Roundtable for Adoption of European standards in the creation and implementation of environmental policies in Serbia

Center for European Integration of Belgrade Open School and the Office for European Integration of the Republic of Serbia, in cooperation with the City Administration and the City of Kragujevac Kragujevac Association of Volunteer Center organized a roundtable for Adoption of European standards in the creation and implementation of environmental policy in Serbia, in the the Assembly of Kragujevac.

At the roundtable, participants were: Zoran Sretic from the Office for European Integration of the Republic of Serbia, Daniela Bozanic from the Ministry of Energy Development and Environment and Mirko Popovic from the Center for European Integration of Belgrade Open School.

''The high level of care and quality of the environment is one of the objectives defined by the founding documents of the European Union (EU), together with the principle of sustainable development and the integration of environmental protection into all sectoral development policies,'' said Zoran Sretic from the Office for European Integration Government of the Republic of Serbia. Sretic added that Serbia, in many fields of environmental policy, the implementation of the harmonized legislation delegated to local government (waste management, use of assessment procedures, integrated permits, etc.). And that there is a significant infrastructure deficit in Serbia compared to EU and binding requirements of the EU directives.

''Analyzing the EU's package of climate and energy, it is evident that its implementation requires a number coordinated and continuous action, which involves the cooperation of all stakeholders'' said Daniela Bozanic from the Ministry of Energy, Development and the Environment, adding that the fulfillment of the basic requirements EU in the field of climate and energy can provide placement of domestic products in the EU market and thus survival and positive business local firms and enterprises.

''We are not dealing with the Environmental Protection because of the European Union, but for our own sake,'' said Mirko Popovic from the Center for European Integration of Belgrade Open School. He said that, to comply with European standards in the field of environmental protection in Serbia requires the involvement of citizens in the processes of decision making in this area, adding that the right to a healthy environment and fully informed about the state of the environment is guaranteed by the Constitution. Popovic recalled that the government at central and local levels obliged, at the request of citizens, provide complete information on the state of the environment.

The roundtable was implemented within the final phase of the project Strengthening Capacity of Serbian Administration for EU Accession, realized Belgrade Open School and the Office for European Integration of the Republic of Serbia. The project is financially supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway.