Skopje, 7 July 2023 (MIA) - The key findings from the bilateral screening on Chapter 27 – Environment and Climate Change, as part of Cluster 4, which took place over the past five days at the European Commission’s HQ in Brussels, showed that the country is on the right track, that in some areas it is in advanced stage, but in others it is in an initial stage or is faced with strong challenges in further aligning national legislation with the EU acquis.

The areas of waste management and water management have been identified as the most demanding areas for implementation, both in terms of finances and human resources, the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning said in a press release on Friday.

Taking into consideration that Chapter 27 is one of the most complex and expensive to invest in, the country is encouraged to continue primarily investing in human capacities. The EU representatives confirmed their readiness for financial support of the process, but it was underlined that the funds that will be intended for support must be efficiently and purposely to be absorbed. Moreover, the country is encouraged to respond to all invitations to participate in the European Commission’s expert working groups, reads the press release.

The Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning said that the bilateral screening on Chapter 27 - Environment and Climate Change included 75 presentations on the latest status of compliance of the national legislation in relation to the EU legislation in the areas: horizontal legislation, air, waste, water, chemicals, control of industrial emissions, nature protection, civil protection, forestry and climate change and around seventy topics were covered.

In addition, the plans of the country were presented until full alignment in each individual topic, and challenges that will follow in the process of the country's EU accession were discussed.

“Bilateral meeting with EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, was particularly useful, at which the agreement on the participation of the Republic of North Macedonia in the LIFE programme was signed, which opened access to new financial instruments of the EU.

EU Commissioner Sinkevičius noted progress in the area of waste management and nature protection and expressed expectations for the improvement of the water sector by making more efforts to implement the significant investments provided for this sector,” reads the press release.

Deputy chief EU negotiator Drita Abdiu Halili and Minister of Environment and Physical Planning Kaja Shukova headed the delegation.

The state delegation for this chapter consisted of representatives from several institutions, namely: Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, State Environmental Inspectorate, Secretariat for European Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Economy, Food and Veterinary Agency, State Sanitary and Health Inspectorate, State Market Inspectorate, Protection and Rescue Directorate, National Hydrometeorological Service, State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption and Agency for Real Estate Cadastre.

The European Commission will prepare a screening report in the coming period, after which plans with future steps will be prepared.

Photo: Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning