EEB

Enlargement

What is the EEB doing?

• What is the EU doing?
• What is the EEB doing?

The EEB has long been active in the enlargement process by involving and supporting environmental citizens’ organisations in candidate countries with policy issues.

The enlargement process has potential positive benefits for the environment and we provide environmental organisations in accession countries more information about the EU’s body of environmental legislation. It is also important for the EEB to know about the environmental realities in those countries in order to target environmental legislation to their needs.

For the EEB assistance to environmental citizens organisations in accession countries is important both for the sake of the environment and also to prevent them impacting negatively on the potential of the EU to move towards environmental sustainability.

The EEB has opened its membership to environmental citizens organisations from candidate countries (now having one in Croatia and in FYRo Macedonia, and two in Turkey) as well as to organisation from other countries (in that case as associate members).

As well as this the EEB works with environmental organizations in these countries on raising awareness, capacity building and information exchange to make it possible for them to play an active role in the accession process. Furthermore, we follow and comment on the policies of the Commission relating to enlargement.

Between 2006 and 2008 EEB was facilitating dialogue between the European Commission and environmental organisations from candidate and potential candidate countries within the new NGO Forum.
The EEB is closely following development on the new mechanism for regional cooperation: RENA (Regional Environmental Network for Accession). We aim to ensure that environmental NGOs in the region are consulted and can participate in the its work.

Finally, together with our partner organisations in countries outside the we are following the European Neighbourhood Policy and keeping a close eye on activities related to the environment.

Back