The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources created a working group that will conduct an initial assessment of the state of implementation of the European Union's legal acts (EU acquis) in the direction of environmental protection.
This will help determine at what stage Ukraine is currently in the implementation of European environmental legislation, the Ministry of Environment reports on Facebook.
The message explained that self-screening will also help:
- outline areas where efforts need to be strengthened and accelerated;
- to form new movement reference points.
It is noted that the working group will analyze 1,637 acts item by item. Such work is part of a large-scale self-screening of all national legislation, which was announced by the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna.
"This is the basis that is necessary for the qualitative preparation of Ukraine for the negotiation process. After all, Ukraine is determined to start negotiations on EU membership already this year, and in two years to be maximally prepared for joining the European Union," said the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ruslan Strilets.
The message explained that before the start of self-screening, Ukraine mainly moved by fulfilling only its obligations under the Association Agreement with the EU. However, EU law is much broader than those norms, the implementation of which is provided for by the Association Agreement.
It is noted that Ukraine's acquisition of the status of a candidate for EU membership requires a deeper analysis and implementation of European norms, namely the entire current European legal field.
Strilets emphasized that EU legislation is quite dynamic. Over the past 8 years, since the signing of the Agreement, the EU has adopted a number of new documents and Directives important for the environment. They are not reflected in the Agreement, but they must also be implemented.
"It depends on how the European Commission will evaluate us and whether Ukraine will really be able to become a full-fledged member of the European family. This is an absolutely correct and logical approach. Because Ukraine should have the same modern European approaches to environmental protection. And we have to implement them not selectively, but in full," he added.
The message emphasized that at the end of February 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers launched a self-screening of the adaptation of Ukrainian legislation to EU law. In the framework of which all institutions must conduct an initial assessment of the state of implementation of EU law by June 30, 2023, and submit a corresponding report and proposals for bringing sectoral legislation into compliance with EU law by August 30.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that in the European Commission's analytical report on Ukraine's ability to fulfill the conditions of EU membership in the environmental protection cluster, the country received the lowest score - 1 out of a possible 5.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, Ukraine fulfilled 77% of European integration obligations in the direction of the natural environment.
