The process of accession to the European Union, achieving EU standards, fulfilling the criteria, negotiating chapters – these are the concepts that plagued us last week from the front pages and social networks. The European Commission has published a long-awaited Progress Report on Serbia in the process of European integration, giving its assessment of how we have shown on this path from the previous report, which was published in November 2016. In the sea of phrases and platitudes of high diplomacy, the essence of the word is hidden - what does that all mean for us? Why does the EU require some kind of progress from us, how it measures it, and how far have we actually come?
Serbia is in the process of Eurointegration since 2001, and in 2008 a Stabilization and Association Agreement was signed between the European Union and its member states on the one hand, and Serbia on the other. To reach the ultimate goal - EU membership – we have to adopt the Community acquis deployed in 35 chapters (of which we have opened 12 so far, while we have temporarily closed 2). Among the negotiating chapters, Chapter 27 is - they say - the most expensive, most complicated, most important, most demanding. They say - 10 billion euros. Or 15. And when it's already so - they say - we can not deal with it seriously now, we better solve some easier, more important and urgent issues. And we will consider Chapter 27 later on when we reach the goal. And what is actually this chapter 27? You are sitting on the riverbank – you are fishing, and in addition to the trout, you cought a plastic bottle and waste from a nearby slaughterhouse (because inspection supervision in Serbia is insufficient, and the implementation of the penal policy is poor). This is chapter 27.You are bathing at the local river island, where you've been bathing your whole life. A few days later, you notice a swelling on your left leg; The doctor says - infection, you were exposed to bacteria of faecal origin (because in Serbia waste water is most often discharged directly into rivers, without purification). Do not swim more on the river island, where you've been bathing your whole life. The river is too polluted. This is chapter 27.
It is December, and you live in Valjevo, Užice, Pančevo or Lazarevac. Your child has asthma and for the thousandth time this winter you are in the doctor's waiting room. Reports say - polluted air exceeds the upper limit values, and it affects your child and yourself. This is chapter 27. Right next to your house, a new road is being built, and the forest that once stood there has been cut down. You do not know whether and how it will affect your health, water quality and air quality. Nobody asked you anything, and you could only see the notice of this construction if you had gone to the municipal noticeboard. Where, otherwise, you have never even had the need to go. This is chapter 27.
How far have we come, what kind of evaluation did we receive from the EU when it comes to environmental conditions? According to the Report - we have not made much progress since 2016. Somehow, we are stuck in the assessment that we have reached "a certain level of preparedness" in this area. What does it mean? It means that we are not ready to fully transfer EU legal acquis in the field of environmental protection to our legal system, and also that we don’t even apply fully this system that we have.
First of all, we have not provided a stable system of financing environmental protection. The Green Fund, which was supposed to start operating in early 2017, still does not work in April 2018. This means that all those works on landfill treatment, wastewater treatment, protection of species and habitats, and the improvement of the air quality that are ahead of us - for which finance is needed – stand still. Or they are done very slow and with a limited scope. This is one of the European Commission's main recommendations from the previous report, which is being repeated this year. We did not make progress.
Chapter 27 also regulates the manner in which environmental decisions are taken and ensures participation by all stakeholders in this process. Public hearings continue to be conducted sporadically, and their quality depends on the competence and intention of the administrative body that conducts the discussion, especially at the local level. Laws that regulate criminal offenses and liability for environmental damage have not yet been passed. We did not make much progress.
The European Commission received air quality reports that show an alarming degree of pollution in some cities in Serbia. Alarming. An unusually strong word for a commonly mild diplomatic dictionary. Furthermore, the air quality monitoring system is unreliable. Alarming. We did not make much progress.Waste management is assessed by the Commission in almost the same terms. Still in the early stages of implementation. From 2016 to today. Which means - we still have landfilling as the dominant waste management method, we still have a large number of dumpsites and a low percentage of waste that we recycle. We did not make much progress.
In the area of water management, besides the adoption of the Water Management Strategy, also - you are guessing - we have not made much progress. In nature protection we are in the same place. Industrial pollution and risk management also did not go much farther than the previous areas. The report says - the harmonization of regulations is at an early stage. Not to talk about the application of regulations. We did not make much progress.
Lastly, in the case of climate change, it seems that we have made visible progress. We ratified the Paris Agreement, completed the Draft Law on Climate Change, which should regulate the method of monitoring and reporting the level of greenhouse gas emissions. The Strategy For Combating Climate Change with the Action Plan is in the final stages of development. We submitted the Second National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Finally progress, right? Until we read the continuation saying that the accuracy of the data we have presented has to be improved. Reading between the lines - we did not really say the truth. And we did not make much progress.
Chapter 27 is nothing but the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the quality of life we live in health. Or in illness. And the fact that it will cost us so much is that, as a state, we have regarded the environment for decades as a consumer goods that has no economic value. Now it's time to repair the damage that we made ourselves.
And we need to ask the right question - and how much does it cost if we do not invest in environmental protection? How much do the health consequences of air pollution cost? How much do damages caused by climate change cost? How much did the flood cost? A lot? And does our health and our future cost more than or equal to those 10 billion? European Union standards require a healthy environment for their citizens. We should requre the same thing for ourselves – we, the citizens of Serbia - whether we are part of the EU or not. And we must not accept a situation in which we have not made much progress.
Mirjana Jovanović, Belgrade Open School
This piece was originally published on the portal "Istinomer"
Photo sourece: Canva
- https://www.istinomer.rs/clanak/2315/Zastita-zivotne-sredine-nismo-mnogo-napredovali