Brussels, 07/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Neighbourhood Policy for 16 partner countries (Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine and the Palestinian Authority) is 'seriously deficient when it comes to specific activities and mechanisms' for the environment, explained the World Wild Life group (WWF, formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund) at a conference on 'Greening the European Neighbourhood Policy' (ENP) at the European Parliament in Brussels on 5/6 December. The ENP certainly mentions sustainable development as one of the its four key objectives, but the WWF has 'grave concerns' that this is not being put into practice, with few mechanisms to meet the EU's commitments to sustainable development as approved by the 17 June 2005 European Constitution or 'ensuring that the EU environmental acquis is fully integrated into all economic sectors that are supported by the ENP'. The WWF points out that there is a lack of clear targets and sufficient funding for environmental protection. It suggests implementing the EU's sustainable development objectives, ensuring coherence of the ENP with other EU policies having a direct impact on the environment (like farming and food security, energy and transport), with special budgets for environmental programmes. To date, the draft European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument, or ENPI, the ENP's financial instrument, has no specific budget for either regional or thematic environmental protection programmes. The WWF says this is a fundamental shortcoming that has to be addressed, adding that funding must be planned for the long-term, or at least for a ten year period. It recommends environmental issues are incorporated as a priority in cross-border cooperation programmes and civil society is given better access to environmental information and participation.
A report commissioned by the WWF from the Institute for European Environmental Policy, unveiled at a press conference on 5/6 December, suggests that the current ENP is over-focussed on ensuring continuity of supply of fossil fuels rather than looking at promoting renewable energy and combatting climate change.
Another criticism voiced at the conference concerns the management of water resources in the three ENP countries in the Middle East - Israel, Palestine and the Lebanon. Water is crucial for economic development and preventing wars in the region, but is not treated prominently in any of the ENP Action Plans drawn up by the Commission, explained Gidon Bromberg, Director of Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoE Middle East).