“The discussion of the part of the agenda related to protection of water supplies was of great importance to Estonia. Our Lake Peipus is the fourth largest lake in Europe, as well as the largest international lake, which requires attention and protection. When shaping the EU’s water policy, it is of utmost importance that our neighbours located outside of the EU take the protection of bodies of water seriously, said Estonia’s representative Minister of the Environment Keit Pentus. A heated discussion took place over reducing pollution related to greenhouse gasses. “In no way is it appropriate to the contrast the desire to reduce pollution and economic growth. These two things are closely linked to each other, and in the end people want to live in an environment where the economy develops by preserving the surrounding environment as much as possible, not polluting it as aggressively as possible," explained Minister of the Environment Keit Pentus. In her words, Member States of the European Union are taking environmentally friendly economic development seriously. “For Estonia, as well, the topic is one of importance. In our energy portfolio we have rapidly grown the share of electricity originating from sources of renewable energy. Renewable energy accounts for a total of 20 per cent of final consumption, which is important in terms of Estonia's security of supply. In addition, we are making efforts to make our transportation more environmentally friendly – our green energy consuming electric car project is unique, also coming are trains utilising renewable electricity and more efficient buses,” said Minister Pentus. The supervisory board also approved the EU’s biodiversity strategy to 2020, which, among other things, includes the improvement of the condition of various species and their habitats, the fight against non-native species and the sustainable use of fisheries resources. In the area of protection of biodiversity Estonia has good results to show – if the average in the EU regarding the pan-European importance of the status of habitats and favourable condition of species of is 17%, then in Estonia the corresponding indicators are 42% and 24%, respectively. The progress report on the section of the regulation concerning the banning of or restriction on the growing of genetically modified organisms was approved, although there was no real movement forward. At present, either allowing or prohibiting GMO to be grown in the EU is based on scientific arguments, although several Member States would like the right to ban or restrict GMO on their territories for other – such as cultural or religious – reasons. At present, the growing of one type of genetically modified variety of maize and one variety of potato is permitted within the European Union; GMOs are not grown in Estonia. In addition, the supervisory board approved the progress report on the curbing of the threat of major accidents involving hazardous substances. |
