commission action plan on compliance and...

Expert Group "Greening the European Semester / Environmental Implementation Review" 23 January 2018, Brussels

Commission Action Plan on Compliance and Governance

• EIR identifies weak compliance mechanisms as one root cause of poor implementation

• Demand for a high-level platform for expert exchanges and agenda-setting

• Stress on scope for experts working together

• Importance of training and knowledge sharing

• Need for EU guidance

• Practical challenges: crime, complaint handling, rural areas

• Importance of new technologies

KEY FINDINGS OF PREPARATORY STAGE

COMMISSION PACKAGE Commission Communication (COM(2018)10) Commission Staff Working Document (SWD(2018)10) Commission Decision establishing a new Commission Expert Group (C(2018)10) More information and a summary fact sheet available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/legal/compliance_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/legal/compliance_en.htm

Builds on (1) IMPEL peer reviews, (2) IMPEL joint enforcement actions and (3) EU Peer2Peer tool

Objectives: (1) deepen and widen thematic and geographical coverage of joint enforcement actions and peer reviews in discussion with IMPEL and other networks

(2) Improve other related approaches, e.g. compliance assurance visits, e.g. waste compliance promotion visits

ACTION 1: COMBINING FORCES

• Strong demand from professionals

• Efforts to date limited, e.g. COM training programme for

judges and prosecutors and networks activities

• Objective: first step to get IMPEL to take lead in identifying training needs

• Follow up with more effective training

ACTION 2: TRAINING

• Ensure a more complete and coherent COM web-presence

on environmental compliance assurance

• Publicise results of actions under the Action Plan

• Improve transparency generally

ACTION 3: KNOWLEDGE SHARING

• JHA Council Conclusions from 8 December 2016 and Genval Mutual Evaluations 2017-2019

• Security Agenda

• Review of Environmental Crime Directive 2008/99/EC

• Work within the New Policy Cycle: combatting environmental crime now a priority

ACTION 4: GUIDANCE ON COMBATTING ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME

Background

• Practical guidance covering

Key obligations and principles

Role of criminal, administrative and liability law

Good practices in cooperation and coordination

Recommended content of strategies

• Close collaboration with networks and Forum

ACTION 4: GUIDANCE ON COMBATTING ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME

Details

• EIR findings on diffuse water pollution and poor status of Natura 2000 habitats and species

• 2017 Staff Working Document Agriculture and Sustainable Water Management, SWD(2017)153

• EU Action Plan for nature, people and the economy, COM(2017) 198

ACTION 5: GUIDANCE ON COMPLIANCE ASSURANCE IN RURAL AREAS

Background


Overview of obligations and principles

Risk assessment tool

Good practices on inspections

Good practices on helping duty-holders to comply

• Close collaboration with networks and Forum

ACTION 5: GUIDANCE ON COMPLIANCE ASSURANCE IN RURAL AREAS

Details

• Specific requirement in Directive 2006/22/EC

• Practical guidelines covering

Inspection planning

Carrying-out of routine and non-routine inspections

Inspection reports

ACTION 6: TECHNICAL GUIDELINES FOR INSPECTIONS OF

EXTRACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES

• High number of complaints to Commission

• Commission recognition of importance of national redress mechanisms , COM(2017) 198


Complaint handling role of environmental authorities and national ombudsmen

Role of citizen science

ACTION 7: COMPLAINT-HANDLING

• Opportunities through new technologies and data sources

• Value of spatial information for inspectors, police and prosecutors

• Improved satellite capabilities (Copernicus & Galileo Programmes)

ACTION 8: GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE

Background

• GEOINT training and information sessions

• Evidence gathering

• Thematic workshops

• Good practices

• Impact assessments

ACTION 8: GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE

Details

• Improve understanding of national compliance assurance systems and other governance features

• Define assessment criteria to assess their effectiveness

• Produce country-specific reports

• Ongoing support project (see next slides)

ACTION 9: ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK ON COMPLIANCE AND GOVERNANCE

www.ieep.eu @IEEP_eu

Project context

• 7th Environmental Action Programme: a focus on improved implementation

• The SDGs, especially: ‒ Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies, and

‒ Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

• Environmental Implementation Review: a young process, developing from the first (2016) iteration, and identifying environmental governance as a key driver

• Wider Commission processes to encourage better implementation and better governance


Project aim and structure

• Project’s aim is to develop a framework for assessment of environmental governance and administrative performance in the Member States specific for the implementation of environmental legislation and policies.

• Project is structured around the following milestones: ‒ Definition of environmental governance and scope of the assessment

‒ Building of the assessment framework and methodology

‒ Testing of the assessment framework and methodology

‒ Preparing 28 country reports and a final report

Stakeholder consultation (interviews, workshops, meetings) is a key part of the methodology


Project consortium

• Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) with experts from its partner organisations: Ecologic Institute, REC, University of Catania, Stevens & Bolton, Denkstatt, ECOGESTUS, IVM as well as with independent experts: Stephen Stec, Rita Annus, Peter Hjerp, and Janis Brizga.

• service under the framework contract ENV D.4/FRA/2016/0003

2017 2019

Today

Oct Dec Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec Feb

Project start

10/24/2017

First workshop

2/27/2018

Draft pilot country reports ready

2/15/2018

Draft 28 country reports

6/15/2018

Interim report

2/24/2018 Final report (all deliverables)

2/24/2019

December – end of February Task 1 Definition and scope

December – end of February Task 2 SWOT analysis

December – end of March Task 3 Methodology

January – end of March Task 4 Pilot country reports/testing

continuous throughout 2018 Task 5 Presentation - technical solution

end of March – mid June 2018 – end of October* Task 6 28 country reports

continuous 2017-2019 Task 7 Meetings/workshops

Final 28 country reports 10/24/2018

Project timeline

1 2

Steering group meeting

21

* Depending on the time we receive the Member State feed back

I

Workshop


Progress so far

• Scoping note identifying a range of dimensions and themes – mainly completed (see next slide)

• SWOT analyses of relevant assessment frameworks (e.g. EU Justice Scoreboard) – on-going

• Pilot assessments (Austria, Belgium, Poland) – on-going

• Several bilateral consultations with the Commission, as well as external contractors involved in relevant work (e.g. EIPA and the EU PACK reports) have been carried out but the process in on-going

• 1st workshop focusing on the assessment framework and methods will take place on 27th February at the Committee of the Regions premises in Brussels – registrations are now open


Dimensions and themes for the assessment framework

TRANSPARENCY

• Implementation evidence/reporting, including Environmental Information Systems (SEIS, Copernicus, PRTR)

• Access to information (accessibility of databases, information requests)

• Reliability/quality of information

ACCOUNTABILITY

• A ) inspection, B) enforcement, C) public mobilization

• Complaint handling

• Corruption issues relevant to the environment

• Environmental liability

RULE OF LAW

• Access to justice (legal standing, costs)

• Effective remedies

• Practical information (opportunities for Access to Justice)

• Judicial capacities; capacities of advocates, prosecutors etc

PARTICIPATION

• Public participation

• Integration of environmental concerns in planning and permitting processes (EIA/SEA)

• Public confidence in institutions

• Equitability and inclusiveness

EFFECTIVENESS and EFFICIENCY

• Enabling financing and absorption of funds

• Administrative capacity

• Inter/cross-sectoral coordination

• Integrated assessment and planning tools

• Flexibility/adaptability


Draft structure of the country report

1. Summary of findings; comparative data

2. Context and characteristics of environmental governance

3. Presentation of the findings: a. Transparency b. Accountability c. Rule of Law d. Participation e. Effectiveness and efficiency

4. Outlook; and new or projected governance initiatives

5. References, data sources, country-specific assessment challenges; good practices identified


Information sources

• Academic literature

• Reports from EU projects

• Institutional publications and databases (e.g. InfoCuria)

• Material collected from the official websites of stakeholders

• Relevant material from international environmental governance processes, including Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee findings

• Interviews and questionnaires (including additional sources they point us at)

• Workshops

• Internal project partners’ databases

• Expert judgment by the senior project team members


Save the date: Workshop on environmental governance in EU Member States – building an assessment framework, Brussels, 27 February 2018 • The first (our of three) workshop on the scope and criteria of the environmental

governance assessment framework in the EU Member States ‒ Presentation of the project’s early findings, namely the environmental governance framework

components and scope, and the initial results of the pilot assessment)

‒ insights from “Support for developing better country knowledge on public administration and institutional capacity building” (EUropean Public Administration Country Knowledge – EUPACK)

• The workshop participants will be invited to discuss the following topics: ‒ Scope and criteria of the environmental governance assessment in EU Member States,

‒ Good practices and the potential to replicate them,

‒ Assessment methods and information sources.

More information: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/legal/reporting/workshops_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/legal/reporting/workshops_en.htm



• Role of Forum

Insights Steering

• Role of networks for:

implementation of individual actions disseminating and promoting the products providing 'reality check' to policy makers

WORKING WITH MEMBER STATES

• New formal high-level Commission expert group to help steer

compliance and governance actions • Composition: Member States and representatives of networks • Twice yearly meetings FIRST MEETING on 13 March 2018! Formal invitations soon.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE AND GOVERNANCE FORUM

Thank you for your attention!

For more information: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/legal/compliance_en.htm Contact: [email protected]




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