The report on progress, in the part concerning the environment and climate change, is the most objective and the best so far, it was evaluated by the Government and the non-governmental sector.
While the Government claims that they are very satisfied with the Report and that it showed progress, Coalition 27, which gathers environmental NGOs, says that it proved their claims that the environment is not at the top of the state's priorities, despite the imminent opening of Chapter 27.
The head of the negotiating group for Chapter 27, Ivana Vojinović, states that there were no unpleasant surprises in this year's report and that this area is still at the top of the work priorities.
"The EC paid considerable attention to the issue of nature protection and the establishment of the Natura 2000 network of protected habitats. The process of mapping habitats and species in order to establish the Natura 2000 network has been started, IPA projects are being prepared through which we will continue to map the remaining part of the territory of our country, etc. We agree with the statement that efforts to establish marine protected areas must be intensified. We are also working on the declaration of new protected terrestrial areas. In 2017 alone, we declared two new protected areas, the "Dragišnica and Komarnica" Nature Park and the "Cijevne Canyon" nature monument. With this, at this moment, we have protected more than 15 percent of the territory of Montenegro," Vojinović said.
She said that intensive work is being done on the protection of the Saltworks.
"We gave this a special priority and did almost everything, through the preparation of a comprehensive protection study, ensuring the protection of the area of the Saltworks through the adopted PUP for the municipality of Ulcinj, the model of temporary management, protection and supervision by the Public Enterprise for National Parks (JPNPCG), investing in the repair of the pump system...", said Vojinović.
She stated that she was happy that the EC noted a large number of regulations that were adopted during 2017 and thus achieved considerable harmonization with the EU acquis, as well as progress in the areas of air quality, horizontal legislation, noise and industrial pollution.
"The EC also highlighted the elements of progress in the field of water. We would especially emphasize the observed improvement of cooperation with the NGO sector", Vojinović said.
The Coalition stated that the Report contains confirmation of the assessments and positions expressed last week in their Shadow Report
"The EC's assessments that Montenegro has achieved a certain level of readiness and a certain level of progress in the process of harmonizing domestic legislation with the European one, but that significant efforts are needed to implement it, especially in the sectors of water, nature protection and waste, fully coincide with our views that in the previous year, progress was made in harmonizing the legislation, but that it was not followed by adequate implementation. Because of this, Coalition 27 reiterated its position that the environment and climate change are still not high enough on the Government's priority list," said the secretary of the Coalition, Jelena Marojević-Galić.
The Coalition states that, like the NGO sector and the EC, Montenegro emphasized the need for Montenegro to ensure the independence of the work of this institution after the merger of the Environmental Protection Agency with the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism.
"When it comes to the need for independence in the functioning of the Agency for Nature and Environmental Protection, we point out that it has been ensured by the new model of the organization since last year. The Agency is still the key implementing body and has retained all the executive powers and activities assigned to it by special regulations and which it has had since its establishment, such as issuing all permits in the field of the environment, conducting environmental monitoring, conducting impact assessment procedures and strategic assessments impact on the environment, informing the public, etc. Also, the Agency's budget was increased in 2018 by four percent compared to 2017, and for the implementation of the monitoring program, an increase in financial resources was provided by as much as 21 percent," Vojinović said.
The Coalition states that, assessing that there has been no progress in the area of waste management, the EC has confirmed the views of NGOs that this area is one of the most difficult to harmonize and that it is necessary to make a decision as soon as possible on the method of waste management and disposal in order to start as soon as possible with investments in infrastructure and its construction, especially in the area of separate waste collection and recycling.
"As the European Commission pointed out, we must work more significantly in the field of waste management, with the aim of establishing a well-organized system of waste management, ensuring the selection of individual fractions of waste, in accordance with legal obligations, as well as obligations from the National Strategy for Chapter 27. Through changes to the State of the waste management plan that will be sent to the Government by the end of this month, a waste management model for the entire country will be provided. Regarding the remediation of waste disposal sites, the remediation of the largest ones is ongoing, e.g. Ćafe in Bar, Vrtijeljka in Cetinje, Vasove vode in Berane", Vojinović said.
She stated that, when it comes to securing the necessary financial resources, the Eco-Fund will be established this year.
The Coalition says that the EC's assessment is that there is an evident lack of administrative and financial capacities that lead to delays in the implementation of the National Strategy for Chapter 27.
In the report, like the NGO sector, the EC highlighted insufficient inspection and prosecution capacities for adequate implementation of the Directive on responsibility for environmental damage and the Directive on eco-crime, the implementation of which is still at an early stage.
Progress in the area of water was assessed as limited, and like the NGO sector and the EC, it emphasized the pronounced negative impact of waste water as the main source of pollution.
Coalition 27 expressed particular concern due to the significant delay in the protection of the Salt Flats, as well as due to numerous infrastructure plans foreseen in protected and valuable natural areas (Porto Skadar, mHE). The EC also stated that potential investments in hydropower and tourist flows must meet the requirements of nature protection.
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