Today, on 22 September, Mr. Villu Reiljan, Minister of the Environment, met Mr. Pat the Cope Gallagher, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment Heritage and Local Government of Ireland. The purpose of the Irish delegation was to present their work on environmental protection during the impending Irish Presidency of the European Union. Environmental cooperation is one of the substantial priorities during the Irish Presidency. According to Minister of State, environmental key issues during Irish Presidency are waste, air quality and chemicals` policy. The financing of nature conservation programme Natura 2000 is very important for Ireland. To date, it has been possible to apply for funding for nature conservation projects from the LIFE-Nature fund. Estonia has applied for funding from LIFE-Nature since 2001. The European Commission plans to end the LIFE-Nature`s activity and the financing of nature conservation to be henceforth from the EU Structural Funds. Meeting with the Irish environmental politicians was useful for the Minister of the Environment because more precise conception was obtained of future projects and mutual readiness for all-round cooperation was confirmed. For additional information please contact: Mr. Allan Gromov |
