Opening ceremony of Twinning project

Press Release

Strengthening the capacities for control of transboundary movement of waste

On Tuesday, 11 September 2012, 3 p.m. at the Chamber of Economy (council hall), Roosveltov trg 2, Zagreb the formal opening ceremony of Twinning project “Strengthening the capacities for control of transboundary movement of waste” will be held.

Mr. Mihael Zmajlović, Minister, Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection, Mr. Hrvoje Dokoza, Deputy Minister and SPO, Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection, H.E. Paul Vandoren, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Goran Heffer, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection and H.E. Andrea Ikić Böhm, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria will address the audience. Subsequently, high-level representatives of the Twinning partners will present the project.

The purpose of this project is to build up capacity for enforcement of the provisions of national and international regulations regarding transboundary movement of waste and to improve performance of the Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection as well as other relevant project stakeholders.

The Republic of Croatia, as a future member of the EU must take the necessary measures to ensure efficient implementation and enforcement of the EU environmental acquis. Croatian and international experts from Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Poland and Greece will work together towards efficient implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 on shipments of waste.

The project, with a budget of 1,160,000 EUR, is financed by the European Union under the IPA 2009 Programme and co-financed by the Republic of Croatia and will last until February 2014.

Under Component 1 of the project which focuses on the development of procedures for coordinated enforcement of the regulation related to transboundary movement of waste and supporting materials (manual, waste catalogue and information toolkit), the following activities will be carried out:

• Development of Procedures for coordinated enforcement of the regulations related to transboundary movement of waste between inspectors and other relevant stakeholder’s staff.
• Development of a Manual for coordinated enforcement of Regulation 1013/2006 and related provisions in the Waste Act and related bylaws.
• Development of a Waste Catalogue and an information toolkit.

The main activities of Component 2 which focuses on capacity building of environmental protection inspectors and other stakeholders for coordinated enforcement of the regulations related to transboundary movement of waste are:

• Design and implementation of a training programme for all target groups (environmental protection inspection, permit writers, customs, police, coast guard, port authorities, State Office for Radiation and Nuclear Safety)  to enhance efficient enforcement of the regulations related to transboundary movement of waste, combining indoor and on-the-job training.
• Production of a movie/DVD on inspections of transboundary movement of waste on border crossings.

Component 3 focuses on improvement of collaboration with project partners and INTERPOL and EUROPOL and comprises the following activities:

• Organization of meetings of the Working Group for collaboration with Interpol/Europol.
• Elaboration of recommendations for improving cooperation with Interpol and Europol in the area of transboundary movement of waste.

The project is of great importance for the Republic of Croatia in the framework of the EU Accession process and the aligning of relevant legislation to the acquis.

For more information:   
Ms. Anita Pokrovac Patekar, BC Project Leader, Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection, Phone: 01 3712 797,
Email: anita.pokrovac.patekar@mzopu.hr

Ms. Jela Bilandžija, RTA Assistant, Phone: 01 3712 851
Email: jela.bilandzija@mzoip.hr