Ādaži, 18 May 2023 - Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development Mr Māris Sprindžuks, Minister for the Environment of the Republic of Lithuania Mr Simonas Gentvilas and Minister for Climate and Environment of Estonia Mr Kristen Michal are meeting in Ādaži Municipality from 18 to 19 May for the annual Baltic Environment Ministers' Meeting to discuss the latest European Union (EU) environmental policy, waste management targets and other topical issues.
Minister Māris Sprindžuks will open the meeting with a speech on current developments in the field of environment and nature protection in Latvia. The meeting will discuss important issues in the environmental protection sector, which are relevant for all three countries, as well as opportunities of future cooperation between the Baltic States.
One of the objectives of the meeting is to discuss new initiatives of the European Commission (EC) - the Nature Recovery Act, the proposal for a Regulation on packaging and packaging waste, and the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.
EC proposal for a Regulation on nature restoration - sets binding targets for countries to promote the restoration of natural assets, in particular those degraded ecosystems with the highest potential to capture and store carbon. The draft law sets both new and ambitious targets and challenging deadlines for achieving them. The Minister will present Latvia's position, pointing out that Latvia, while generally supporting the nature restoration objectives, does not support the fact that the Regulation also lays down uniform and mandatory measures to achieve the objective throughout the EU, without taking into account national circumstances. The Minister also stresses that EU legislative proposals should allow more flexibility for Member States to implement legal practices/rules according to their unique national situations.
Latvia welcomes the proposal for a Regulation on packaging and packaging waste, which aims to increase the focus on preventing packaging waste, while at the same time providing more opportunities to reuse packaging and promote recycling. The Minister welcomes the EU initiative to promote the recyclability of plastic packaging, but will call for a debate on certain aspects of the Regulation. Whereas, in the field of packaging, it is important to emphasize that, in Latvia, within the framework of the integrated project "Waste to Resources Latvia - Boosting Regional Sustainability and Circularity by Introducing the Waste to Resources Concept", funded by the LIFE Programme, an accredited laboratory for testing the recyclability of plastic packaging and a database is under establishment to collect information on the plastic packaging materials on the market and their recyclability.
Latvia generally supports the EC proposal for a Directive on utility waste water treatment, considering it relevant for reducing environmental pollution. The Directive tightens requirements to reduce waste water pollution, extends them to smaller settlements than before, sets new requirements for storm water management and energy efficiency of waste water treatment plants. At the same time, implementation of the new requirements will entail a greater financial burden than indicated in the impact assessment of the proposal, which is why, according to the MEPRD, the deadlines for meeting the new requirements should be reviewed, their application should be linked to a risk assessment and additional sources of funding should be identified.
Ministers will also discuss the challenges to the recycling targets set in the Waste Framework Directive - to ensure that 55% of household waste is recycled by 2025. In 2030, this volume will reach 60%, in 2035 - 65%. Latvia has a developed sorted waste collection system, promoted increase in waste recycling and commenced work on increase in waste recovery. One of the key elements in achieving the targets is the mainstreaming of circular economy principles, which would reduce waste to landfill and increase reuse. Action today and in the coming years will both ensure that these recycling targets are met and that only 10% of the household waste generated in 2035 is disposed of.
The Baltic Environment Ministers also plan to discuss solutions for environmental impact assessment in the field of renewable energies in the Baltic States.
.png)
