24 April 2014
24.04.2014 - The Chief Executive Officer of the Kosovo Environmental Protection Agency, Dr. Ilir Morina, is participating in the 22nd meeting of the Network of Heads of European Environmental Agencies, which is being held in Vienna, Austria. A special guest at the EPA Network meeting was also the rapporteur for Kosovo in the European Parliament, Ms. Ulrike Lunacek. On this occasion, she gave a presentation on the topic "Where we are and where we are going in environmental policies." During her presentation, Ms. Lunacek also highlighted the next meeting of the EPA Network, which will be held in Pristina in September of this year.
On this occasion, Lunacek also met with the head of AMMK, Dr. Sc. Ilir Morina, who at the same time is also a member of the leading trio of the EPA Network. During the meeting, she was generally interested in the support of the environmental sector in Kosovo and specifically the support for AMMK from her side and from the Greens of Europe. She gladly accepted the invitation to participate in the next EPA Network meeting, which will be held in September in Pristina, considering that such events are important and welcome for Kosovo. With Ms. Lunacek, discussions were also held regarding the possibility of raising environmental issues of Kosovo on the state priority level.
The CEO of AMMK had a special meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water of Austria, Mr. Andräe Rupprechter, where possibilities of cooperation between AMMK and the environmental institutions of Austria were discussed, particularly cooperation with the Austrian Environment Agency.
Otherwise, at the 22nd meeting of the EPA Network, the main activities of the Network carried out during this year are being discussed, as well as the priorities planned for the upcoming period.
Special emphasis was placed on the international cooperation of the Network, especially cooperation with the European Commission and the European Parliament, as well as with other EU institutions. Other topics being discussed at the meeting include the use of environmental information for the development of scenarios in the environmental sector and for new environmental policies.
One of the sessions planned for tomorrow is the one for promoting cooperation among Environmental Agencies in the regional context, a session that will be led by the CEO of AMMK and where special emphasis will be placed on discussing the cooperation of environmental agencies of the Western Balkan countries.
In the concluding session of the meeting, there will also be a presentation about the next meeting of the Network of Heads of European Environment Agencies, the 23rd in sequence, which is expected to be held in Kosovo on September 25 and 26 of this year.
The Network of Heads of European Environment Agencies, known as the EPA Network, brings together all the leaders or directors of National Environmental Protection Agencies or similar institutions of European countries. AMMK has been a member of this informal network since 2011.