As Romania takes the helm of the EU’s rotating presidency for the next six months, the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) has issued the country with ‘10 green tests’, calling for the country to champion spending the EU budget on tackling climate change and protecting the environment.
The Romanians are the first of the next ‘trio’ of countries to take over the rotating Presidency of the EU which changes every six months.
Romania will hold the rotating presidency until the end of June before Finland takes over for the second half of 2019. The Finns will then pass the baton to Croatia in January 2020. The EEB also produced a ‘memorandum‘ calling on all three countries to work together to remove or reform environmentally harmful incentives and subsidies, and to substantially increase budget for nature protection and the sustainable management of natural resources.
With Brexit and the next European elections on the horizon, Romania has taken over the EU Presidency at a time when environmental NGOs say the challenge of strengthening and implementing EU environmental policies will be hugely important.
Jeremy Wates, Secretary General of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) said:
“There is an increasing understanding that the EU and the international community need to have a fundamental change in policy making to trigger the needed system changes to have a just transition to a one planet of economy. Progress during the trio Presidency of Romania, Finland and Croatia will be essential if the EU is to be a leading driver in this needed transition.”
