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slovakia: Slovakia Environment Profile 2012

2012/04/04

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Slovakia Environment Profile 2012

Within the framework of the country’s accession to the European Union, environmental protection became a high political priority on the micro- and macro-level. The State Environmental Fund and the Recycling Fund are the key vehicles for implementing obligations arising from international conventions on environmental protection and from the State Environmental Policy. However, the implementation process is very slow, and Slovakia may not meet its obligations, as defined by the Accession Treaty, by 2013, when the transitional period ends. Government spending on environmental protection in Slovakia is lower than the EU average. Environmental policy has not yet become a government priority. During the period under evaluation, more than half of the budget of the Ministry for the Environment was provided by EU funds (in 2008, it was 86%, and it is expected to be 68% in 2009). While the implementation of EU directives is fairly good, the ministry has not managed to spend all the EU money that is potentially available. Most initiatives are based on EU obligations or on pressure by NGOs, which usually lose out when their desires go against the interests of big industrialist groups and developers.
 
 
According to the "Environment Policy Review Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament COM (2008) 409", Slovak environmental policy focuses on accomplishing planned goals and ecological effects with special emphasis on the following issues:
  • Climate change: in 2007 the government approved an action plan on energy efficiency for the period 2008-2010. It also approved a strategy of increased use of renewable sources of energy. In 2005 greenhouse gas emissions were 33.6 % below the base year level, so the Slovak Republic is currently well on track to meet the Kyoto target for greenhouse gas emissions. By 2010, its emissions are expected to be some 12 per cent below the Kyoto target.
  • Nature and biodiversity: the government approved the National Forest Programme. In January 2008 Slovakia adopted a Law on Protection of and Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which changes and complements domestic law.2 The European Commission opened an infringement case on non-sufficient designation of Special Protection Areas for birds (SPA). Out of 38 areas to be designated according to the Birds Directive only 5 have been protected to date, and the government indicates that an additional 15-16 SPA's are to be designated soon. According to the Natura 2000 barometer, a total of 382 SCIs have been designated in Slovakia, totalling an area of 5,739 km² or 11.8 % of the total area.
  • Waste: the level of waste in Slovakia collected separately is low but is increasing. Only 6 % of household waste is currently being recycled. The majority of the waste is land filled. Many landfills in Slovakia do not comply with EU requirements. In July 2006, the government presented an “Agenda of Better Regulation in the Slovak Republic”, according to which new legislative proposals should be accompanied by a Regulatory Impact Assessment, including an environmental impact assessment.
     
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