The Norwegian Minister of the Environment, Mr. Børge Brende

Joint Session of NIS Environment Ministers and Environment Ministers from Selected EU and Accession Countries.

Haag, 17. april 2002.

Distinguished Colleagues,

It is a great pleasure to be here and meet you all, and I thank Minister Pronk (and Minister Kurykin) for hosting this meeting.

Time is short and I will be brief.

I welcome the initiative of Georgia and the Ukraine to develop an environment strategy by and for the NIS countries.

The decision of Ministers at the Aarhus Conference in 1998 to give priority to environmental issues in the NIS countries has not yet been adequately followed up, although in some areas significant progress has been made. It is therefore time to take a new initiative and make sure that environmental challenges of the NIS countries occupy a central position at the Kiev Conference. I also believe that a NIS environment strategy can provide a vital foundation for the work of the Environment for Europe process after the Kiev Conference.

In the development of the Strategy I believe that water issues should play a major role. This means both access to drinking water and adequate sewage systems. In this respect, the issues we also face in all Western countries will have to be tackled: how much the consumers should pay, and what should be managed at the municipal level and which role private companies should play.

The problem of appropriate pricing is also relevant, of course, in the energy sector.

I have also noted with interest in the concept paper that integrated water resources management, including transboundary river basin issues, has been identified. I believe that this is a very important area for the Strategy.

The development of a NIS Strategy will, I am sure, be welcomed by the World Summit, and provide a major stimulus to improving environmental conditions in the ECE region.

I was therefore very pleased to hear that my colleagues from the NIS yesterday agreed to launch the preparations for the Strategy, and that many of the organisational details of its development have been agreed.

May I close by saying that Norway wholeheartedly supports the Environment for Europe process, and in particular the agreed emphasis on the environmental challenges of the NIS. We will of course be pleased to assist in any way we can in the development of the Strategy.

Thank you.