There is obviously no easy way out of the economic crisis for the EU. What is certain however, is that although certain fiscal indicators have shown slight improvement, critical parametres of social welfare and natural capital conservation have rapidly deteriorated. The natural environment is seen by troubled member states as an infinite resource for quick economic recovery. This is clear evidence that the current political recipe is not intertwi...

According to a draft report from the European Commission’s Task Force for Greece (TFGR), Greece is strongly advised to proceed with sweeping legalisation of illegal buildings and land uses, regardless of how these were created and their environmental impact. The document, which summarises the views expressed by the TFGR in a technical meeting with the services of the Cadastre, was described in media reports as support to the Government’s pol...

Undermining nature conservation legislation in times of a global crisis is contagious even to countries that remain unaffected by the economic downturn.  The draft law on biodiversity conservation which was prepared by the Turkish Government in 2003 within the context of a GEF supported project, recently re-surfaced. However, the new version of the “Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Law” is far from the aim its title declares. In fact, t...

The European Commission’s proposal for a two-year suspension on neonicotinoid insecticides reached no qualified majority during the March 15th vote at a Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health : despite the fact that 13 member states voted in favour, 9 voted against and 5 abstained.  According to the European Food and Safety Authority, which in January 2013 concluded a project to assess bee surveillance systems in the EU and to...

As the global economic crisis has saddled the EU’ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) with a crushing oversupply of emissions credits and historically low prices, the European Parliament rejected the Commission’s proposal to offer a much needed bail out to its carbon market. The ETS, originally established as “a cornerstone of the European Union's policy to combat climate change and its key tool for reducing industrial greenhouse gas emissions...

The Commission's proposal for a “Green Paper – A 2030 framework for climate and energy policies”, which will be in public consultation until July, received a mixed reception, with some MEPs saying that it lacks ambition. Electricity industries, such as the associations Eurogas and Eurelectric, insist that the paper lacks specific targets and coherent measures. Renewable energy associations, such as wind EWEA and solar EPIA, call for targe...

In numerous dynamic protests in many cities of Romania, one of the poorest EU member states, thousands of citizens voiced a strong “no” to the plans of Chevron to drill for shale gas (CrisisWatch12). After winning a majority vote of confidence at the Parliament in December 2012, the government of Victor Ponta softened its pre-election position against hydraulic fracturing for shale gas (fracking) and decided to end the moratorium that had be...

The January 22nd decision of the European Council to allow 11 member states to launch a tax on financial transactions through enhanced cooperation is facing serious pressure both from “inside” and “outside”. Italy, a member of the 11 states participating in the FTT enhanced cooperation process, expresses fears for short-term negative impacts on sovereign bonds.  The UK, supported by Luxembourg, is launching legal action at the European...

According to 2011 data published by Eurostat on waste management, the volume of material recycling in crisis-hit EU member states has dropped to pre-2009 levels (figures shown in table below). An overall reduction in per capita waste generation is also evident in the data published by Eurostat, as a result of reduced consumption. ...

European Commission: Commission concludes in-depth reviews of macroeconomic imbalances in 13 Member States (10 April 2013). Olli Rehn, Vice-President of the European Commission. Europe’s Recovery from the Debt Crisis (19 April 2013). International Monetary Fund. The IMF and Environmental Policy. (29 March 2013). International Monetary Fund. IMF Sees Strong Growth, Lingering Risks in Low-Income Countries. (26 April 2013). Internation...