EU concerned about waste management

“There has been a certain progress with the waste management. There was approved a national strategy. However, the law for the waste management has not been approved yet. No procedure was established for the management and control of the uncontrolled landfills and dump sites, which remain the main location for the wastes. The implementation of the decision for enabling the import of waste materials to be recycled should be seen very carefully by the authorities.”

The environmental protection progress is considered modest, while nothing has been made for the unwanted noise reduction in urban areas.

“There is a modest progress in the environment protection, but there has been no progress in the acoustic pollution policies”.

As for the climate changes, the Commission has reached the conclusion that the country has not formulated any promise for reducing the level of harmful gases.

“On a national scale, Albania has fulfilled the Copenhagen Agreement, but no promise was formulated for the reduction of gas emissions”.

The Commission’s conclusions for the environmental issue assesses Albania’s fulfillment of the international standards.

“There has been small progress in general with the legislative developments and the adaptation of the European legislation for the environment. The implementation and enforcement should be improved in all sectors. As for the climate changes, there has been no progress and further efforts are needed for enforcing the administrative capabilities. The lack of public awareness and the necessary advising for legislative initiatives hampers the transparency and law enforcement. Cooperation between institutions for protecting the environment and the climate changes remains poor. The preparations in the environmental area are still in the initial phase, while the preparations in the climate changes are in a very initial phase.”

If the country would face the problem of radioactive waste management, the nuclear safety area and radiation protection is analyzed at the Report chapter for the energy. After noting the treatments and the convents signed by the Parliament, the Commission declares that Albania doesn’t fulfill the international standards for managing radioactive waste materials, for which there is no strategy yet.

“Further efforts are needed for implementing the European legislation ‘Euroatom’. The coordination of the new regulatory development with the European legislation remains to be verified. The capacity of the regulatory authorities is still insufficient for implementing and enforcing this legislation according the international standards. The preparations for the projection of a national strategy and the policies for managing radioactive wastes are still in an initial phase. The collection points for these wastes are not licensed yet in accordance with the international standards, and their location near populated areas is a concern.”

The country’s adaptation with the European legislation, differently known as “Acquis Communitaire” in the environmental and waste management area, remains in the initial phases and far from the EU standards, the report says.

Prepared by Arta Tozaj, Brussels

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