Under the patronage of the MEP Alexander de Roo


Conference BILLIONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY?
– HOW CAN WE DO IT BETTER – LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE USE OF PRE-ACCESSION FUNDS

 Monday-Tuesday 25-26th November 2002
European Parliament, Eastman Building, Rue Belliard 135, Brussels

Preceded by a training for NGOs on pre-accession funds, Sunday 24th November 2002

PROCEEDINGS
to download the presentations click on the blue link next to each title    

Monday, November 25th


Session 1: Set up the scene - the importance of the pre-accession funds
for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)
11:15 -12:30
 Chair: Alexander de Roo, MEP

  • Luis Riera Figueras, Director, DG Regional Policy, European Commission – Structure and the intention of pre-accession funds
    Paper available soon

  • Erzsébet Gergely, Deputy Head of Department, Ministry of Environment and Water, Hungary -- Pre-accession funds: recipient view
    Paper available soon

 

Session 2: Transparency and public participation in pre-accession funds
14:00 – 15:30
 Chair: Tomasz Terlecki, CEE Bankwatch Network

  • Case studies from the candidate countries:

 

Session 3: Environmental aspects in pre-accession funds
16:00 - 18h30
 Chair: Martin Rocholl, Friends of the Earth Europe

Opening statements

  • Catherine Day, Director General for Environment, European Commission
    Paper available: Statement (PDF)

Input from the accession countries

Discussion with Director Catherine Day, Minister Kundrotas and Member of the European Parliament – Eric Meijer

 

Tuesday, November 26th

 

Session 4: Lessons learned from pre-accession funds
9:30 – 12:30
 Chair: Peep Mardiste, Eesti Roheline Liikumine / Friends of the Earth Estonia

  • Elisabeth Schroedter, MEP, European Parliament -- View of the European Parliament
    Paper Available soon

 

Closing session: How can we implement the lessons learned: future of pre-accession, structural and cohesion funds in CEE
14:00 – 15:30
Chair: Martin Rocholl, Friends of the Earth Europe

Panel discussion: "Billions for Sustainability?" - future of the funds

With panelists:

  • Erich Unterwürzacher, Head of Unit DG Regional Policy, European Commission
  • Fernando Hervas-Soriano, ISPA Co-ordinator, DG Environment, European Commission
  • Magda Stoczkiewicz, Friends of the Earth Europe/CEE Bankwatch
  • Alexander de Roo, MEP, European Parliament
  • László Becker, Head of Department, Ministry of Environment, Hungary


** Further Background Information **


 The Copenhagen European Council in June 1993 agreed that: "the associated countries of Central and Eastern Europe that so desire shall become members of the European Union". Since then steps have been taken to enable this process. One such step was establishing new financial mechanisms for pre-accession aid. In the period 2000-2006 the European Union is expected to provide financial support to accession countries in annual amounts of approximately 3 billion Euro via such mechanisms as ISPA (Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession Aid), SAPARD (Special Action for Pre-Accession measures for Agriculture and Rural Development) and PHARE 2000. At the same time, co-financing is provided by International Financial Institutions (IFIs), mainly the European Investment Bank (EIB).

This large amount of financial aid is expected to cause profound changes in the economies of Central and East (CEE) European countries, and will have a significant impact on the environment through new projects in infrastructure, energy, nature conservation, agriculture and the environment. The above-mentioned financial instruments should therefore be implemented in accordance with the principles of sustainable development and cross-sectoral integration of environmental principles in all policy areas. Proper use of pre-accession funds according to such principles is crucial for the future state of the environment in the CEE countries. Also, access to information and public participation are prerequisites for the efficient use of EU aid as well as for building up civil society in the accession countries.



The "Billions for Sustainability? – Financial 
aspects of Accession" Project

Friends of the Earth Europe and the CEE Bankwatch Network started the project "Billions for Sustainability? - Financial aspects of Accession" in March 2000. The project aims to increase the ability of environmental NGOs in the region for dealing with pre-accession aid and monitoring projects financed from these sources, and also promotes a participatory approach from both citizens and authorities, resulting in full civil society involvement in the decision-making process. Another envisaged result is better preparation of NGOs for dealing with future structural and cohesion funds.

The project has been implemented in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria and Slovakia.

Publications from the project can be found on http://www.foeeurope.org/billions/index.htm



** Campaign "Billions for Sustainability?" **

Further information on Friends of the Earth campaign "Billions for sustainability?"
http://www.foeeurope.org/billions/index.htm

Contact:
Magda Stoczkiewicz
Accession project coordinator
CEE Bankwatch Network/Friends of the Earth Europe
c/o Friends of the Earth International
PO Box 19199
1000 Amsterdam
The Netherlands
phone: +31 20 622 13 69
fax: +31 20 639 21 81
email: magdas@foeeurope.org


** About the organisers of the event **

Friends of the Earth is the largest grassroots environmental network in the world, campaigning to protect the environment and create sustainable societies. Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE) unites more than 30 national member organisations with thousands of local groups. FoEE coordinates and supports the campaigns and projects of its member groups which deal with a large variety of subjects including food, farming and biotechnology; climate change, energy, eco-taxation and nuclear safety; globalisation, trade, corporate accountability and sustainable development; EU Accession; and regional programmes in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe and the Mediterraneean.
www.foeeurope.org

The CEE Bankwatch Network is an international non-governmental organisation with member organisations currently from 12 countries of CEE and CIS region. The basic aim of the network is to monitor activities of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) in the region, and to propose constructive alternatives to their policies and projects in line with the principle of sustainable development. The CEE Bankwatch Network was formally set up in 1995 and has become one of the strongest networks of environmental NGOs in Central and Eastern Europe. Members of the Bankwatch Network are environmental NGOs from: Bulgaria, Byelorussia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Macedonia, Latvia,  Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic and Ukraine.
www.bankwatch.org

The Heinrich Böll Foundation, affiliated with the Green Party, is a legally independent political foundation working in the spirit of intellectual openness. The Foundation's primary objective is to support political education, thus promoting democratic involvement, sociopolitical activism, and cross-cultural understanding. Its activities are guided by the fundamental political values of ecology, democracy, solidarity, and non-violence.
www.boell.de


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