Eastern Partnership: The Water Management

Dimension of Cooperation

Angela Bularga Programme Manager, DG NEAR Unit C2

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus & Eastern Partnership

Angela.BULARGA@ec.europa.eu

9 November 2017

Eastern Partnership: A Comprehensive Agenda

1. Economic development and

market opportunities

2. Strengthening institutions and good

governance

3. Connectivity, energy efficiency, environment

and climate

4. Mobility and people to people contacts

4 Riga Priorities – 20 deliverables

Riga Priority 3 architecture

Deliverable 13: Transport

connectivity

Extension of TEN-T core networks

Governance of transport and logistics

systems

Common Aviation Area Agreements

National road safety action plans

Deliverable 14: Energy supply

EU4Energy - efficiency and transparency of

energy markets

Update and review of key priority projects

Moldova-Romania gas interconnection

Southern Gas Corridor operational

Deliverable 15: Energy efficiency, renewables and climate change

mitigation

E5P investment grants for energy efficiency

Sustainable Energy and Climate Action

Plans

SME support for sustainable efficiency

Climate policies, financing, and emissions MRV

Deliverable 16: Environment and climate change

adaptation

Water resources management

Green economy and green infrastructure

Better environmental governance

Climate adaptation planning

Underpinning political decisions

Global multilateral

agenda

UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals

(2015)

Paris Agreement on Climate Change (2015)

EU global cooperation

A Global Strategy for the European Union's Foreign and Security

Policy (2016)

Eastern Partnership:

Regional dimension

The European Neighbourhood Policy (reviewed in 2015)

EaP Ministerial Declaration on

Environment and Climate (2016)

Multi-Annual Indicative Programme

Bilateral cooperation

Association Agreements (AAs)/Deep and

Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (DCFTAs) with Ukraine, Georgia

and Moldova

Partnership Priorities/revised AAs

and new Single Support Frameworks

Estimated benefits of environmental action in Eastern Partnership countries

Water management: €5.4 billion

/year

Air quality: €2.6 billion/year

Other benefits:

€1 billion/year

Source: European Commission, DG ENV (2015): The economic and environmental implications for the EU of strengthening cooperation with the Eastern Neighbourhood countries; ENV.E.1/ETU/2014/0008rl, http://ec.europa.eu/environment/international_issues/pdf/STELLAConsulting_Final_EaPstudy_Apr2015.pdf

Avenues of regional cooperation on environment and water

• Political dialogue • Eastern Partnership Panel on Environment and Climate Change, National

Policy Dialogues in each country

• Technical assistance • Several regional projects, consolidated in 2015 under the EU Water

Initiative Plus umbrella

• Investments • Projects implemented in conjunction with the Neighbourhood Investment

Facility and Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership

• Important role of Member States, including as implementing partners • Romania chairing the EECCA Working Group of the EUWI

• Austria and France – EUWI Plus implementation, with input from Croatoa and other Member States

EU Water Initiative Plus' overview

• EU-funded action: contribution of 23.5 million EUR

• Four-year implementation period starting in 2016

• Implemented by a Consortium of Member States, as well as OECD and UNECE

• Builds on previous phase of the EU Water Initiative and other relevant activities

• Scope of Action: Commission Implementing Decision C(2015)5272 final of 22 July 2015 as modified by the Commission Implementing Decision C(2016) 6396 final of 4 October 2016

EU Water Initiative Plus partners

EU MEMBER STATES AND EUROPEAN COMMISSION:

EASTERN PARTNERSHIP (EaP) COUNTRIES:

BELARUS MOLDOVA UKRAINE ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN GEORGIA

AUSTRIA FRANCE

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS:

What is our ambition?

• Short-term (end of 2017) • Agreed national and regional work plans to improve water management along

the Water Framework Directive

• Two-three pilot WFD-compliant River Basin Management Plans adopted by the Partner Countries

• Mid-term (by 2020) • An estimated 38 Million population living in areas covered by WFD-compliant

river basin management plans with associated improved quality of life (baseline: 7.9 Million)

• Long-term (post-2020) • Implementation of the respective chapters of Association Agreements by

Georgia, Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine

• Further progress in non-AA countries

RESULT 3

Stakeholders involvement Communication

RESULT 2

River Basin Management

Planning

Data management

Monitoring & laboratories

Result 1: Legal and regulatory framework

improved in line with the EU Water

Framework Directive (WFD), Integrated

Water Resources Management and

Multilateral Environmental Agreements.

Result 2: River Basins Management Plans

designed and implemented in line with

the EU WFD principles, from pilot basin

to country scale.

Result 3:

Stakeholder involvement and

communication

Lessons learnt regularly collected,

shared and communicated to

stakeholders.

RESULT 1

National Policy Dialogue

Legislative and regulatory reform

Capacity Building

Progress with EUWI Plus implementation in 2016-17

• Kicked off through a high level regional meeting (19-20 September 2016) in Kyiv, Ukraine and through national kick off meetings held in late 2016

• The first Steering Committee Meeting was held in Brussels on 15-16 May 2017 and allowed presentation of a draft version of the inception report and national work plans

• The inception phase was completed by finalising the scoping on work and approving national plans until 1 September 2016

• In parallel work has started on priority work programme activities

• Website established : euwipluseast.eu

Prevention, Preparedness and Response to Natural

and Man-made Disasters in the Eastern Partnership

Countries

Environmental Protection of International River

Basins (EPIRB) 2012-2016

Support to Ukraine in approximation of the

EU environmental acquis

Previous or related projects

Implementation of the Shared Environmental

Information System principles and practices in

the Eastern Partnership countries - ENI SEIS II

East project – EEA-implemented

Achievements in improving water management in EaP countries

• As part of data gathering for the river basin planning, 60 water quality surveys have been conducted since 2014

• One WFD compliant River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) adopted in Armenia in 2017; six RBMPs developed in other five Partner Countries with EU support await government approval

• Ukraine committed to develop a basin plan for its largest river with partial support of the EU Water Initiative Plus

• National policy dialogues on the water sector reform are on-going in 5 out of 6 countries (with discussions ongoing to launch the NPD in Belarus)

• National work plans in support of WFD implementation drafted and approved by all Partner Countries in 2017

Implementation of major principles of European Union's water acquis Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Georgia Moldova Ukraine

Implementation of basin principle

Practices of river basin management contribute to stabilise or decrease pressure on water resources

Progressed, RBMPs for 3 out of 6 River Basin Districts of the country have been officially adopted by Government Resolutions. Practices are expected to be improved once the RBMPs start being implemented.

No legal basis for development or adoption of basin plans and basins are not delineated. But draft plans for Alazani-Ganikh and Central Kura. drafted but not officially adopted.

Started, first RBMP developed

Significant progress observed over 1995-2015 in terms of reducing water intensity of PPP GDP

Started, RBMP being developed for 1 out of 6 basins while basins not yet delineated

The basin principle is enacted by 2011 Water law and related by-laws, effective since 2013.

A small reduction of water intensity of PPP GDP

Progressed, RBMPs developed or being developed for 4 out of 7 basin districts while basins not yet delineated

Practices are expected to be improved once the RBMPs start being implemented.

Advancement in institutional arrangements for water resources management (RBOs) and river basin councils

All 6 BMOs of the country are working already since 2004. The Armenian water legislation does not require establishment of public Basin Councils.

Management of water resources carried out based on the administrative-territorial principle, no basin management organizations are established yet.

First Basin Council created but not yet fully operational

There are no BMOs established in Georgia yet, and management of water resources is still done at the central level.

Basin Committees created in Danube -Prut and Black Sea District; and for Dniester District

9 water WBMAs and public Basins Councils to support WBMA activities on the creation of RBMPs. The functioning of these councils is based on agreements between the regions, but no legal basis of Basin Councils.

Improved water allocation rules and planning

The rules and practices need to be updated

The rules and practices need to be updated

The rules and practices need to be enhanced

The rules and practices need to be updated

The rules and practices need to be enhanced

The rules and practices need to be updated

Economic instruments Water costs recovery is partial (O&M and capital costs recovery)

Water costs recovery is partial (O&M costs).

Water costs recovery is partial (O&M costs); use of instruments to be improved

Water costs recovery is partial (O&M costs).

Water costs recovery is partial (O&M costs); use of instruments to be improved

Water costs recovery is partial (O&M costs).

Examples of upcoming events

• 28 – 30 November 2017: Workshop for Caucasus countries on ISO 17025 for laboratories

• 28 November 2017: NPD Steering Committee meeting in Ukraine

• 4-8 December 2017: NPD Steering Committee meeting in Armenia (tbc)

• 18-20 December 2017: Meeting of the Coordination Committee of the National Policy Dialogue on integrated water resources management in the Republic of Moldova

• March 2018: Second Steering Committee Meeting (Tbilisi, Georgia)

• Quarterly updates produced by the Project that could be shared