Environmental Community Policy aims at upholding long-lived development and at preserving the natural setting intact to the very benefit of both the extant and the yet unborn generations. It goes upon integrating environmental protection into the remaining Community Policies, taking staving-off steps, observing the &ldquo;damage paying polluter&rdquo; principle, fighting environmental pollution at its factual origin and partaking of charges. The acquis communitaire counts in over 200 regulative settlements which cover such areas as: the horizontal legislation, fouling and air-defilement issues, waste and dry-salter management problems, biotechnology, environmental protection, industrial defilement and risk management problems, noise-protection routines and radiation-defence systems

Ionescu, Victor

English

Danubius University, Romania: Danubius Journals

ŒCONOMICA   9   THE ENVIRONMENT -A CRUCIAL COMPONENT OF LONG-LIVED UPSURGE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION   Professor Romeo-Victor IONESCU, PhD “Danubius” University from Galati    Abstract: Environmental Community Policy aims at upholding long-lived development and at preserving the natural setting intact to the very benefit of both the extant and the yet unborn generations. It goes upon integrating environmental protection into the remaining Community Policies, taking staving-off steps, observing the “damage paying polluter” principle, fighting environmental pollution at its factual origin and partaking of charges. The acquis communitaire counts in over 200 regulative settlements which cover such areas as: the horizontal legislation, fouling and air-defilement issues, waste and dry-salter management problems, biotechnology, environmental protection, industrial defilement and risk management problems, noise-protection routines and radiation-defence systems.  Keywords: European Union, Community Policies, environmental acquis, environmental aspects Jel Classification: F - International Economics, F1 – Trade, F15 - Economic Integration   The complying with the acquis communitaire rules may be looked at as requiring significant investments; however the result is to be highly benefited by the health-care system and derives in reducing the expensive defacing of buildings, and the costly damage to forests, natural settings, fishing areas and so on. In view of implementing and enforcing the environmental acquis, the existence of a stark and a well-equipped administration at the local, regional as well as national levels has definitely to be considered as an indispensable issue.  Romania made some progress in transposing legislation and advanced in implementing and enforcing it. It did particularly take steps in planning and strengthening its administrative capacities in this specific area. ACTA UNIVERSITATIS DANUBIUS                                                       Nr. 1/2005   10  As for the integration of environmental aspects into the other policies, there could not be noticed any significant progress. The Inter-Ministry Board, which was set up to coordinate and sanction sector policies and strategies, did convene only once within the period of reference.   Horizontal legislation witnessed the ratification of settlements aiming at E.I.A. (Environmental Impact Assessment) procedures and S.E.A. (Strategy for Environmental Assessment) directions. A public-counselling conduct followed by an implementing guide was also established.  Air quality was also paid a great deal of interest, and this domain recorded an upsurge, especially with the endorsement of the legal settlements that were to implement aspects regarding the sulphur content of oil fuels, the instituting of surveillance authorities, the emissions of volatile compounds together with the conditions for marketing gasohol and diesel fuels. A preliminary air-quality assessment was made and a network monitoring the same air quality was set up with concern in certain agglomerations. The procedures to be further used in working out and implementing air-quality management plans were promulgated and then followed by the national strategy and the national plan of action to protecting the atmosphere.  The waste management sector witnessed the ratification of normative settlements regarding waste transport and technical settlements concerning farming refuse. The national strategy and the plan of action in the waste administration sector municipal dumps could also be noticed to have been the subject of an accurate updating. The Ministry of Environment and Water Management was assigned to and held responsible for the waste transport activities. The closing and rebuilding of extant dumps along with locating new ones are being considered at the moment.  Water Quality Standards were observed as well, in so far as the Water Management Law was emended to comply with the Frame Water Management Directive, and the legislation concerning drinkable water founts was itself subject to further emendation. There were also sanctioned several regulative settlements with respect to the integrated system monitoring nitrate pollution and to upholding farming pollution monitoring programmes. Rules and regulations on monitoring water quality standards were also enacted and aimed at perilous substances as well as at the water bottling hygiene. Considering urban water purifiers, Romania did plain fully make use of its adaptness to enlist its entire territory as a tender area. Several agglomeration-concerned plans of action were indicted along with an assessment of the present infrastructure used in transporting polluted water. A whole ŒCONOMICA   11methodology was worked out in so far as the marking of critical nitrate-polluted nearby water areas was concerned.  As for preserving the natural setting, one might notice the progress made in setting up the Nature 2000 Network and in transposing regulative settlements specific to the field at issue.  Industrial pollution and risk management may be as well on the spot, as the ratification of rule-implementing settlements, including here the remittance of integrated environmental clearances or licences, ought to be approached in terms of progress.  The inventory of verifiable outfit services and of merged pollution-obviating operations was re-examined, and a minutely-detailed assessment of the respective outfitting was also accomplished. A first drill in elaborating a record book of all polluting effusions was also completed.  The study of chemicals and genetically altered organisms knew a certain development as well. Several regulative settlements concerning ozone non-friendly substances were enacted, and the updated national programme to be used in removing these substances was also ratified.  The noise sector may also be dealt with in terms of progress. An assessment of environmental noise was proceeded to, along with identifying urban agglomerations, highways, railroads and airports considered as relevant to this particular point.  Nuclear safety and the protection against irradiation ought obviously to be connected to progress as a series of brand new specific settlements were enacted to protect the individual against irradiations. An inventory of all practices involving the ionized alpha exposure was worked out, together with drawing up a data basis to use in issuing authority clearances and allowances to transport radio-active materials.   In administrative capacity terms, one should point out that, in the last year, the environmental sector was affected by major institutional changes. After having merged with the Ministry of Agriculture in June 2003, it was in March 2004 that the Ministry of Environmental and Water Management was reconstituted as a separate entity. The National Agency for Environmental Protection and the light regional environmental agencies were set up to function in the same period, and the National Environmental Police was reorganized in 2004 as a control and surveillance authority.  Regarding the horizontal legislation, it is worth mentioning that environmental impact assessment procedures have been taken for workable yet, the ACTA UNIVERSITATIS DANUBIUS                                                       Nr. 1/2005   12 quality of impact assessment issues being notably improved. Nevertheless, the transposing of Community Regulations on environmental impact assessment must be carefully completed, hence the necessity of instructing and training operating authorities that are held responsible for this area of activity.  Air quality is further to be referred to in terms of completing the process of transposing Community Settlements that concern non-driving engine emissions. A whole range of air quality assessment operations must be completed, and the implementing plans, the same as the monitoring systems, ought to be worked out and enforced themselves.  Waste management sector is to be thoroughly reconsidered in terms of completing and harmonizing legislation, as far as waste dumps, crock vehicles and electronic or electric waste outfitting are concerned.  Law enforcement is another sector to reconsider by strengthening national and municipal management capacities, so as to ensure a proper inter-authority co-ordination. The national waste management plan along with its regionally-corresponding programmes must be approved; a series of waste collecting systems must be set up, and the enacting of several easy terms in restoring and depositing waste materials has be considered accordingly.  Regarding the quality of water, one may notice the urge to finalize the introducing of the acquis communautaire in discharging dangerous substances in surface water flows. As to the law implementing process, the focus is on the need to complete the working out of inventories and programmes as well as the elaboration of monitoring systems.  The national surface water quality monitoring network will spread so as to ensure the monitoring of all dangerous substances as well as the matrix diversity in monitoring sediments and dregs, in compliance with the already enforced Romanian settlements, however with restriction to the Danube and to ICPDR sources. The spreading of the above activities depends on the Romanian financial capacities and does, by no means, require special institutional reforms, but only redirecting and resizing the existing institutions at central and regional levels. This is to be achieved by a Government Decision fully intended to re-organize the national surface water monitoring network, co-ordinated by a National Surface Water Monitoring Centre, which is to be subservient to the Central Water Management Authority.  The natural setting protection area has itself witnessed a sequence of data-collecting operations aiming at marking high protection bird-populated territories and the efforts made in working out a catalogue of community-relevant locations to be used in completing the Nature 2000 network afterwards. The ones drawn into the ŒCONOMICA   13above topic should first endeavour to grow aware of its significance and then to involve themselves as well as participate in the implementing formalities; management capacities must also be strengthened in consideration of preparing precautionary measures.  As for industry and risk management issues, they witness the need to finalize the transposing process above, especially in dealing with waste cremation operations and with large combustion equipments and volatile compounds derived from organic solvents. Further efforts are necessary to ensure the issuing of environmental licences. A national programme to be used in establishing a top limit of the effusion scale must definitely be worked out. According to European Union regulations, industry is responsible for avoiding the producing of waste and for waste control when total avoiding is impossible.  “Environmental friendly” is not supposed to stand for “opposing industry”, but meant to point out the opportunity to stimulate innovation and reduce inefficiency.  Chemicals and organisms having suffered genetic alterations are also to be dealt with in terms of needing to complete biocide-oriented rules and regulations. Further efforts are to be taken as far as ozone non-friendly substances are concerned, including here the risk assessment of extant substances and import-export activities involving dangerous chemical matters.  As for the noise sector, it witnesses the necessity to complete the transposing process bearing on the assessment and management of the environmental noise.  Nuclear safety and alpha protection are in terms of completing the above transposing process, especially regarding supervising radioactive waste transport activities. Romania must integrate the environmental protection requirements into defining and implementing all other extant strategies, as well as promoting long-lived development. In the view of implementing environmental acquis communautaire rules, those massive investments, including medium ones, must be ensured.  The European Environmental Commission concluded that Romania must pay a greater deal of attention to environmental matters, it must implement environmental strategies and working programmes, significantly increase financial resources and, finally, it must strengthen its administrative capacity. It has been assessed that, if such a strategy is proceeded to, it will be possible for medium and long-term environmental acquis communautaire terms to be transposed. To carry out a proper legal conformity, major investments and an extremely long-term massive ACTA UNIVERSITATIS DANUBIUS                                                       Nr. 1/2005   14 administrative effort are necessary (for instance as far as such legal problems as those bearing on waste water treatment, drinking water management, and waste management and air-pollution factors are concerned).  Romania witnessed a significant progress in limning up its legal enactments to the acquis communautaire rules, in most of its environmental sectors and also in making preparations in the view of carrying out a proper enforcement of these enactments. Romania reached a satisfying level of legal alignment and made several decisions in the view of strengthening its administrative capacities. It has begun to enforce policies aiming at implementing the environmental acquis communautaire, however a total implementing remained still a major challenge, the investment sector definitely being a case in this point. Romania has required transaction periods for ten directions (concerning the control of all volatile organic compound effusions resulting from: depositing oil, packing activities and packing waste materials, waste depositing activities, electric and electronic waste outfitting, the treatment of town polluted water, the overflowing of dangerous substances in surface water sectors, drinking water quality, forestalling pollution activities and integrated control parameters, air-polluting effusions originated in the industrial activity of large waste-cremation equipments) and for a set of Regulations on waste transport supervision and control operations.  European Union adhering preparations point out to complete the transposing process regarding certain horizontal legislation aspects, along with air quality, waste management, water quality, industrial pollution, chemical substances, noise problems, nuclear safety and the protection against irradiations.  Adhering to European Union standards is not only to help cleaning the environment, but also to set up more efficient industries and to obtain higher value added products.  Even if this process is complex and difficult to accomplish, it will be necessary for each candidate state to adopt these legal settlements and to ensure its capacity of achieving them, in order to comply with the notably strict European Union requirements, before becoming a member. 

The Environment - A Crucial Component of Long-Lived Upsurge in the European Union

http://journals.univ-danubius.ro/index.php/oeconomica/article/download/11/8

The Environment - A Crucial Component of Long-Lived Upsurge in the European Union

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