Conclusions of the Meeting of Senior Officials from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro and UNMIK on the Cross Border Cooperation within the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) -current status and needs- May 20-21, 2004 May 20-21, 2004 Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro 7th REReP Task Force meeting September 30 – October 1, 2004 Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro Agenda item 6

AIM OF THE MEETING To discuss current status and needs in the cross border cooperation in South Eastern Europe BASIS FOR MEETING Joint Statement of the Skopje Ministerial Meeting of October 15, 2003, identified cross- border cooperation as priority areas 6 th REReP TF need for regular review process of the achievements and problems in the SEE cross border cooperation was recognized Recommendations made in the Review of the REReP initiated by the EC, issued in January 2004

BASIS FOR FURTHER WORK EU integration process –the major political goal and driving force of all countries of the region Third Annual Report of the EC on the Stabilization and Association Process for SEE, accompanied by Commission’s proposal for European Partnerships Planned European Neighborhood Instrument will further assist the process of implementation

MEETING WAS OPPORTUNITY TO: Exchange information, views and experience on the current status and needs in the SEE cross border cooperation Present current and planned cross border activities in the region, using variety of instruments, models and approaches for joint work Define priorities for cross-border cooperation

IDENTIFIED PRIORITIES Address common activities in the European Partnerships and the Action Plans for their implementation; exchange of information on the transposition and implementation status of EU Directives. Capacity building for improving the negotiation skills Training for preparation and implementation of heavy investment projects; transfer of lessons learned from the new EU member states and candidate countries, more specifically the preaccession funds Capacity building in nature conservation activities and management of the protected areas, e.g. establishment of visitors centers, promotional materials for the general public

IDENTIFIED PRIORITIES Assistance in environmental law drafting related to the EU approximation Assistance in environmental law enforcement and compliance Address the implications of the decentralization process. Enhance the capacity building on local level, development and promotion of LEAPs and Local Agenda 21. Promotion of the cooperation among the municipalities as a tool for local communities support Further strengthen the cooperation with EEA within the framework of EIONET; facilitate the process of direct exchange of environmental data among the SEE countries

IDENTIFIED PRIORITIES Development of PRTRs systems, modeling them after the available positive experience in the region, e.g. Croatian Water Information System Revision and improvement of the existing flood control systems, early warning systems for flood prevention and control as well as accidental pollution, development of tools for information sharing, e.g. Danube river basin Exchange of experience and capacity building in implementation of multilateral environmental agreements, e.g. conventions, protocols, through cross-border cooperation Asassistance to companies introducing the EMAS and ISO standards

STEPS TO BE UNDERTAKEN in order to further develop the cross border cooperation Make more human and financial resources available to increase the capacity of the relevant institutions Identify joint environmental priorities of the countries Improve the management structures for project implementation Train the staff of all relevant institutions on central and local level. Improve the information and expertise exchange among relevant institutions in a coordinated manner Encourage and support local initiative for cross border cooperation through increased financial assistance

LESSONS LEARNT Environment is a particularly suitable platform for cross border cooperation Cross border projects should be focused on resolving concrete problems, they should be rather process than resource oriented, with clear agreement on rules and procedures to be adopted Good will to cooperate, local ownership and commitment are vital preconditions for success Trust building measures have to be implemented Good level of communication among project partners and stakeholders should be kept to raise awareness about cross border cooperation

WHAT CAN HELP ? Recognition to the European Commission, donor countries within and outside Europe, international organisations and institutions for the support and assistance was expressed Call for mobilisation of additional resources for assisting the successful implementation of the cross border activities was made The EU Neighbourhood Policy and Instrument, the ODA funds of the new EU member states were recognised as a creative tool for additional opportunities for technical assistance and support Infrastructure Steering Committee has to urgently respond to the environmental needs of the region and incorporate environmental aspects in the existing transport and energy projects and programmes

On behalf of all country representatives gratitude was expressed to Serbia and Montenegro as a host country Government of Norway for the financial support of the meeting and Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe for organising this meeting Few countries expressed need for additional meeting

Meeting of SEE Senior officials for cross border project preparation Held on September, back to back with 7 th REReP Task Force meeting Countries/administrations represented: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, FYR of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro and UNMIK New developments in environmental cross-border cooperation were presented, special emphasise on EU New Neighbourhood Policy and instruments – Case study -Development of Joint Project Document between R.Bulgaria and FYR of Macedonia in the frame of NNI was presented

Meeting of SEE Senior officials for cross border project preparation Specific project ideas were presented by the representatives Criteria for selection and categorisation of presented project ideas were defined Project ides were discussed one-by-one Common/similar project ideas were determined Negotiations and agreement for their merging was achieved According to defined criteria, presented project ideas were selected and divided into categories/sections

Project Ideas for Cross-Border cooperation Criteria for Selection: Projects are supported by central/local authorities cooperating around common borders to solve priority environmental problems of common interests All sides of the respective borders participate in the project on equal footing Projects are in line with national policies, priorities and interests of the countries/stakeholders involved; NGOs and the general public will be consulted and involved in project implementation

PROJECT IDEAS FOR CROSS- BORDER COOPERATION Sectors identified: I. Water Management II. Information Systems and Data Sharing III. Capacity Building, Cooperation and Partnerships in the cross -border Context IV. Nature Protection (including Biodiversity )

I WATER MANAGEMENT

II INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND DATA SHARING III CAPACITY BUILDING AND PARTNERSHIP

IV NATURE PROTECTION (INCLUDINC BIODIVERSITY)

Project Ideas for Regional Cooperation Criteria for Selection: Projects offer opportunity for exchange of common experiences, based on EU integration, harmonization process Projects are in line with national policies, priorities and interests of the countries/stakeholders involved; NGOs and the general public will be consulted and involved in project implementation

PROJECT IDEAS FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION Following sectors identified: I.Information Systems and Data Sharing II. Capacity Building, Cooperation and Partnerships in the cross -border Context III. Nature Protection (including Biodiversity)

I INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND DATA SHARING

II CAPACITY BUILDING, COOPERATION AND PARTNERSHIPS IN THE CROSS -BORDER CONTEXT III NATURE PROTECTION

NEXT STEPS Further development of the proposed project ideas is needed - Development of a REReP Sub-Programme for Cross-border cooperation in SEE Activities to be coordinated and facilitated by REC All comments on project ideas should be addressed to REReP secretariat