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On 17 May the European Environment Agency held a special event to celebrate its enlargement to the 13 countries in central and eastern Europe and the Mediterranean basin that are seeking accession to the European Union.
The celebration took the form of a high-level conference attended by the European Commissioner for Environment and ministers, deputy ministers, ambassadors and Management Board members from most of the EEAs member and observer countries.
The Copenhagen-based Agency, the main European-level provider of environmental information to policy-makers and the public, is the first European Union body to open its doors to the 13 countries that have applied for EU membership.
Eleven of the countries became EEA members during 2001. They are: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic.
Turkeys representative at the conference said his country would complete its EEA membership formalities by the end of May. It is anticipated that Poland will also do so within the coming weeks.
The enlargement event was preceded on 16 May by a conference focussing on past, present and future environment and sustainable development information needs, followed by a dinner for participants in the two conferences.
Speakers at all three events took the opportunity to thank Domingo Jiménez-Beltrán for his service as Executive Director over the eight years since the Agency became operational in mid-1994, and to congratulate him on his and the EEAs achievements. At his own request, Domingo Jiménez-Beltrán is leaving the Agency when his contract expires at the end of May.
Speakers at the 16 May conference, Towards a knowledge-based sustainable society, were as follows:
Keynote speakers at the 17 May enlargement conference, From Dobris to Kiev and beyond, were as follows:
In her speech to the enlargement conference, Ms Wallström said the early contact between the EU and the Accession Countries that EEA membership would provide was important since long lead times were necessary to develop good quality environmental information.
She called the Agencys opening to the Accession Countries one of its most important achievements under Mr Jiménez-Beltráns leadership.
The EEA is a vital source of information and analysis [that] provides all of us working on environment at the European level with the kind of information that allows us to make a good case when proposing new policies, Ms Wallström said.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/Ann1021894542 or scan the QR code.
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