Loading ...Four major infrastructure projects in the water sector, in a value of approximately 470 million euros awaiting the approval of Brussels, six similar projects and a good dissemination of information regarding the program are a few of the achievements of the Ministry of the Environment in 2007.
In an interview published by the euROpeanul, Environment Minister Attila Korodi stated that the Environment Sector Operational Programme had received a positive feedback from the European Commission (EC), being among the first of its kind approved for Romania.
According to him, the nearly 60 different projects mainly in the sectors of water, used water and waste represent a major achievement that has made it possible to send the four large projects to Brussels. “Given the financial allocation of the Operational Programme for the Sector of Environment and the fact that payments can be made per projects until the end of 2015, we can anticipate an ideal spending rate of around 600 million euros per year” said Korodi.
He further stated that the information in connection with the European funds had been disseminated in specific ways such as the distribution of material, meetings of potential beneficiaries and of the public with the environment authorities, agencies and NGOs, in the press, and, for a good spending rate in 2008, the minister intends to promote the programme by audio and TV campaigns, by organizing conferences, etc.
The head of the European Affairs Department (DAE), Adrian Ciocanea on January 15 stated that he had asked the Romanian Ambassador to the EU, Lazar Comanescu, to set up an appointment with the European Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union, Laszlo Kovacs, on the vehicle registration charge topic.
He informed that the Romanian delegation would also include one secretary of state form the Ministry of Economy and one from the Ministry of the Environment.
At its last meeting in January, the Government will turn the vehicle registration charge into an environment charge and will direct the money to the old car scrapping Rabla. Programme and to CO2 emission reducing projects (forestation, establishment of parks, financing renewable energy sources) according to the Minister of the Environment, Attila Korodi, quoted by Rompres, and Prime-Minister Tariceanu informed that the charge would be indirectly proportional with the age of the vehicle.
Economy Minister Varujan Vosganian January 14 stated that the Romanian authorities and the EC officials would complete discussions on the car registration charge by the following week. After that, the final values will be determined and the draft law will be prepared.
The EC next week will propose that Romania and Bulgaria should receive a more generous treatment with the allocation of CO2 emission quotas because they are in the most urgent need for making up for their delays of economic development, according to EU sources quoted by The Money Channel. According to the Environment Minister, next week, the Romanian Government will decide on the reduced polluting emission quotas to industrial operators, proportionally and for each installation, for 2008.
DAE head Adrian Ciocanea on January 15 said that Romania had no reasons to stop its legal action against the EC over the polluting emission quotas indicating that the notification sent to the EC on that might have not reached the institution because of the seasonal holiday period.
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