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Ecologic Newsletter No 29 - July 2005

Ecologic Newsletter No 29 - July 2005

Ecologic Institute Newsletter
  1. Ecologic Brief: The European Neighbourhood Policy – Challenges for Environmental and Energy Policy
  2. Danube River Basin Stakeholder Conference – Documentation online
  3. Wilton Park British German Forum 2005 - Britain and Germany and the USA: Friends Reunited? 
  4. The Need for New Monitoring Tools to Implement the WFD - Publication
  5. (Dis-)proportionality of Costs in the Decision on Exemptions - Lecture
  6. Assessing the Cost-Effectiveness of Environmental Policies in Europe - Lecture
  7. Transatlantic Environmental Relations at the Subnational Level - Lecture
  8. Ökoprofit-Project provides new impulses for environmental management at Ecologic

1. Ecologic Brief: The European Neighbourhood Policy – Challenges for Environmental and Energy Policy
With the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), the European Union aims to redefine the relationships between itself and the new neighbours it acquired in the EU Enlargement of 2004. Economic integration remains at the heart of the ENP, but increased co-operation in the areas of environmental and energy policy is addressed as well. This Ecologic Newsletter by Sascha Müller-Kraenner examines this important issue and also surveys questions that the EU and its new neighbours will need to address together.
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2. Danube River Basin Stakeholder Conference – Documentation online
On Danube Day 2005, about 100 stakeholders from the entire Danube River Basin convened on 28-29 June 2005 in Budapest on invitation of the International Commission for the Protection of the River Danube (ICPDR). Participants learned about ICPDR activities and provided feedback on the ‘2004 Roof Report’, which had been prepared to meet the official reporting requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive. The conference contributed to a common understanding of the challenges lying ahead and formed an important basis for tackling them in future. The full documentation of the conference is now available on the internet.
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3. Wilton Park British German Forum 2005 - Britain and Germany and the USA: Friends Reunited?
In light of the Iraq war, divergent climate change policies, trade negotiations and the fight against international terrorism, the transatlantic relationship between the European Union, its respective member states, and the USA have been put to the test in recent years,. On 11-15 July 2005, the „Britain and Germany and the USA: Friends Reunited?“ question was discussed at the 20th Wilton Park British German Forum (BGF). Dr. Camilla Bausch, Senior Fellow at Ecologic and member of the Ecologic Legal Team, was nominated by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to take part in this year’s BGF.
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4. The Need for New Monitoring Tools to Implement the WFD - Publication
In order to meet reporting requirements linked to environmental legislation, policy makers are increasingly in need of accurate and timely information on water quality. This paper explores how and to what extent new monitoring devices can help European Union members meet the special requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD).
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5. (Dis-)proportionality of Costs in the Decision on Exemptions - Lecture
The international workshop "Implementing the Economic Aspects of the WFD - Future Challenges in the Elbe River Basin" took place in Leipzig on 7-8 July 2005 and was mainly organised by Ecologic Associate Britta Pielen. In the course of the workshop, Benjamin Görlach gave an overview of the Member States' current approaches to assessing disproportionate costs in implementing the European Water Framework Directive.
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6. Assessing the Cost-Effectiveness of Environmental Policies in Europe - Lecture
Along with the emphasis on better regulation and lean governance in the European Union and its Member States, there has been renewed interest in policy evaluation and impact assessment. One of the main criteria in this context is cost-effectiveness, which demonstrates that environmental objectives have been achieved - or will be achieved - at least cost. At the EASY-ECO conference "Impact Assessment for a New Europe and Beyond", Benjamin Görlach was invited to present some insights on state of the art  ex-post  assessments  of the cost-effectiveness of environmental policies.
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7. Transatlantic Environmental Relations at the Subnational Level - Lecture
Local and regional institutions are essential for effectively tackling local environmental problems and for implementing policies that address global environmental challenges. In recent years, a number of transatlantic partnerships between regional and local institutions have evolved in order to change information and best practices in the environmental policy area. The Heinrich Boell Foundation organised an informal dinner on 12 July 2005 during which Ecologic Fellow Markus Knigge gave a speech on the role, the functioning and the effectiveness of transatlantic environmental partnerships, and discussed his findings with the participants present.
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8. Ökoprofit-Project provides new impulses for environmental management at Ecologic
Since the beginning of 2005, Ecologic has been participating in the Ökoprofit-Project, which is sponsored by the Berlin Senate for Urban Development. Ökoprofit is a modular training project in the area of environmental management for the manufacturing  and service industries in Berlin.
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