BELGRADE – The EU’s environmental regulations and standards have been successfully transposed into Serbian law, but their implementation has been weak, it was said on Wednesday at the presentation of a post-screening document for Chapter 27, related to environmental protection.
Head of Serbia’s negotiating team in the EU accession talks Tanja Miscevic said at a meeting in the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) that the drawing up of a post-screening document has not been the practice in the EU accession talks so far.
“Before the official opening of Chapter 27, we were given an opportunity to present our plans and implementation possibilities at an early stage in negotiations,” said Miscevic.
Serbian State Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Stana Bozovic said that a third of Serbia’s financial and legislative obligations ensuing from the EU membership refer to environmental protection.
Successful implementation requires close cooperation with the business sector and local self-governments, which are expected to meet as much as 70 percent of the obligations in this field, Bozovic said.
“The European Commission said that we have three weak points – the funding of environmental protection, administrative capacities, and raising awareness of the public,” added Bozovic.
Head of the PKS Industry and Agriculture Division Jesa Ercic said that environmental protection is a complex and challenging issue for the Serbian economy.