Minister for Agriculture Rural Development and Environment Petros Xenophontos stressed the need for various environmental legislations to take into account the constraints and specificities faced by each member state, the Environment Council of the European Union which took place in Brussels on Thursday. This is Xenophontos’ first participation in an EU Council since taking office. The Minister will also participate in the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on Monday. According to a press release, during a discussion by the Ministers on the new proposed framework for the certification of carbon dioxide removals, the Environment Minister said that the certification methodology should take into account both the geographical context and the existing climate zone of each member state. He added that key concepts should be precisely defined, and that different profiles and conditions of absorption of each member should be taken into account. On the subject of the Packaging Waste Regulation, Xenophontos expressed Cyprus’ concerns about the changes that will have to be made to production processes in terms of the tight timeframes set, including the creation of new infrastructure and models for refilling and reusing packaging and the high costs involved. The environment minister called for the different starting points of each member states be taken into account, outlining the particular circumstances of Cyprus as an isolated island, and the seasonal variations in waste production due to tourism. In the context of a discussion on the revision of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, Xenophontos expressed Cyprus’ concern about the large number of new obligations that will be required, the imminent costs of implementation, as well as the tight timetables. The Minister suggested that the extension of the scope of the directive to smaller plants, as well as the obligation for further treatment, should be based on a Risk Assessment and a cost-benefit study. Regarding the proposal for the revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive, Xenophontos welcomed the compromise text of the proposal and said he was particularly satisfied with the specific regulation included for Cyprus, aiming at the uninterrupted supply of electricity to the citizens and businesses of the country, taking into account that Cyprus is not, at present, energy interconnected with the rest of the EU. He also expressed support to the setting of a limit with regards to mining and mineral processing installations and the exclusion of gypsum installations and, in the spirit of compromise, the proposed admission limits for the livestock sector, while pointing out the need for possible financial assistance to small livestock installations to enable them to cope with the increased requirements.
Source: Cyprus News Agency