policy
focused only on solving problems within the Community.
Nevertheless, the Member States acknowledged the global
dimension of pollution and the need to act at a regional and
international level (e.g. Art.130r (1) of the EU Treaty contains
provisions regarding the application of international measures
applied at a regional and global level).
The program identifies 4 major problems requiring international
actions:
- climate change;
- ozone layer depletion;
- biodiversity loss;
- deforestation.
Also, the program offers the tools that can achieve the objectives.

Regulation tools: setting new minimum levels of protection,

implementing international agreements and establishing some rules
and standards for the domestic market.
Financial tools: incentives for producers and consumers so that
they protect and use the environment rationally (measures of
economic, fiscal and civic responsibility) and price adjustments in
order to make sure that the environmentally friendly products and
services are not sanctioned in terms of cost.
Horizontal support measures: supplying accurate information and
environmental statistics (the need for comparable classifications,
standards, criteria and methodologies), promoting scientific research
and technological development, improving sector and spatial
planification, supplying the public with information (creating
databases) and specialized training.
Financial support measures: the LIFE program, Structural Funds,
Cohesion Fund, loans from EIB (European Investment Bank)

I.3.Agenda 2000: for a stronger

and wider Union

The legal framework of the Agenda 2000 is the combined result of all
Community institutions and it was established at the European Council in
Madrid in December 1995 (SCADplus: Agenda 2000: for a stronger and
wider Union.
At that summit- with a view to open accession negotiation with applicant
countries, the State and Government Heads invited the Commission:
- to present their opinions regarding to various requests along with a general
document regarding the enlargement; - to prepare, based on a careful
analysis of the Unions funding system, a statement, regarding the financial
future of the Union, with a view to the possible integration of the candidate
states.
Agenda 2000: for a stronger and wider Union (COM (97) 2000), presented
by the Union July 16 1997, represented a detailed answer to this request.
It describes:
- general development perspectives of EU and its policies;
- horizontal problems caused by the process of integration and the future
financial framework, for the next 7 years of the next millennium, in the
context of a wider Union.

Structural Policy Reform

The European Council from Berlin stressed that the reformations proposed
by Agenda 2000 are based on Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds.
This involves the fact according to which structural support is more intent
upon both geographic aspects and the terms of the support. This requires
improving the fund management, while achieving economic and social
cohesion within a more and more diverse Union. For the 2000-06 period, the
expenditure ceiling was established at 213 billion EURO for the current
member states (SCADplus: Agenda 2000: for a stronger and wider Union).
The agreement upon policy change refers only to:
The Structural Fund itself, consisting of:
- European Social Fund;
- European Regional Development Fund;
- Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance;
- European agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund; Guidance Section.
Cohesion Fund. The new conditions which apply to the support given by
structural funds are specified in a horizontal regulation, which contains
general provisions for this type of funds

According to this regulation, the Community support will be focused on

three main objectives:
- the development and adjustment of regions whose development is
lagging behind (Objective 1);
- the economic and social conversion of regions experiencing
structural difficulties (Objective 2);
- the adjustment and modernization of education, training and
employment policies and systems (Objective 3).

The only Community initiatives that were not changed are:

- INTERREG (Cross-border cooperation);
- LEADER (rural development);
- EQUAL (fight against discrimination);
- URBAN (regeneration of crisis towns and suburbs).
The main aim of the Cohesion Fund remains unchanged: funding
environmental and cross-Europe transport projects of those member
states that have a GNP (Gross National Product) of less than 90%
of the Community average. An additional eligibility criterion is
developing a program of economic stability and complying with it.

I.4. The Europen Environmental Policy

and Romania
The Romanian environmental policy was implemented in the 90s, when
the Environment Ministry was founded. In 1992 The National
Strategy for Environmental Protection was adopted and
updated in 1996 and 2002.
According to the strategy, in Romania the main environmental
objectives are:
- maintaining and improving peoples health; - sustainable
development; - preventing pollution; - conserving biodiversity; conserving cultural and historical heritage; - acting according to the
polluter pays principle; - encouraging activities that improve the
environment (by granting subventions, low interest loans etc).
To this strategy other documents were added in 1999:
- The Romanian State of the Environment Report;
- The National Program for EU Accession;
- The National Waste Management Strategy (2002).

The national strategy has facilitated the following developments in the

legislative area:
- waste legislation, packaging waste and waste transportation;
- sewage legislation, drinking water, pollution caused by dangerous
substances;
- identifying areas that need special protection, industrial pollution
control, necessary measures for nuclear safety.

As future member of the European Union, Romania had to adopt in full the
Community environmental acquis. Applying an alternative strategy in the
European model of integration has made possible the adoption and the
progressive implementation of the Community legislation by using
transition periods and temporary waivers. The tools used in the enlargement
strategy have helped our country, if we are to take into account the stringent
environmental requirements from Europe, related to Romanias possibility to
apply the legislation and to the costs of the reformations, which are required
for implementing the principle of environmental responsibility.

Negotiation chapter Environmental protection (chapter 22) was opened in May 2002 and closed in
2004; after the negotiations, Romania obtained the following transitional periods:
- 3 transitional periods, with durations of 1, 2, 3 years, to comply with the Directive on the control of
volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, resulting from petrol storage and its distribution to petrol
stations;
- 3 transitional periods, with durations of 3, 5 and 5 years, to recover/recycle packaging waste, glass
and wood, according to the Directive on waste/packaging waste;
- 2 transitional periods, with durations of 1 to 2 years, to comply with the Directive on incineration of
hazardous waste;
- 3 transitional periods with durations of 3,7 and 9 years, to conform 130 deposits to the Directive on
waste storage;
- 2 transitional periods with durations of 2 years, to comply with the Directive on waste electric and
electronic equipment;
- 2 transitional periods with durations of 5 and 9 years, to apply the regulation regarding waste
transport;
- 2 transitional periods of 9 and 12 years, to comply with the Directive on treatment on urban waste
water;
2 transitional periods of 4 and 9 years, to comply with the 9 quality parameters, stipulated by the
Directive on drinking water quality;
- 1 transitional period of 3 years, for 51 industrial units for 8 hazardous substances;
- 1 transitional period of 8,2 years, for 195 instalations, which prevent pollution;

- 3 transitional periods of 6 years, to reach the established limit

values of sulphur dioxide in 34 combustion plants, to respect the
established limit values of nitrogen oxides in 69 combustion plants,
to respect the established limit values of particulate matter in 26
plants and a transitional period of a year, to reach the established
limit values of nitrogen oxide in 6 plants.
The Commission considers that the implementation of EU
environmental law in Romania requires a cost of about 22 billion
euro.
However, the implementation of the European environmental acquis
will allow us to avoid errors that the older member states have
made, during their economic development process, and to achieve
a rapid improvement of the environment and living conditions.
Nonetheless, environmental protection favors economic growth,
creates new jobs and develops new markets that increase social
welfare.

When applying the European Environmental Policy in Romania,

the priority is to adopt a regional strategy, which facilitates the
implementation of environmental considerations (according to
the objectives of sustainable development) and to improve the
capacity of implementation structures. The environmental
policy focuses on a number of priority axes:
- developing an integrated environmental monitoring system;
- eco-production and sustainable consumption;
-decentralization and implementation of the principle of
responsibility at all levels and all areas;
- developing market-oriented tools;
- international cooperation.
The Romanian priority axes are in line with the strategic directions
of the European environmental policy.

I.5. Environmental Policy Instruments

The evolution of the environmental policy and the way it changed in

time are reflected by:
- its objectives and priorities;
- by the number of its implementing instruments (legislative,
technical, economic and financial instruments).
Legislative instruments:
- create the legal framework of the Community environmental policy;
- they are represented by existing legislation from this area, that is
over 200 acts (directives, regulations and decisions), adopted since
1970- the Community acquis.
Technical instruments
- they ensure conformation to environmental quality standards and
use of the best available technologies. This category includes:
- emission standards and limits etc;
- the best available technologies (BAT).

- Product ecolabeling;
- Criteria for performing environmental inspections in all Member States;
- Voluntary Environmental Agreements;
- Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC);
- Integrated Product Policy (IPP);
- The evaluation of the effects of public and private projects upon the
environment.

Financial Instruments:
1. LIFE Program was launched in 1992 with the aim to co-finance the
environmental projects developed by the Member States and the acceding
countries. The program already has 3 phases of implementation:
First phase: 1992-1995, with a 400 million Euro budget;;
Second phase: 1996-1999, with a budget of 450 million Euro;
Third phase: 2000-2004, with a 640 million Euro budget.
LIFE has got three thematic components: LIFE- Nature, LIFE- Environment and
LIFE- third countries, all three components aim to improve the environment, but
each of them has specific budgets and priorities.

The general objectives aim to:

- define and promote production and consumption patterns, in accordance with
sustainability principles;
- promote examples of good practice;
- support pilot projects, horizontal information, education and professional training;
- develop and provide skills upgrading programs for administrative structures;
- support integration of environment into other policies and ensuring the coordination
of various instruments and procedures related to environmental protection.
The Environment Component funds about 30-50% of the projects that promote
innovative methods and techniques which can reduce negative impact upon the
environment; the Nature Component contributes with 50-70% of the sums needed for
developing biodiversity conservation and improvement projects, it also supports
Nature 2000 program; the Third Countries Component funds with up to 70%
programs, through which new administrative structures are created and which
implement environmental policies in the Mediterranean and Baltic Sea Area.

2. Structural Funds System

Currently the Structural Fund System (European Regional
Development Fund, European Agricultural Guidance and
Guarantee Fund) represents around 35% of the Community
budget, with a growing tendency. Since 1992, funds are increasingly
linked to environmental policy objectives, both by funding specific
programs and through the integration of environmental
considerations, when implementing various projects. The system
finances extremely diverse actions, from large projects (such as,
improving the quality of the environment, infrastructure
development), to financing projects of non-Governmental
organizations or small companies.
3. The Cohesion Fund
This Fund was established By the Treaty of Maastricht, and it
became functional in 1994.

This fund has the following features:

- Limited Scope of Action, eligible are the least prosperous member states
of the Union whose gross national product (GNP) per capita is below 90% of
the EU-average;
- Financial Support is limited, finances up to 85 % of eligible expenditure of
major projects involving the environment and cross- European transport
infrastructure;
- Financial Support is granted to those Member States that developed
programs, through which they accept the conditions on the budget deficit
limits, with the aim to achieve economic and monetory union.
4. The PHARE Program

PHARE (Pologne et Hongrie - Aide Restructuration Economique) is a

program launched by EC in 1990 (pre-accession strategy for Polland and
Hungary)- the main financial and technical support offered by EU to
restructure economies (in Central and Eastern Europe) and to create the
necessary infrastructure for the countries that wanted to accede to the
European Union

5. Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accesion (ISPA)

- one of the financial instruments to assist the candidate countries in the
preparation for accession, especially providing assistance for infrastructure
projects.
6. Special Accession Program for Agriculture and Rural Development
(SAPARD)
- aims to support candidate countries in solving problems of structural
adjustment in their agricultural sectors and rural areas and assists
implementation of the Community acquis related to the common agricultural
policy and relevant legislation of this policy;
7. The European Investment Bank Loans (EIB);
8. The NATURA 2000 Program
- it does not have a budget of its own, the NATURA 2000 program has,
however, a catalytic role in financing biodiversity in the European area. The
program now includes more than 18,000 protected areas with high
ecological value, covering about 17% of the EU15 area. The LIFE+Nature
program provides the financing, through structural funds and the Cohesion
Fund, but its own financial instrument is to be created.

9. Promoting Environmental NGOs

The program is a financial instrument, which promotes civil society
initiatives in the implementation of European environmental policy.
The Community finances about 70% (80% for the candidates
countries) of the projects whose main focus is on the priorities of the
6th Environmental Action Program.

1.6. European perspectives on

sustainable development

Sustainable development is a global objective and the European Union

plays an important role in its implementation both in Europe and
worldwide.
In 2000 in Lisbon, the European Council settled a new objective for the
Union, namely: to become the most competitive and dynamic economy in
the world, based on knowledge, able of a sustainable economic growth,
which can provide more and better jobs and a greater social cohesion.
In 2001, the European Council from Gothenburg adopted EUs
sustainable development strategy, elaborated and perfected on the basis
of the politic commitment by including the environmental dimension. This
states that on long term, economic growth, social cohesion and
environmental protection must be considered and dealt with as a whole.
EUs sustainable development strategy A Sustainable Europe for a
Better World offers EU a long-term positive vision of a more prosperous
and honest society, which provides a cleaner, safer and healthier
environment- a society that provides a better quality of life for both our
generation and for the future ones.

Achieving this objectives involves that:

- economic development should support social progress and
respect the environment;
- social policies should support economic performance;
- environmental policy should be cost-effective.
It is required a major reorientation of public and private investments
towards new environment-friendly technologies, so that economic and
social development should not be associated with environmental
degradation and resource consumption.
In order to establish connections between these ambitious perspectives
and concrete political actions, the European Commission proposed that
sustainable development strategy should focus on a limited number of
issues that constitute severe, irreversible threats to the future of the
European societys welfare.
The main threats to sustainable development are:

Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing global

warming. Climate change is the underlying cause of extreme weather
phenomena (hurricanes, floods), which have severe consequences upon
infrastructure, possessions, human health and nature.
A serious threat to human health is:
- new species of antibiotic-resistant pathogens;
- a potentially longer-term effect of commonly used hazardous
chemicals.
Threats to food safety represent a great concern.
One in every six Europeans is affected by poverty. Poverty and social
exclusion have direct serious effects on individuals, such as illnesses,
suicide, acute unemployment. Poverty disproportionately affects mothers,
only family-supporters or lonely, elderly women. Poverty affects some
families for generations.
While increased life expectancy rate is obviously welcome, when associated
with low birth rates, results in aging population, which is a threat to
economic growth rate and to the quality and financial support for pension
funds and social security funds.

Biodiversity loss in Europe has accelerated dramatically in recent

decades. Fish stocks in European waters are near depleted. We
produce more waste than we can dispose of. Soil loss and decreased
fertility reduced the viability of agricultural land.
Transport overcrowding lead to the rapid growth of the access
network. This mainly affects the urban area, which have problems with
central area degradation, extending suburbs, poverty and social
exclusion. Regional disparities remain a serious concern for the
European Union.
Very little of these trend are new. Many Governments and even civil
societies tried to find solutions for these trends.
Local initiatives, like Agenda 21 (Local Sustainable Development
Strategies), proved to be an efficient way of achieving the necessary
changes at a local level. However, these initiatives had limited success
because they encountered difficulties when changing policies and
existing behavior patterns, according to necessary actions.

Solving these unsustainable trends and achieving the results of

sustainable development requires:
- immediate actions;
- broad-minded, committed politic leaderships;
- a new approach of decision factors, wide
participation
- international responsibility.

What are the objectives of environmental protection in the European

Community (EC)?
Present three of the 6 principles underlying the environmental
protection measure in the European Community.
The importance of the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) with regard to
the European environmental policy.
Present two principles formulated in the first and the second
Environmental Action Program, which can also be found in
GEO. 195/2005
Which Environmental Action Program introduces for the first time the
concept of Sustainable Development?
What are the 4 major problems, identified by the 5th Environmental
Action Program, and which require action at international level?

What are the priority areas, which define the directions of the
environmental policy, as described by the 6th EAP?
List 2 or 3 measures required for achieving the objectives of priority
areas, as described by EAP 6.
Present briefly the pre-accession instruments.
What are the main environmental objectives in Romania (according
to the National Environmental Protection Strategy)?
List 3 or 4 transitional periods, Romania obtained after the
negotiation on Chapter 22 (Environmental Protection).
List three of the technical intruments for implementing environmental
policies. Present one of those instruments.

II. ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY INTEGRATION IN

EUROPEAN UNION POLICIES

European Union environmental policy (set by the European Community

Treaty)
aims to ensure environmental sustainability by:
- including environmental integration strategy in the EU sectoral policies;
- elaborating prevention measures;
- respecting the polluter pays principle;
- fighting pollution at source;
- assuming joint responsibility.
The Community Acquis comprises of about 200 legislative instruments,
which cover a large number of sectors, such as:
- water and air pollution;
- waste and chemicals management;
- biotechnology;
- radiation protection and nature conservation.
Member States must ensure that an environmental impact assessment was
carried out before approving the development of certain projects from the
public or private sector.

The Acquis should continue to develop (especially in the area of air and
drinkable water pollution). Thus, the 6th Environmental Action
Program identifies four key areas:
- climate change;
- nature and biodiversity;
- environment and health;
- natural resources and waste.
The White Charter, which aims to prepare the associated countries
from Eastern and Central Europe for integration into the EU Internal
Market (1995), covers only a small part of the Acquis in the field of
environmental law product legislation only (which is directly
related to the provisions regarding free movement of goods).

1. Environmental integration strategy in the EU policies

The overall objective of the strategy- to introduce an horizontal approach of

environmental policy, by integrating it in all Community policies (SCADplus:
Environment General Provisions. Strategic measures were based on:
- Commission Communication (the European Council from Cardiff, 1998)create an integration partnership- an environmental integration strategy in the EU
policies;
- The need to integrate the environment dimension in other Community policies
(this was recognized by the Single European Act; moreover, the 5th EAP made this
objective a priority).
Obs.: The Community strategy, based on vertical approach and adopted
environmental regulations, had good results only partially, but it did solve the existing
problems.
The European Council from Luxembourg (December 1997) urged the Commission to
propose a strategy for integrating environmental protection requirements into the
definition and implementation of all Community policies and activities (Art 6 of
the Treaty).
Environmental protection is one of Europes main problems and is, therefore, a
Community objective. By extending its environmental concerns beyond Europe, the
Community committed itself to finding a solution for the problems of the global
environment.

In the document it requested, the Commission established some guidelines, which

facilitate an adequate integration of environmental requirements in other policies,
such as:
- integrating environmental requirements in all activities through the Community
institutions;
- revising existing policies;
- introducing strategic actions in key areas;
- drafting reports by the Council for the Vienna European Council, regarding the
success of environmental integration into other policies of the Member States;
- defining primary actions and other mechanisms for monitoring the implementation
process;
- revising environmental integration in sectoral policies by the European Council;
- establishing a joint study of the Council, Parliament and the Commission on
developing mechanisms for implementing and monitoring these guidelines.
Fully integrating environmental requirements in all Community policies is a long-term
objective. On short term, the Commission proposes a step by step approach, based
on two primary objectives: Agenda 2000 and Kyoto Protocol (1998).
Environmental concerns are already in the Agenda 2000: - CAP reform (Common
Agricultural Policy);

- EU enlargement strategies for countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

CAP reform is particularly important for the environment because:
- it contributes to reducing price support in favor of direct payments, which
will increase productivity and a more balanced use of polluting inputs;
- it offers the possibility to Member States to provide direct payments only if
it complies with environmental requirements.
Also, environmental policy is one of the requirements of the accession
strategy of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Candidate
countries have developed plans to incorporate the environmental body of
laws in their legislation.
Obs.: The Commission urged all the countries to introduce environmental
requirements in all their policies.
In order to fight global warming, the signatory states of the Kyoto Protocol
pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions until 2012. In order to achieve
all the stated commitments, a global strategy needs to be applied in the
following areas too: transport, energy, agriculture and industry.

2. The evolution of the process of environmental policy

in the EU policies

Since the enactment of the Amsterdam Treaty, art. 6 of the EC Treaty contains
provisions regarding the integration of environmental protection requirements in all
Community policies and activities, with a view to promoting sustainable development.
Short history: policies that met environmental protection requirements:
- In 1985, the European Court of Justice judged, in the case of a file preferred by a
French association which defended the interests of companies dealing with waste oil
burning, that the protection of the environment is a priority. Since then, on the
strength of the Single European Act, the environmental protection environments have
become part of other Community policies.
- The principle of environmental integration was reasserted by the art. 130R (2) of the
EU Treaty, which stipulates that Environmental protection requirements must be
integrated into the definition and implementation of other Community policies
The environmental protection requirements were imposed in sectoral policies (idustry,
transport, agriculture, fisheries).
Two policies were mainly influenced by environmental legislation, since the beginning
of the process of European integration:
- The policy of free movement of goods;
- Competition policy.

The Amsterdam Treaty introduces, through an amendment, an explicit provision, which

applies to the integration of environmental issues in the Community policies.
Environmental protection requirements must be integrated into the definition and
implementation of the Community policies and activities referred to in Article 3, in
particular with a view to promoting sustainable development (Art. 3c).
In practice, environmental legislation can:
- introduce restrictions on the trade within the Community;
- influence competition between companies.
The European Court of Justice and the European Commission imposed a strict control
(based on the principle of proportionality) over the actions undertaken by various sectors
and their impact on the environment.
This means that the responsibility of economic issues can be attributed to individuals or
corporations with a view to achieving the general interests of the Community (such as
the progress of the Community policies), only if this is required in the process of
achieving such goals- respectively a problem of means and purpose.
In order to secure the implementation of Community environmental legislation, the
Community accelerated its integration strategy in the policies of the sectors which cause
great damage to the environment (SCADplus: Integration of Environmental Policy).
The most important measures taken with a view to implementing environmental
objectives (according to the principles of Amsterdam Treaty and the integration
partnership) were:

- the Cardiff process (1998)- the European Council imposed upon the
Council of Ministers a number of requirements- to elaborate
environmental integration strategies and programs for their sectoral
policies.
There were involved nine key sectors, which were complementary to
environmental policies: energy, transport, agriculture, industry, internal
market, development, fisheries, general affairs, economic and financial
affairs;
- the Aarhus (Denmark) Convention (June 1998)- a convention on
access to information, public participation in decision-making and
access to justice in environmental matters. In general, the Convention
had the role to:
- to create a greater transparency of environmental policies;
- facilitate the access to environmental information;
- strengthen the position of the European citizens in relation to
Community institutions, by stating their position and offering them the
possibility to defend themselves against law violations;

- the Vienna Summit (11-12 December 1998) The European Council assessed the initial
reports submitted by the Transport Council, Energy Council and Agriculture Council and
asked three other formations (Development Council, Internal Market Council and Industry
Council) to define their own strategies.
- the Cologne Summit (3-4 June 1999) the European Council reasserted its opinion
regarding the reexamination of the progress made in the process of environmental
integration in all relevant policies of the Union at the Helsinki meeting, which was going to
take place in December 1999. As a result, the Council asked that the Commission should
present at Helsinki:
- a report regarding the assessment indicators used when evaluating environmental
integration in other policies;
- a report regarding the progress of this strategy, highlighting the initial results and any
methods used in order to improve them.
In 2001, in Gothenburg, the European Council adopted the EU Sustainable Development
Strategy and it added the environment on the list of objectives of the Lisbon Strategy.
In essence, the strategy emphasizes:
- the need for correlation between economic, social and environmental objectives;
- the need for stronger and more effective environmental integration actions in sectoral
policies;
- the need to adopt main environmental indicators by the European Council at Laeken
(2002).

- in Barcelona (2002) the European Council adopted an action plan for

promoting environmental technologies and adding an external dimension to
the European sustainable development strategy;
- in 2002, the 6th Environmental Action Program came into force;
- including new complementary sectors in the environmental
integration strategy; the European Council from Brussels (2002) decided
on: education and health, consumer protection policy, tourism, research,
employment and social policy;
- in 2003, the European environment and health strategy (SCALE) was
adopted, it settles a cause-effect relationship between the environment and
health, with a focus on vulnerable social groups, especially on children;
- in 2003 a number of development strategies, which integrate the
principles of sustainable development in most Member States, were
elaborated;
- in 2004 the Action Plan for Eco-Technologies was adopted;
- in 2005 the Sustainable Development Strategy was revised and in the
same year a declaration regarding the principles of sustainable development
was adopted.

- in 2005, the Commission published a list of indicators for the

assessment of sustainable development (155 indicators grouped on
three levels, depending on the objectives and measures necessary for the
implementation) structured on primary themes: economic development,
poverty and social exclusion, climate change and energy, production and
consumption patterns, natural resources management, transport, good
governance and global partnerships.
- 27 November- 1 December 2006 in Nairobi, Kenya, took place the 8th
Conference of the parties of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. The
meeting was held under aegis of the United Nations Environmental Program
(UNEP), with the participation of over 120 countries, signatory parties of the
Basel Convention, observers, intergovernmental organizations, NGOs and
economic organizations.
June 7, 2007 - the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm (NE Germany) combat
global warming, improve international relations, develop global economy
and help poor countries in Africa.

2. The evolution of the process of environmental policy

in the EU policies

Since the enactment of the Amsterdam Treaty, art. 6 of the EC Treaty contains
provisions regarding the integration of environmental protection requirements in all
Community policies and activities, with a view to promoting sustainable development.
Short history: policies that met environmental protection requirements:
- In 1985, the European Court of Justice judged, in the case of a file preferred by a
French association which defended the interests of companies dealing with waste oil
burning, that the protection of the environment is a priority. Since then, on the
strength of the Single European Act, the environmental protection environments have
become part of other Community policies.
- The principle of environmental integration was reasserted by the art. 130R (2) of the
EU Treaty, which stipulates that Environmental protection requirements must be
integrated into the definition and implementation of other Community policies
The environmental protection requirements were imposed in sectoral policies (idustry,
transport, agriculture, fisheries).
Two policies were mainly influenced by environmental legislation, since the beginning
of the process of European integration:
- The policy of free movement of goods;
- Competition policy.

The Amsterdam Treaty introduces, through an amendment, an explicit provision, which applies
to the integration of environmental issues in the Community policies.
Environmental protection requirements must be integrated into the definition and
implementation of the Community policies and activities referred to in Article 3, in particular with
a view to promoting sustainable development (Art. 3c).
In practice, environmental legislation can:
- introduce restrictions on the trade within the Community;
- influence competition between companies.
The European Court of Justice and the European Commission imposed a strict control (based
on the principle of proportionality) over the actions undertaken by various sectors and their impact
on the environment.
This means that the responsibility of economic issues can be attributed to individuals or
corporations with a view to achieving the general interests of the Community (such as the
progress of the Community policies), only if this is required in the process of achieving such
goals- respectively a problem of means and purpose.
In order to secure the implementation of Community environmental legislation, the
Community accelerated its integration strategy in the policies of the sectors which cause great
damage to the environment (SCADplus: Integration of Environmental Policy).
The most important measures taken with a view to implementing environmental objectives
(according to the principles of Amsterdam Treaty and the integration partnership) were:

- the Cardiff process (1998)- the European Council imposed upon the
Council of Ministers a number of requirements- to elaborate
environmental integration strategies and programs for their sectoral
policies.
There were involved nine key sectors, which were complementary to
environmental policies: energy, transport, agriculture, industry, internal
market, development, fisheries, general affairs, economic and financial
affairs;
- the Aarhus (Denmark) Convention (June 1998)- a convention on
access to information, public participation in decision-making and
access to justice in environmental matters. In general, the Convention
had the role to:
- to create a greater transparency of environmental policies;
- facilitate the access to environmental information;
- strengthen the position of the European citizens in relation to
Community institutions, by stating their position and offering them the
possibility to defend themselves against law violations;

III. EU ENVIRONMENTAL
ACQUIS
1. General views
The Community environmental acquis is a set of legal instruments, developed by
the European Union, which reflects the particular obligations, appointed by the
policymakers.
The Community environmental acquis comprises of over 200 directives, regulations
and decisions, which constitute environmental horizontal and sectoral legislation.
- horizontal legislation comprises those regulations which take into account:
-transparency and flow of information;
-facilitating decision-making process;
-developing activities and involving the civil society in environmental protection
area.
- sectoral legislation refers to those sectors related to the environmental policy
(air quality, climate change, waste management, water quality, nature protection,
control of industrial pollution, chemicals, genetically modified organisms, noise, civil
protection).
All normative documents are drafted by the European Commission, through specific
General Directives, this being the only Community institution with the right of
legislation initiative.

Community institutional framework comprises of:

- European Parliament;
- Council of Ministers;
- European Commission;
- Court of Justice;
- European Court of Auditors;
- European System of Central Banks and the European Central Bank.
The European Council- a political institution with special characteristics.
Law harmonization- this is an EU membership obligation- the countries that joined the
European Union are to align their national laws, regulations and procedures in order
to facilitate full integration of the legislative body contained by the Community acquis.
Environmental acquis- the European environmental body of laws- according to
which all Eastern and Central European countries are to align all their national
legislation and administrative practices, in order to meet one of the conditions for
being an EU member- is much smaller.
Environmental acquis- comprises mainly a number of directives and a series of
regulations.

EU environmental legislation governs:

- Products: for example, controlling noise made by construction equipment,
vehicle emissions control, hazardous substances control for some products,
waste transport, hazardous substances management. Many of these
requirements can be found in the White Charter.
- Activities or production processes can have a negative impact upon the
environment or human health: constructions, industrial facilities, waste
disposal.
- Environmental protection: controlling hazardous substances disposed of
in air, water or soil, land allocation for constructions, conserving nature and
resources, biodiversity.
- Procedures and procedural laws, used for evaluating the impact upon
environment, access to information and public consultation.
Environmental acquis is divided into the following categories:
- Horizontal legislation;
- Air quality;

- Waste management;
- Water quality;
- Nature protection;
- Industrial pollution control and risk management;
- Chemicals and genetically modified Organisms;
- Noise from vehicles and machineries;
- Nuclear safety and radiation protection;
- Climate change;
- Civil protection;
- Policy;
- Internaional co-operation.
2. Horizontal legislation
Legislation can be defined as horizontal, when it deals with general
problems of environmental management and not with particular sectors,
types of products or emissions.

The three directives comprised by the horizontal legislation are:

- Environmental Impact Assessment Directive;
- Access to Information Directive;
- Directive of standardizing and rationalizing reports on the implementation of certain
directives relating to the environment.
The information related to the environment might be:
- Assessment studies on the impact which proposed development work might have
upon the environment;
- Public access, environmental database;
- Requirements and procedures used when drafting reports concerning directive
implementation.
Detailed information regarding the environment and the effects of human activities
have a major importance, because it underlies:
- the elaboration, implementation and enforcement of environmental regulations;
- public participation in the decision-making process, hence building stronger
democratic institutions.
The Access to information Directive guarantees the access to environmental
information, which is held by:
- public authorities;

- Government-controlled institutions, which have public responsibilities in the

environmental area.
This directive is based on:
- a wide definition of the phrase environmental information, which should be
accessible to everybody, without their having to state an interest;
- periodical drafting of environmental reports by the Member States.
The environmental impact assessment directive requires that prior to obtaining the
Governments approval, development projects must go through an assessment
process, which analyzes the potential effects of the project upon the environment.
The directive of standardizing and rationalizing reports on the implementation
of certain directives relating to the environment harmonizes and tries to improve
the method the Member States use to submit reports to the European Commission.
2.1. The environmental impact assessment directive
The directive embodies the prevention principle, that is, it requires that prior to
obtaining the Government's approval, development projects, which might have a
significant impact upon the environment, must go through an evaluation process.
Observation: Certain types of projects (listed in the Annex I of the directive) always go
through the environmental assessment process. Others, listed in Annex II, which
might have significant effects upon the environment, are subject to evaluation, only
when certain criteria, established by the Member States, are met.

The proponent is to supply the responsible authority with detailed information regarding
the project which is to be assessed. Before a decision is taken, the environmental
authorities must analyze and make observations on the proposed project. The public:
- is to be informed with regard to the request made for the development project and
with regard to the declaration of environmental impact;
- is to be allowed to express its opinion.
The decisions taken by the responsible authority must be in accordance with the
results of the assessment.
The Member States, which might be affected by the projects, should receive the
results as well. This request is made by the first provision of the Espoo Convention
(The convention on environmental impact assessment in a trans-boundary context).
2.2. Access to Information Directive
Directive 90/313/EEC on the freedom of access to information on the environment
requires that the information held normally by public authorities to be made
accessible for the public, when demanded.
The answers are to be provided in a certain period of time (specified in the directive),
and when request for information may be refused, there is the right of appeal.
Also, Member States have the obligation to draw up periodic reports on
environmental condition in their own country.

2.3. Directive on the freedom of access to environmental information

Directive 2003/4/CE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January
2003 on public access to environmental information and repealing Council Directive
90/313/EEC Directiva 2003/4/CE. This directive has got two main objectives:
a) to guarantee the right of access to environmental information held by public
authorities, or on their behalf, and to establish the basic conditions and practical
arrangements for exercising this right.
b) to ensure that environmental information is, automatically and progressively, made
available and disseminated to the general public, systematically and to the widest extent
possible. To this purpose, information and electronic technologies are to be promoted,
when available.
2.4. Directive of standardizing and rationalizing reports on the implementation of
certain directives relating to the environment
Directive 91/692/EEC standardizing and rationalizing reports on the implementation of
certain Directives relating to the environment aims to rationalize, on a sectoral basis, the
requirements for Member States to transmit to the Commission the information required
under certain environmental protection directives. Reports are to be transmitted every
three years and each sector has its three-year cycle. An exception is made for Directive
76/180/EEC, bathing waters, for which an annual report continues to be required. This
directive, which has been integrated into different other directives, must be
implemented by Member States, but does not have to be transposed into national
legislation in Member States.

2.5. Directive on the assessment of certain environmental plans and programs

3. Air quality
The first piece of legislation, regarding air pollution was a directive, drawn up in 1970, referring to
the carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons emissions from road vehicles.
The EU policy for this area used various methods, such as standards, emissions limit values,
pollutant control.
Six main points of interest were highlighted:
- Road vehicle emission ceilings;
- Fuel control;
- Emissions from industrial plants ;

- acidification abatement;
- rules regarding air pollutants;
- contribution to international efforts regarding, for example climate change.
In 1996 EU adopted the IPPC directive (Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control), which was
meant to promote an integrated approach of air, water and soil pollution. Air pollutants are emitted by a
large variety of mobile and stationary sources.
In the EU legislation there are three categories of laws:
1. General laws:
- quality assessment and air management;
- control of emissions from mobile sources (e.g. emissions from vehicle engines and fuel);
2. Laws regarding emissions from stationary sources, such as industrial plants and energy-generating
processes;
3. Laws regarding waste incinerators.
The EU legislation for this particular domain categorizes and labels chemical products and it includes
specific directives regarding substances such as solvents, paints, varnishes and pesticides.
The new air quality directive is structured so as to provide a strategic, broad framework for air quality
management in Member States, creating a link between emission control and air quality objectives
achievement.
This directive will have gradual effects as new air quality daughter directives come into force. These
new directive replace the existent ones, which establish quality standards for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen
dioxide, particulate matter and lead in ambient air. On the strength of the Tropospheric Ozone
Pollution Directive, Member States must establish an ozone monitoring network.

A number of directives regulate emissions from power-driven vehicles and fuels, by imposing certain technical
requirements regarding vehicles and setting limits for certain substances the fuel should contain, such as
lead and sulphur.
3.1. Air quality directive
The European Council Directive 96/62/CE, regarding the assessments and management of ambient air
quality aims to establish the basic principles of a joint strategy that:
- defines and establishes the EU air quality objectives, which aim to avoid, prevent and reduce harmful
effects on human health and environment;
- assesses air quality from Member States, using joint methods and criteria;
- offers information, available for the public, by establishing certain value limits of substance concentrations;
- maintains the high quality of the air; improves air quality, when it is reduced.
Member States are compelled to:
- implement the directive;
- assess air quality;
- facilitate the exactness of the measurements;
- analyze assessment methods;
- coordinate EU programs regarding air quality, developed by the European Commission within their
territories.
The framework-Directive establishes the key parameters for managing air pollution in the private sector. On
the strength of the Directive, new standards will be adopted, which will replace previous directives regarding
sulphur dioxide and particulate matter, lead and nitrogen dioxide.
Over a period of 10 to 15 years a number of daughter directives will establish optimal limit values for air
quality, margins of tolerance, assessment and drawing up reports-related procedures for individual
pollutants.

Once the limit values and alert thresholds are established, air quality will be assessed. For areas that
do not meet limit values, action plans are going to be developed, which should include air, water
and soil protection measures and compliance deadlines. The public is to be informed when alert
thresholds are exceeded.
3.2. Mobile sources emissions
The EU legislation regarding mobile sources emissions includes legislative acts that:
- regulate vehicle engine emission;
- promote the Auto-Oil Program (it proposes standards to be enforced after 2000);
- regulate emissions from engines of mobile aggregates;
- regulate carbon emissions from diesel engines of agricultural and forestry vehicles;
- require the introduction of approval tests for traffic on open roads.
3.3. Emissions of volatile organic compounds
94/63/EC Directive aims to control emissions of volatile organic compounds, emissions which
appear from petroleum storage and its distribution from terminals to gas stations.
The directive regulates procedures, installations, vehicles driven on open roads, trains and ships
sailing on inland waters (ships that store and transport oil from one terminal to another or from a
terminal to a gas station).

3.4. Lead content of petrol

Directive 85/210/EEC concerning lead content of petrol allows Member States to reduce the lead
content of petrol to 0,15g/l as soon as possible. Benzene content of leaded petrol and of unleaded
petrol shall not exceed 5,0 % by volume. In this respect, leaded petrol must be labeled at the pumps.
Countries have the right to prohibit regular petrol, if it does not have the prescribed octane number.
The provisions of this directive will be replaced in 2000 by the provisions of the directive relating to
quality of petrol and diesel engine fuels.
3.5. Sulphur content of liquid fuels
Directive 93/12/EEC establishes the limit values for sulphur content of diesel fuel, as well as of other
liquid and gaseous fuels. The directive was amended by the directive 99/32/EC.
4. Noise
As a consequence of the Green Paper from 1996, the European Commission elaborated a new
framework for the noise policy, based on shared responsibility at Community, national and local level,
as well as measures to improve the accuracy and standardization of data to help improve the
coherency of different actions. This document led to a number of comprehensive measures, which
include:
1. creating a network of noise experts that help the Commission in elaborating noise policy;
2. requiring the competent authorities from State Members to create strategic noise maps, based on
harmonized indicators, to inform the public about the effects of noise exposure and to take action in
order to solve this problem.
3. revising and elaborating EU legislation regarding noise sources, like vehicle, aircraft, rolling stock
engine and supplying financial support for various noise studies and research projects.

4.1. European legislation regarding noise

Directive 2000/14/EC- amended by the Government Decision no. 593/2004- regarding noise
emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors.
On the strength of article 95 of EEC Treaty and according to the procedure stipulated by article
251, the directive is intended to harmonize requirements for the noise emission by equipment for
use outdoors in order to prevent obstacles to the free movement of such obstacles within the
internal market. The directive is intended to reduce noise levels to protect the health and wellbeing of citizens, as well as the environment. The public should also be provided with information
on the noise emitted by such equipment.
The aim of this directive is It is appropriate to reduce noise emissions by equipments subject to
noise limits down to the level of the better performers on the market today in two stages, in order
to allow manufacturers who do not already comply with the requirements sufficient time to adapt
their equipment to the more demanding limit values.
Directive 86/594/EEC amended by Government Decision no 482/01.04.2004- on airborne
noise emitted by household appliances and it refers to the conditions of introducing such
products on the market.
It contains provisions referring to the general principles regarding the publication of information
on the airborne noise emitted by household appliances, measuring methods, as well as the
procedures of checking and monitoring the levels of noise. This Directive does not apply to:

- appliances, equipment or machines designed exclusively for industrial or professional purposes;

- appliances which are integrated part of a building or its installations such as equipment for air
conditioning, heating and ventilating (except household fans, cooker hoods and free-standing
heating appliance), oil burners for central heating and pumps for water supply and for sewage
system;
- equipment components, such as motors;
- electroacoustic appliances.
Directive 2002/49/EC- relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise
The aim of this directive is to define a common approach intended to avoid, prevent or reduce the
harmful effects, including annoyance, due to exposure to environmental noise. To that end the
following actions will be implemented progressively:
a) the determination of exposure to environmental noise, through noise mapping, by methods of
assessments common to the Member States;
b) ensuring that information on environmental noise and its effects is made available to the public;
c) adoption of action plans by the Member States, based upon noise-mapping results, with a view
to preventing and reducing environmental noise (where exposure levels can induce harmful effects
on human health and to preserving noise quality where it is good).
Observation: The national legislation that regulates protection activities against noise is made up
by the following documents:
- Government Decision no. 321/2005 regarding the assessment and management of environmental
decision, amended by the Government Decision no 674/2005;
- Decree no 1830/2007 which approves the Guide on creating, analyzing and evaluating strategic
noise maps.

- acidification abatement;
- rules regarding air pollutants;
- contribution to international efforts regarding, for example climate change.
In 1996 EU adopted the IPPC directive (Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control), which was
meant to promote an integrated approach of air, water and soil pollution. Air pollutants are
emitted by a large variety of mobile and stationary sources.
In the EU legislation there are three categories of laws:
1. General laws:
- quality assessment and air management;
- control of emissions from mobile sources (e.g. emissions from vehicle engines and fuel);
2. Laws regarding emissions from stationary sources, such as industrial plants and energygenerating processes;
3. Laws regarding waste incinerators.
The EU legislation for this particular domain categorizes and labels chemical products and it
includes specific directives regarding substances such as solvents, paints, varnishes and
pesticides.

5. Waste management
Because large quantities of waste were being produced, the Community decided in the late 70s to
start developing a number of measures meant to help reduce waste by:
- controlling waste disposal;
- controlling trans-border waste transportation.
The first regulation of such kind was the framework directive from 1975, which aimed to:
- approximate national laws in this field;
- encourage Member States to draw up waste management plans;
- prevent waste production;
- encourage waste recycling.
There have been other directives concerning:
- radioactive waste;
- waste oil;
- sewage sludges;
- hazardous substances transportation.
The directives that followed focused on:
- the disposal of specific waste, such as packaging, batteries and chargeable cells;
- hazardous waste;
- pollution from waste incinerators.

Recently, the EU has focused on developing an integrated strategy meant to:

- reduce resource use;
- extend the life of a product;
- facilitate re-using and recycling.
At the same time a number of suggestions have been taken into consideration:
- reduce the quantity of electrical and electronic waste produced by consumers;
- determine lifespan of vehicles.
The overall structure of an efficient waste management system is established by the frameworkDirective on waste and the Directive on hazardous waste, which completes the first one.
These directives establish the framework for waste management structures, which have been
amended by two categories of daughter directives:
- the first category establishes the requirements for giving operating license for waste disposal
facilities;
- the second category established the requirements for specific types of waste, such as oils,
packaging and batteries.
5.1. Framework Legislation on Waste
Directive 75/442/EEC creates the framework which permits the Member States to control waste
disposal at a national level, according to previous provisions. This directive was amended in 1991
(directives 91/156/EEC and 91/692/EEC), in order to supply the legal conditions for waste
management, according to the Commission strategy on waste management (1989).

The new framework provides that:

- new, common terminologies and definitions for waste should be adopted, based on
a document written by OECD;
- waste production should be prevented and reduced in Member States, by promoting
clean technologies, technical improvements and disposal methods, waste recovery
and utilization as secondary raw material for energy production;
- uncontrolled waste disposal should be prohibited;
- an integrated and adequate waste disposal network should be established, through
the cooperation between Member States, by taking into account the most appropriate
available technology, which does not require high costs.
The competent authorities should draw up waste management plans, which
determine which waste is to be recovered or disposed of, technical requirements,
special provisions for certain types of waste and disposal sites and facilities.
The plans may also determine the responsible persons, costs and measures used to
encourage waste collection, sorting and treatment. According to the Directive on
waste, the competent authorities can grant license for disposal sites and recovery
facilities.
According to the polluter pays principles, the costs of the disposal must be
supported by the owner or the previous owner of the waste.

5.2. Hazardous waste

The main objective of the directive 91/689/EEC was to find a common definition of hazardous
waste, in order to approximate the laws of Member States on the controlled management of
hazardous waste. The Directive lists all hazardous waste and their properties. All organizations that
have disposal facilities must be licensed to develop such activities.
As provided by the directive 75/442/EEC The competent authorities shall draw up, either separately or
in the framework of their general waste management plans, plans for the management of hazardous
waste and shall make these plans public.
Member States must require that:
- every site where discharge of hazardous waste takes place is recorded and identified;
- waste is properly packaged and labeled in accordance with international and Community standards,
when it is collected, transported and temporarily stored.
5.3. Waste Transportation
Council Regulation no 259/93/EEC on the supervision and control of shipments of waste within, into
and out of the European Community establishes a system of controlling waste shipments and it
implements the Basle Convention, the OCED Council Decision regarding transfrontier movements of
waste and the Lome Convention.
While the Basle Convention refers only to transboundary movements of hazardous waste, the
Regulation 259/93/EEC covers the movement of waste as well. The regulation introduces separate
systems for movements within the EU, imports, exports and transit.
There are different requirements, according to the list (green, yellow or red) on which the waste is
placed.
Broadly speaking, the yellow and the red lists contain hazardous waste, whereas the green one
contains non-hazardous waste.

These lists are the results of the studies made by OCED. By comparing the three lists, introduced by
the regulation, on the one hand with the European Waste Catalogue- according to the frameworkdirective on waste, and on the other hand with the Hazardous Waste List- according to the
Directive on hazardous waste- their different structure can be observed.
The three lists included in Regulation 259/93/EEC have been drawn up in order to serve a
different purpose than that of the European Waste Catalogue and Hazardous Waste List. Instead,
all lists are to be applied in full.
5.4. Facilities for waste disposal
5.4.1. Hazardous waste incineration
Directive 94/67/EEC is a daughter directive of the framework Directive on waste. Member
States must establish and impose functioning conditions and emission limit values for waste
incineration plants, which must have a permit. According to the framework Directive regarding
waste, the permit shall be granted only if the incineration plant is designed, equipped and will be
operated in such a manner that the preventive measures against environmental pollution will be
taken, in terms of emission limits and managerial control requirements.
Hazardous waste incineration plants will reach total incinerating capacity.
The permit must explicitly list the types and the quantities of those hazardous wastes which are
incinerated; prior to accepting the waste at the plant, the operator shall have available a
description of the waste.
Any waste water discharge are, also, subject to a permit. Incineration plant sites are regulated by
the Directive 80/68/EEC on the protection of groundwater. The competent authorities shall be
informed about delay if any value limits are exceeded and operations are to be reduced or closed
down.

5.4.2. Waste incineration in new and existing incineration plants

For municipal waste incineration plants, Directives 89/369/EEC and 89/429/EEC apply sets of parallel
requirements for granting the permit, as well as operating restrictions for both new and existing plants.
They are daughter directives of the Directive 84/360/EEC on the prevention of air pollution from
industrial plants.
The authorization for the municipal waste incineration plants plants, their design, equipment, activity and
reports are regulated by these directives. New incineration plants are considered to be those incineration
plants for which authorization to operate is granted as from December 1 1990.
A certain category is excluded: plants used specifically for the incineration of sewage sludge, chemical,
toxic and dangerous waste, medical waste from hospitals or other type of special waste, even if these
plants may burn municipal waste as well, but such incinerators are subject to more stringent regulations,
provided by the Directive on hazardous waste incineration.
According to the nominal capacity of the incineration plant, three levels of value limit are established for
emissions, dust, heavy metals, hydrochloric acid and sulphur dioxide. The directives contain value limits
and programs for gradual improvement of the waste incinerator plants, stating clearly the period of time
given to reach the stated standards.
The directives establish extended requirements for monitoring, inspection and report drafting for all
operators of such kind of plants. Information about the permit and the results of the monitoring should be
available to the public.
5.4.3. Directive on landfill of waste
This directive states that waste must be treated before it is land-filled. Land-filling waste of different
categories in the same landfill site is prohibited

The cost for the deposit of waste onto the landfills must cover the cost of the plan for closure and aftercare
of the site for a period of at least 50 years for monitoring subsequent sites.
In order to reduce all methane emissions at Community level, the directive provides the reduction of
biodegradable waste landfill; moreover, the methane produced both in existing and new landfill must
be collected, used or burnt.
5.5 Types of waste
The EU legislation comprises a number of documents stating requirements and provisions regarding:
- waste oils deposit;
- titanium dioxide waste;
- disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls;
- sludge used in agriculture;
- batteries;
- waste packaging.
6. Water quality
The EU program on controlling water pollution is one of the oldest segments of EUs environmental
policy and it is the core of the largest Union legislator until this moment:
- over 16% of the new laws;
- over 10% of all the legislation.
The legislation on water was adopted out of the need to protect public health and it was based on
standards of quality for drinking water and sewage.
The first EU law was adopted in 1973 and it referred to detergent biodegradability, then in 1975 and
1976 two more directive were adopted: the directive on surface waters and the one on sewage sludge.

The 1976 Directive on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into water
aimed to protect the aquatic environment rather than human health.
After this directive other laws followed, which referred to:
- drinking water quality;
- the ways the quality of water might affect fish and shellfish;
- limit values for emissions from paper and pulp industry, titanium dioxide, and nitrate used in
agriculture.
In 1996 at a conference on environment and water, it was confirmed and concluded that the EU
policy regarding water is fragmented and a new directive on water management is needed, in order
to unify and create a single system for all the requirements for water quality management.
Water management is one of the most thoroughly regulated areas in the EU legislation. As a
consequence of a number of extended discussions between the Member States and within the
Community, it has become more and more obvious that effective protection of water quality can be
achieved only by using a mixed approach, which combines pieces of legislation regarding water
quality standards and pieces of legislation regarding emissions value limits. This mixed approach
respects the following principles:
- the precautionary principle;
- the rectification at source principle;
- the principle of taking into account various environments from various geographical areas.
6.1. Water Framework-Directive
This directive aims to establish the necessary framework for achieving a sustainable water policy,
such as:
- securing the drinking water supply;

- securing water supply for economic reasons;

- protecting water resources;
- reducing the impact of floods and droughts.
The environmental objective of this directive is to ensure the good status of surface water and
groundwater by 2010.
To this end, the directive provides to:
- elaborate management plans, based on the physical characteristics of the water body;
- monitor the status of surface water and groundwater;
- define the quality objectives;
- elaborate programs of measures in order to achieve the defined objectives.
The program of measures must respect the above mentioned mixed approach, by setting the
emission value limits and water quality standards.
Thus, full implementation of existing EU legislation regarding emission value limits must be
ensured, pieces of legislation such as:
- the Directive on urban waste-water treatment;
- the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (IPPC);
- the Nitrates Directive;
- the Dangerous Substance Discharges Directive.
Moreover, the methods used shall conform to the international standards of quality and other
relevant EU regulations. Member States shall take account of the principle of recovery of the costs
of water services (water supply and collection and treatment of waste-water), including
environmental and resource costs

The program of measures must be based on the legislation in the water sector, be it from the Community,
national or regional and it must be regarded as law.
The Community legislation in this sector also contains:
- the Urban Waste-water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC)
- the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC);
- the Water Pollution by Discharges of Certain Dangerous Substances Directive (76/464/EEC);
- the Drinking-water Directive (80/778/EEC);
- the Fish and Shellfish Water Directives (78/659/EEC and 79/923/EEC);
- the Quality Required of Surface Water Intended for the Abstraction of Drinking Water Directive
(75/440/EEC);
- the Groundwater Directive (80/68/EEC);
- the Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC);
- not all EU environmental laws are focused on particular aspects/problems.
There are 30 laws which have been approved and which regulate broader aspects such as EcoManagement and Audit Scheme (EMAS), which is a voluntary tool meant to promote environmental and
audit management systems.
4.7. Industrial Pollution Control and Risk Management
The directives and regulations from this sector covers three main areas:
1. control of industrial emissions;
2. control of major accident hazards;
3. environmental audits and eco-labeling
The first area includes directives which establish requirements for permits for the operation of certain
industrial facilities, so as to control wastes releases to air and water.

The directives include:

- the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive 96/61/EEC (IPPC);
- the Emissions from Large Combustion Plants Directive 88/609/EEC covers emissions of sulphur
dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulates and establishes targets for the reduction of total
emissions from each Member State;
- the Air Pollution from Industrial Plants Directive 84/360/EEC a framework directive which will
be replaced by the much broader IPPC Directive in 2007.
The second area covers the Seveso Directive 96/82/EC, named after a town in Italy that was the
site of a major accidental release of toxic gas. This directive, which has been a model for similar
legislation outside of Europe, requires industrial plant operators to identify major accident
hazards and take steps to control them and to limit their effects. It will replace the previous
Directive 82/501/EEC in 1999.
The third area covers the regulations on Eco-management and Audit Scheme EMAS
1836/93/EEC and on eco-label 880/92/EEC.
The EMAS Regulation encourages the voluntary participation of industrial plants in the
development of internal environmental management systems and audit programs as a means to
improve their environmental performance.
The eco-label Regulation establishes an EU eco-label award scheme which is intended to
promote the design, production, marketing and use of products with a reduced environmental
impact during their entire life cycle.
The eco-label gives consumers information about the environmental impacts of products.

7.1. IPPC
The goal of the directive is to achieve integrated prevention and control of pollution arising from a
wide range of activities by means of measures to prevent or, where that is not practicable, to
reduce emissions from industrial facilities to air, water and land, including measures concerning
waste, in order to achieve a high level of protection of the environment as a whole.
All activities covered by the Directive require a permit. Member States may issue a single permit
for releases to air, water and waste from an industrial facility, or issue multiple permits which are
integrated through a co-operation procedure involving several permitting authorities. As well as
imposing emission limits in environmental permits, Member States must ensure that the permits
contain measures designed to ensure that following basic requirements are met:
- all appropriate preventive measures are taken against pollution, in particular though the
application Best Available Techniques (BAT);
- no significant pollution is caused;
- waste production is avoided; where waste is produced it should be recovered or, where that is
technically and economically impossible, disposed of while avoiding or reducing any impact on
the environment;
- energy is used efficiently;
- the necessary measures are taken to prevent accidents and limit their consequences;
- the necessary measures are taken upon definite cessation of activities to avoid any pollution
risk and return the site of operation to a satisfactory state;
- Permits must in particular include emission limit values based on BAT, taking into consideration
the potential for transfer of pollution from one medium to another.

Other requirements to protect soil and groundwater and concerning waste management must be laid
down if necessary. In addition, permits must contain the supplementary requirements necessary
to prevent breaches of any environmental quality standard.
These requirements apply to new installations from October 1999 and to existing installations
from October 2007.
Authorities must reconsider periodically and when necessary update permit conditions.
An inventory of the principal emissions and sources will be published by the Commission on the
basis of data supplied by Member States.
7.2. Air Pollution from Industrial Plants
Directive 84/360/EEC on the combating of air pollution from industrial plants is a framework
directive, which will be replaced by the IPPC Directive in 2007. Member States must ensure that
the types of industrial plants listed in Annex I obtain prior authorization from the designated
national or regional competent authority before beginning operation or before any substantial
alteration to the plant.
Obs. Industrial plants serving national defense purposes are exempt from the directive.
An authorization may only be issued when:
- all appropriate measures against air pollution have been taken, including the application of Best
available technology not entailing excessive cost (BATNEEC);
- the use of the plant will not cause significant air pollution, particularly of the substances listed in
Annex II of the Directive;

- none of the applicable emission limit values is exceeded;

- all applicable air quality limit values are taken into account.
Applications for authorizations and the decisions of the competent authorities must be made
available to the public and to other concerned Member States within the framework of their
bilateral relations.
Member States must monitor emissions from industrial plants impose conditions on them, taking
into account the economic situation of the plants.
They must adopt policies to ensure that existing plants covered by Annex I are gradually adapted
to the best available technology. They may adopt stricter provisions.
7.3. Large Combustion Plants
Directive 88/609/EEC on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large
combustion plants was the first directive to be adopted under the framework Directive
84/360/EEC on the combating of air pollution from industrial plants; it applies to combustion
plants for the production of energy with a thermal input of 50 Megawatts (MW) or more. The goal
is to reduce emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and dust from these large combustion
plants. This is to be accomplished by means of introducing strict emission limits on new plants.
If a new plant is likely to have significant effects on the environment in another Member State, the
Member State must ensure that the other Member State is consulted appropriately under
Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on
the environment, amended by Directive 97/11/EC (Horizontal Legislation).

7.4. Volatile Organic Compounds Emissions from Industry

The objective of the Proposal is to reduce the emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from
stationary sources and, hence, to reduce tropospheric ozone. The Proposal aims at an emission cut of at
least 50 % (by 2010, compared to 1990 levels) for some 20 main types of solvent-using activities.
For each of these industrial sectors, it defines emission reduction targets by means of emission limit
values to be achieved either by appropriate abatement technologies or by substitution solutions (lowsolvent or solvent free technologies).
Member States have the option to design and implement an alternative national plan achieving the same
reduction.
7.5. 'Seveso' Directive on the Control of Major-Accident Hazards
In 1999, Directive 96/82/EEC on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances
will replace the old 'Seveso' Directive 82/501/EEC, which was developed following the 1976 accident in
Italy. The 1982 Directive contained a set of obligations for industrial plant operators as well as national
authorities.
The European Commission aimed at identifying and controlling the risks of major accidents from
industrial installations. The new 'Seveso II' Directive has a broadened and simplified scope and
strengthens the safety management and the emergency planning requirements imposed on operators of
certain industrial plants.
Provisions on inspection and control by competent authorities are reinforced and a new provision has
been introduced, obliging the responsible authorities to take account of the objectives of the Directive in
their land-use planning.
Whether an establishment falls within the scope of the Seveso II Directive will be solely determined by
the presence of specified dangerous substances in sufficiently large quantities to create a major accident
hazard. Installations covered by this Directive and located close to each another have to co-operate in
averting risks and preventing domino effects such as a fire at one installation spreading to others .

In order to improve safety and reduce the risk of human error, operators of industrial installations
concerned will have to develop a policy for major accident prevention as well as a safety
management system.
- The operator must prepare a safety report and an internal emergency plan. The national
competent authorities must prepare an external emergency plan, co-operating across borders
where this is necessary to prevent or respond to major accidents.
- Member States must prohibit the use of industrial installations where the prevention and
mitigation measures taken by the operator are seriously deficient or where the operator does not
submit the required information to the competent authority within a reasonable period of time.
Public access to information is strengthened. A system of inspections must be organized by the
competent authorities.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY IN
ROMANIA
1. General aspects
One way to define environmental protection strategy is: the total number of actions and political,
economic, technical and social measures meant to preserve and develop natural resources and
maintain the quality of the environment at an adequate level for the future generations.
The environmental protection strategy implies that maintaining the environmental balance at a local,
regional or global level is more important than achieving the objectives of a social-economic policy.
An adopted environmental strategy and implemented concepts and tools are effective if they:
- maintain the quality of public health;
- maintain the quality of values of nature.
Environmental strategies have been developed from various reasons:
- to replace the system of random, incidental actions with pragmatic, coherent environmental
measures;
- to eliminate some intrinsic contradictions, which indicated on the one hand, the necessity of
implementing environmental protection actions, and on the other hand, the need to reduce the number
of those actions;
- to elaborate, implement and evaluate environmental policies on stages, so that it would be possible
to evaluate the efficiency of each stage;
- to adopt action plans and to implement them by respecting a time scale (short, medium or long term);
- to select and to train adequate staff, depending on the stage and action;
- to control the strict implementation of the established measures, according to authorization
agreements, regulations and other legal requirements

When developing an environmental strategy, the following stages should be reached:

- Detailed knowledge of the local and national conditions (available natural
resources, environmental condition at the time of reference, existing sources of
pollution);
- Conditionality, political will of policy makers to pay close attention to environmental
protection and obligations from international treaties and conventions;
- Starting some preliminary actions, prior to developing the strategy, in order to
correctly set the framework for action (e.g. eco-zoning the territory, environmental
monitoring, delimiting protected areas);
- Establishing a set of concepts, principles, tools, which should underlie all actual
measures, included in the Strategic Action and Implementation Plans;
- Setting the objectives in time and space, thus allowing Romania to line up with the
requirements of the European Community, in a predictable timeframe;
- Formulating the National Strategic Action Plan and the Implementation Plans.

2. The Evolution of the Environmental Policy in Romania

In Romania, environmental protection appeared in 1990 as an independent field of national
policies, when the former Ministry of Environment was formed; in 1992 the first official document
was drafted and it established the national objectives in this field- National Strategy for
Environmental Protection, updated in 1996 and 2002. The strategy has two parts:
- it lists the main natural resources, economic elements and the quality of the environment;
- the actual strategy, i.e. the general principles, priorities, short- medium- and long term
objectives.
Even since 1996 the national strategy has been lined up with the European one, in terms of
principles, priorities and objectives. Thus, the principles are:
- preserve and improve the public health;
- sustainable development;
- preserve biodiversity;
- preserve cultural and historic heritage;
- the polluter pays principle;
- encouraging actions of environment improvement (granting subsidies, low interest loans etc).
In 2002 The National Waste Management Strategy is adopted, which meets urgent needs in
this area, a need which was first acknowledged in 2000; the Council Directive on waste no.
75/442/EEC was transposed in the Romanian legislation through the Government Emergency
Ordinance no. 78/2000, approved and completed in 2001 by the Law no. 426/2001.

The stages of development of the strategy are: analyzing the situation, identifying the problems, establishing
strategic objectives, evaluating the possibilities of achieving the objectives and drafting a National Waste
Management Plan. This plan, developed by representatives of the industry, ministries, NGOs and
National Research and Development Institute for Environment, contains two distinct parts:
1. general actions: identify the types of actions needed to implement the strategy, as well as those
responsible, deadlines, estimated costs and possible funding sources;
2. specific projects: they are related to local objectives, proposed from within the territory.
In June 2006, when the Environmental Council met, the Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment
was adopted. This thematic strategy was elaborated based on the provisions of the sixth Environmental
Action Program and it its objective is to improve the environmental performance in European cities.
3. Objectives of the environmental policy in Romania
The objective of the strategy is to support member states, as well as local and regional authorities to
implement environmental policies and legislation.
The main objective of the environmental policy in Romania for 2007-2013 is to reduce the differences in
relation to other member states of the EU in terms of sustainable development and environmental
protection.
To achieve this objectives, the following actions are taken into consideration:
- promoting investment of local and community capital in order to implement environmental measures and
projects;
- protecting and maintaining biodiversity and natural heritage by supporting the management of the
protected areas, also by adopting the Natura2000 network;
- reducing the risk of natural disasters in all the regions of the country, as well as implementing preventive
measures in the most disaster-prone areas.

- Ensure the protection and preservation of natural resources;

- Improve soil quality, by improving waste management and reducing the number of polluted historical
areas;
- Reduce negative impact caused by old local heating systems from the most polluted areas;
- Develop the infrastucture in order to have integrated waste management in cities;
- Develop the infrastructure for water supply and to collect and treat waste water for urban and rural
population;
- Improve the water infrastructure, by providing water supply and sewage services in most urban areas;
- Reduce water pollution with priority substances and eliminate pollution with dangerous priority
substances;
- Reduce nitrate pollution;
- On January 22, 2008 the Romanian president adopted the National Sustainable Development
Strategy (SNDD). SNDD is the programmatic document drawn up, according to EU requirements, by
the Romanian Government through the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, in
collaboration with the United Nations Development Program, with the National Center for Sustainable
Development. The strategy was finalized and presented to the European Commission at the end of
2008, it was has a medium and long-term use, it contains targets, implementation measures and the
evaluation of realistic funding sources for 2013, 2020 and 2030.
4. Conventions and international agreements Romania is part of
Romania has signed numerous international environmental conventions, which is governed by the
Romanian law. Hence, some conventions are:
- The Basel Convention, controlling transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their
disposal

Romania undertakes not to export or to import hazardous wastes that could harm the environment (Law no.
6/1991);
Geneva Convention on long-range transboundary air pollution. Romania joins the international effort of
monitoring and reducing air pollution. (Law no. 8/1991);
Bucharest Convention on the protection of the Black Sea against pollution. On this occasion, there were
established common methods of control, prevention and eliminate pollution of the Black Sea by all of its
six nations. These methods are contained in the three protocols of the convention and they refer to:
eliminate land-based pollution; eliminate pollution caused by the disposal of substances into the Black
Sea; eliminate pollution caused by accidents (Law no.98/1992);
Ramsar Convention, on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat. Romania
is a part of this convention with the Danube Delta Reserve (Law no.82/1993);
Montreal Protocol, on substances that deplete the ozone layer. Romania has the following obligations:
conducting systematic observations, carrying out research and exchanges information for a better
understanding and assessment of human activities on the ozone layer, cooperating for adopting
measures, procedures and standards for the implementation of the convention (Law no.84/1993);
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, under which Romania will act for the
purpose of stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere at a level, which prevents any
dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system (Law no.24/1994);
Helsinki Convention, on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International
Lakes. Romania has the obligation to prevent, control and reduce transboundary impact, exchange
information and collaborate with neighboring countries to monitor the quality and the quantity of water
sources (Law no. 30/1995);
Vienna Convention, on Nuclear Safety. Under this convention, Romania will create a legal and
organizational framework for nuclear safety and environmental protection, will take part in meetings where
the reports of member states are assessed, reports which sow that the obligations have been fulfilled (Law
no.43/1995);

Sofia Convention, on Co-operation for the Protection and Sustainable Use of the River Danube (Law
no.14/1995);
Paris Convention, concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural heritage (March 30,
1990);
Bern Convention, on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Law no. 13/1993);
Washington Convention, on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(July 15, 1994);
Rio de Janeiro Convention, on Biological Diversity (July 13, 1994);
Espoo Convention, on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context;
Ministerial Declaration in Odessa, on the protection of the Black Sea;
Helsinki Convention, on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents- Romania has not signed
the convention yet, but the experts from A.C.P.M. (National Environmental Protection Agency) have
participated in the international meetings and they have presented the legal framework from Romania
regarding industrial accidents;
Bonn Convention, on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Law no.13/1998);
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious
Drought and/or Desertification (Law no.111/1998);
Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Government of Ukraine in the field of
border water management (Law no.13/1993); environmental activities in Romania are regulated orders
issued by ACPM and decisions of the Romanian Government. These aim at establishing a unitary
system of payment for goods and services used in water and waste management, use of phytosanitary
products, technical quality standards and conditions of air and water, producere of environmental
assessments, authorizing people to evaluate environmental impact, territorial planning etc.

5. Environmental norms and standards in Romania

An important stage in organizing environmental activities is establishing strict guidelines
regarding environmental factors. At the same, although it is compulsory to use norms and
standards, this is a conservatory implementation method of environmental policies.
There are three types of environmental standards that serve various objectives in an
environmental policy:
environmental standards- they set the maximum admissible quantity of pollutants in that
environment (air, water, soil);
emission standards- set specific limits to the amount of pollutants released by a plant or a car;
performance standards- there are specific standards for new sources- they are always based
on the best available control technology- they are applied to new enterprises and facilities.
The first two types of standards are often correlated. Many regulation systems can compel an
enterprise, which wants to obtain an emission permit, to prove that the level of emissions will not
rise above that prescribed by environmental standards.
In Romania there are two types of environmental standards:
- Romanian standards (they bear the SR logo), they are applied at national level;
- professional standards, they are applied in certain areas of activity, in legally-established
professional organizations, which define them;
- company standards, they apply to autonomous administrations, companies and other legal
persons (drug standards are included in Romanian Pharmacopoeia).

Romanian standards on environmental protection are compulsory.

Although they mandatory, there is no single inspectorate. In fact, there are many institutions,
vested to verify whether products and services comply with the Romanian standards. Some of
these are: the Office of Consumer Protection, Environmental Protection Agencies, sanitary police,
sanitary-veterinary police, traffic police, Romanian Automobile Registry, Romanian Railway
Register, Romanian Naval Register etc

Compliance with European standards is problematic in terms of institutional methods, design,

relations and structures. Thus, under the provisions of Agenda 2000, this process means revising
the entire national system of quality certification. This includes:
creating an independent accreditation body, which is vested by the Government to represent the
country at international level;
no longer requiring mandatory quality certification, in order to avoid obstacles in the free
movement of goods, except those which are harmful to life and environment.
Romanian Standards Institute (IRS) makes provisions for 1200 European standards, which are
absorbed as Romanian standards. Of the total of approved standards in Romania, 50%of them
are international standards. The main issue of protecting the environment using regulations is,
however, under current conditions complying with standards.
6. Funding environmental protection in Romania
Environmental issues represent a very strong motivation for specific environmental actions. This
translates into distinct budget items or national bodies which fund environmental actions.
Every economy, strong or weak, grants funds for environmental protection, the difference is
reflected in the sums. These are determined/influenced by the national opinion on environment
and the size of environmental programs.
In Romania, these funds are polyvalent, that is they are used to finance a large array of
environmental projects, based on which private or public companies are financed to launch these
programs. There are specific funds, used for funding projects meant to protect environmental
factors or components.
The main role of these bodies is to finance investments related to environmental protection, as
well as to develop the necessary appropriate infrastructure for developing these projects.

Financing the expenses regarding the environment has to be done from private funds and to be
built upon the principle who pollutes pays.
Thus, the principle is an economic one, being a challenging econimc tool to protect the
environment. According to this principle, the polluters are financially responsible for applying the
procedures according to the directives for the environment passed by the competent authorities.
Because this principle excludes any financial help, it is also called the non-subvention principle.
Practically, the polluters take on all the costs of their activity and of the public activity, aiming to
reduce the pollution of the environment, and the public power takes on the expenses regarding
the natural environment.
The polluter pays principle is misunderstood, being perceived and generalised simply as an
enforcement of an administrative measure against the one who pollutes or breaks the installed
laws. This requires important investments from the public and private part, with an external
support from the International Financial Agencies.
The fund for environment
According to the European principles, The polluter pays and The Producers responsibility, all
countries with an economy in transition have formed a Fund for the Envirnoment, to solve the
problems regarding the protection of the environment.
In Romania, this fund has started since June, 2002. The administration of the Fund for the
Environment, a legal entity- coordinated by the Ministery of Environment and Sustainable
Development is responsible for managing the Fund for environment.
7.9. Environmental law in Romania

The protection of the environment is controlled in Romania by a series of regulatory documents (laws,
governmental decisions, orders of different ministries, decrees etc.) that create the legal framework needed to
protect the environmental exponents, consumers and to respect the principles of the sustainable development.
The Environmental Law is structured on six chapters (12 sections and two appendices) on: controlling the
economical and social activities with an impact on the environment, protecting the natural resources and
preserving biodiversity. The subject of the law is controlling the environmental liability, considered to be an
objective of major public interest, to accomplish the sustainable development. The strategic principles and
elements to ensure a sustainable development of the society are:
-Principle of precaution when taking a decision;
-Principle of foreclosing ecological risks and producing losses;
-Principle of conserving biodiversity and ecosystems proper to the natural biogeographical frame;
-Principle the polluter pays;
- Removing the pollutants that endager peoples health immediately and severely (for example, radioactive
waists, heavy metals, etc);
- Creating the national system of inttegrated environmental monitoring;
- Sustainable use;
- Maintaining, improving the environmental quality and reconstructing damaged areas;
- Creating a participating frame of the NGOs and population to draft and apply decisions;
- Developing an international agreement to ensure the quality of the environment.
The right to a healthy environment is guaranteed by:
- access to information regarding the quality of the environment;
- possibility to enter organisations for environmental liability;
- right to consultation; right to address the administrative or legal authorities;
- right to compensation for the damage.

The law also assigns the institutions that should take responsibility for applying the stipulations regarding
environmental liability.
Thus, this task comes to the central authority for environmental liability (A.C.P.M.), represented within
the ministery, and the local authorities for the environmental liability (A.L.P.M.), represented within the
county by the Agencies for Environmental Liability (A.P.M.).
The condition of the substances and dangerous wastes has as target their manufacture,
commercialization, usage, transportation, transit, storage, destruction and handling. As for import and
export, it is mentioned that it is forbidden the import of waist of any kind, except for those that can
become subsidiary resources of raw materials.
7.10. Institutional framework
The main institutional players of the environmental policy are the Ministry of Environment and
sustainable Development (MMDD) and the Romanian Parliament.
MMDD is directly responsible for initiating the national environmental strategies and creating a framework
to implement them, which is formed in 3 general quarters:
- Agriculture and Forest Quarter,
- Water Quarter and
- Environment Quarter out of which the last two are of major interest for the national environmental
policy.
MMDD has 3 units in subordination: The National Environmental Liability Agency, The National
Environmental Guard and Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority and 4 units in coordination: The
National Research-Development for Environmental Liability Institute - ICIM Bucharest, The National
Research-Development "Grigore Antipa" Institute - INCDM Constana, The National Research and
Development Danube Delta Institute - INCDDD Tulcea and The Administration of the Fund for the
Environment AFM Bucharest and 2 units under authority: the National Authority of Romanian Water
and the National Authority of Meteorology.

TEST QUESTIONS
What is the main objective of the Romanian medium policy during 2007-2013?
Present four of the international conventions in which Romania is a signatory part. What
do they refer to?
Present the three types of standards for the environmental liability used in the ecological
policy.
Purposes of the activities within the Fund for environment.

THE NATIONAL ACTION PLAN 2008

The National Action Plan for Environmental Liability is a planning device which approaches the most
important problems, identified according to some well established criteria. The solutions need to rely
on a mix of institutional and investitional strategies and capacities, so that the national financial
resources available to be bestly used.
The National Action Plan for Environmental Liability (PNAM) is a dynamic process with a continuous
evolution, due to the development in time of economical and social factors. That is why PNAPM
requires permanent updating and monitoring.
In Romania, there was drafted the National Action Plan for Environmental Liability, which represents
an approach to the problems regarding environmental liability, a materialization of the Romanian
policy in the field of environment, in a close conjunction with the objectives of the sustainable
development.
The National Action Plan for Environmental Liability is a device for implementing the environmental
policies, which promotes the accomplishment of the most important projects, with a significant impact
on the environment, aiming to implement the effective law. It is conceived as a national document
and represents a correlation between the environmental problems and the economico-social ones.
The purpose of drafting an Action Plan for the Environment is:
-to present a set of actions which would stand at the basis of implementing projects of improving the
quality of the environment;
- to stimulate the initiatives of carrying on projects to improve the quality of the environment and to
reduce the negative impact of the activities on human health;
- to ensure the projects accordance with the sectorial environmental strategies;
- to ensure the supervenience of the financing sources;
- each action proposed to be financed through national or international programs must rely on a large
unity of the public coming from the area they are approaching.

8.2. The objectives of the National Action Plan for Environment

The general strategic objective of environmental liability is improving the quality of life in Romania by
ensuring a clean environment, which would contribute to increasing the populations life level, to improving
the quality of the environment, conserving and helping the condition of the Romanian natural patrimony.
The strategic objectives of environmental liability are represented by:
- conserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment
- protecting human health
- sustainable use of natural resources
The general primary objectives of environmental policy are:
- reinforcing the institutional framework of environmental liability, according to the European Unions and
ensuring the material, financial and human resources centraly, regionally and locally;
- ensuring the funds needed for investing into environmental liability as they are shown in the
implementation and financial plans for applying the communitary acquis;
- increasing the ability attract and use coesion and structural funds;
- increasing the number of jobs in the national economy and reducing undemployment by exploiting the
opportunities offered by the management and accomplishment of the environmental infrastructure;
- encourgaing and developing education and training in all areas, as well as research in environmental
liability;
-- defending against natural disasters and accidental pollutions, increasing the ability to prevent, control and
interfere, by creating a perfected system of inttegrated monitoring of environmental factors and an efficient
information system corresponding to teh requirements of the European Union;
- encouraging the entry of environment management systems, creating a modern network of labs within the
environment and acrediting them;

- developing the ability to promote some economic tools regarding environmental liability, cost-benefit
analyses and introducing environmental costs in the production costs, valorifying the opportunities
offered by the Fund of Environment;
- promoting the use of regenerable sources and of new ways of production and consumption,
favourable to the environmental liability;
- sustainable use of natural resources, promoting the use of waists as secondary raw materials in order
to protect the natural resources, promoting a sustainable agriculture and rural development; a special
attential will be paid to endangered flora species, as well as to those with a high economical value;
- paying a greater attention to the environment-health, environment-agriculture and environmenttransportation relations;
- promoting the global international, regional and bilateral cooperation regarding environment and
Romanians active involvement in putting into practice the international environmental conventions.
8.2.1The general and specific objectives regarding environment
Protecting the atmosphere
The general objectives regarding the protection of atmosphere are:
Maintaining the quality of air in areas coming under the limits foreseen by the actual laws regarding
quality markers;
Improving the quality of air in areas coming under the limits foreseen by the actual laws regarding
quality markers;
Adopting the necessary actions aiming to limit and finally exclude the negative effects on environment,
even in transfrontier context
Fullfilling the obligations assumed under international agreements and treaties to which Romania is
part of and participating to international cooperation in the field.

Speicifc objectives:
Verifying and prefecting the National System of Evaluation and Inttegrated Management for Air Quality
(SNEGICA;
Evaluating the quality of air in metropolitan areas to check the accordance of levels of pollutants in air
with the limits and to identify the non/accordance situations regarding the quality of air;
Ensuring the publics access to the information regarding the quality of air and making known the
effects of pollution on humans health and on environment, as well as the main sources of air pollution;
Controlling the pollution level by applying techniques and technologies to retain pollutants and/or by
bringing in less pollutant technologies etc
Climatic changes
Promoting an efficient policy regarding climatic changes to ensure the fulfillment of commitments taken
by Romania in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the
Kyoto Protocol, as well as the obligations resulting from its membership quality of the European Union.
Reducing the impact of global warming on the society and on environment as well as diminishing the
costs for applying the voted measures.
The general objectives will be accomplished by specific measures which can be found in the latest
documents National Strategy regarding Climatic Changes and National Action Plan regarding
Climatic Changes, as well as in the strategic documents developed to reduce the negative effects
caused by extreme meteors.
Specific Objectives:
Fulfilling the commitment to reduce national emissions of greenhouse gases assumed by Romania
under the Kyoto Protocol :

On a short and average term ariming to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 8% up in 2008-2012,
compared to 1990;
- On a long term to reduce global emissions by about 20-40% by 2020 compared with 1990.
Identifying measures, necessary to increase the value representing the reduction of greenhouse gases
under the commitment assumed by the Kyoto Protocol;
- Public awareness on climate change issues and civil society participation in decision making;
- Development of research on climate change issues
Water Resources Management
Nature Liability
Biosecurity, soil quality
Urban, rural development and protection against noise
The main objectives are improving the quality of environment and ensuring a high quality level of life in
urban and rural areas and reducing the phonic pollution
Ecologic education
The main objective of ecologic education is improving the quality of life by ensuring knowledge, habits,
motivation and values needed by people to take responsibility for maintaining the quality of the
environment
TEST QUESTIONS
What does PNAM (The National Action Plan for Environment) represent?
What is the general strategic objective of environmental liability in Romania?
What are the general prior objectives of the environmental policy?
Present two of the specific objectives regarding the protection of atmosphere.
Present two of the specific objectives regarding climatic changes