The Minister of Environment, Waters and Forestry Tanczos Barna declared on Friday, in a press conference in Sfantu Gheorghe, that by implementing the cross-border waste traceability system, Romania assumed a “pioneering role” in the fight against illegal waste traffic.
“The Environmental Guard is the institution that is sometimes blamed, but it is certainly the most solid control institution in the Ministry of the Environment in terms of nature pollution, air pollution, water pollution, pollution through the abandonment of waste. Together with our colleagues from the Guard, we have implemented since last year probably the most important new project in the fight against waste traffic. We have implemented this traceability system through which every shipment of waste or second-hand goods is checked at the border, and we are expanding this system and implementing new rules for the sale of second-hand goods -hand in order to have as rigorous a control as possible regarding their destination and to prevent the abandonment of waste brought from another country in Romania,” said the environment minister.
He also said that the “challenge” that Romania has taken on will help a lot of member states in the fight against illegal waste traffic.
“It is a European challenge, not only Romania faces this problem, which is why a new regulation is being prepared at the European level, by which each member state will be obliged to implement a system similar to the one in Romania. From this point of view, we are carrying out and a pioneering activity, so to speak, because the system developed and completed with this cross-border waste traceability is a good example for other European member states in terms of solving the problem of illegal cross-border traffic of waste. It is a worldwide phenomenon, not only European. Unfortunately, developed countries have chosen, very often, the easier way of sending waste to less developed countries. For this reason it is a worldwide issue, but Europe is still facing this problem, since waste is a resource, it must circulate freely in Europe, according to the principle of free movement of goods, but, in parallel, it must to implement control systems. It’s an interesting challenge and I think that the pioneering we have undertaken will help many member states in this fight against illegal waste traffic,” said Tanczos Barna.
Romania will fight till the end for European measures to affect few farmers
Romania’s Minister of the Environment Tanczos Barna also said on Friday in Sfantu Gheorghe that the pressures to reduce livestock in order to reduce methane and ammonia emissions are very high at the level of the European Union, but Romania will negotiate in Brussels, “till the end” for the European measures to affect as few farmers as possible.
He told a news conference that 150 livestock units (LSUs) for livestock farms is unacceptable for Romania, and the problem will most likely be solved on March 16 in Brussels.
“Today, yesterday, tomorrow and in a week from now on we are discussing and will discuss the new rules that are being implemented at the level of the European Union on chicken, turkey, pig and cattle farms, because there is a lot of pressure from environmental organisations on farmers and new rules will be introduced for farms to account for, report and reduce emissions of methane, nitrogen, carbon, including on animal farms. The dispute is fierce. And for half an hour now I’ve been trying to find out the position of Germany, the position of France, on beef, on pork, on poultry. So it is a dispute that will probably be settled on March 16 (…) I will fly directly to Brussels to participate in that council meeting, where the main issue that is on the agenda is exactly this topic, the new rules that will apply to large, small farms and that will bring new rules for the implementation of state-of-the-art technologies to reduce nitrogen and methane emissions. The level, the size of the farm from which these obligations of monitoring, reporting, reduction, implementation of latest generation technologies will be mandatory. Two weeks ago, the European Commission proposed 150 LSUs, which is an unacceptable level for Romania. We have argued from the very beginning that these new rules should kick in somewhere over 350 LSUs, even 450 LSUs in the case of pig and cattle farms. The Ministry of Agriculture and Mr Daea still support the total elimination of cattle from these rules (…) Probably the discussions on April 16 will be completed somewhere at a level of 280-300 LSUs for chicken, turkey, laying hen farms and somewhere over 350, I hope, or 450 on pig and cattle farms,” said Tanczos.
He added that the negotiations carried out so far by Romania on this topic have gone well.
“The challenges are getting bigger and bigger for farmers as well (…) We try and do everything possible so that Romanian farmers are not affected by the new rules imposed by Brussels (…) Today, Romania already has a system of authorisation of farms, regardless of size, which does not exist in all other European countries. So, the way in which the amount of nitrogen, the amount of manure, the amount of methane, implicitly, affects the environment is checked when farmers file for environmental authorisations (… ) Such rules do not apply in all the countries of the European Union, in all the member states, but the new rules will be generally valid for all of them. (…) So far, together with the Romanian representation in Brussels, we have successfully conducted the discussions, negotiations, together with the Foreign Ministry as well and we are on a good path, let’s see how the whole dispute will end in Brussels,” he said.
Tanczos voiced hope that it will be possible to find that balance allowing us to eat healthy without affecting the environment.
Compiled from Agerpres
