EPL took part in the meeting with the EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius. During the meeting, EPL Executive Director Olena Kravchenko spoke about the progress of reforms in the area of state environmental control, state environmental monitoring, waste management, biodiversity conservation.
According to Olena Kravchenko, over the last year Ukraine has not achieved tangible results in implementing these reforms. One of the main reasons for the stagnation with environmental reforms is the strong resistance of lobbyists of large polluting enterprises, representatives of the extractive industry.
However, she expressed hope that joint efforts of the EC, the EU Delegation to Ukraine, the Ministry of Environment, the Parliamentary Committee on Environmental Policy and environmental civil society groups in Ukraine will result in adoption of the draft law on state environmental control in the second reading by the end of the year and also in progress in the adoption in the first re-reading of the draft law on the integrated environmental permit, on access to environmental information, in adoption in the first repetitive reading of the draft law on territories of the Emerald Network.
Moreover, we expect to unlock the waste management reform, the delay in which demonstrates the institutional weakness of both the Parliamentary Committee on Environmental Policy and the Ministry of Environment.
EPL expresses its gratitude to the EC, the EU Delegation to Ukraine for openness, constructive dialogue, willingness to cooperate in promoting European environmental policy in Ukraine.
