Still breathing
One of the main themes in Belgrade was that countries lagging behind are either not recognising environment as a top priority, or lack sufficient resources to place it higher on the agenda. Ministers pledged that EECCA will remain a focus of the process, but added that countries in the region should strengthen their own political commitments to environment, and not just make calls for support. NGOs have also expressed dissatisfaction with the low level of European cooperation between developed and transitional countries.
Biodiversity was another important theme. Nature conservation across the pan-European region was the subject of a long debate — mostly concerning whether conservation should remain part of EfE framework, or proceed instead under the UN's Biodiversity Convention. After all, the ministers reaffirmed their Kiev commitment to halt biodiversity loss by 2010 and issued a special statement.
Education was another focus in Belgrade. Education and environment ministers from the UNECE region met for the first time within the EfE framework and, in a joint statement, pledged a regional commitment to education for sustainable development. But behind closed doors, there was heated discussion as to whether education belongs to the process, prompting Farago to refer to the outcome as "a happy end with some headache."
The topic of energy caused even severer headaches, with the EU, Russia and Turkey eyeing renewable, nuclear energy and hydro solutions, respectively. Fireworks emerged during attempts to define renewable energy, the end result of which was a minimal compromise in the declaration text with no mention of specific low-carbon solutions. Repeated calls for energy efficiency were partial compensation.
Climate change was another dividing issue on the agenda. Russia suggested ignoring the issue completely, arguing that the issue already claims too much attention. The EU insisted on stronger wording, while the U.S. played the position of broker. "At times during negotiations you had a feeling that pan-European cooperation on every issue has turned into a triangle between the EU, Russia and the U.S. These are the three most important constituent stakeholders," Farago recalled.
But in the end, Farago's Belgrade assessment was not entirely negative. "Most importantly, the process did not die!" he exclaimed. And where there is life, there is hope for improvement. On this we both agree.
