FOCUS ON SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE

REPORT: CONFLICT IN FYR MACEDONIA CHANGES PHYSICAL
ENVIRONMENT
Along with tragic human costs, the current conflict in FYR
Macedonia is also having a negative impact on the local
environment, according to an update to the Report on the
Environmental Situation in the Western Balkans in Macedonia,
released on May 15 by the Skopje office of the Regional
Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe. "To some
extent, there have been changes in the physical environment," said
the report, which was funded by the Swedish International
Development Agency. "The war activities are still going on; both
sides use heavy artillery, which causes destruction to the flora and
fauna in the regions affected. Furthermore, none can say how
many missiles and shells were shot and detonated; or how many,
and where, the terrorists have planted land mines. This situation is
continuing and seems unlikely to stop in the near future.
Contact:
REC Office, FYR Macedonia, tel: (389-2) 131-904; 
e-mail: ecmk@mol.com.mk
or
FYR Macedonia Environment Ministry, tel: (389-91) 366-930.

FYR MACEDONIAN AUTHORITIES ORDER VELES SMELTER
CLOSED
The FYR Macedonian State Environmental Inspectorate issued a
written order on May 7 to halt the work of the metallurgical
department of the Zletovo lead and zinc smelter in Veles, due to
pollution, according to a report from the FYR Macedonia office of
the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe
(REC). 

Veles has been named one of the most polluted regions in
Europe, and the lead-smelting facility is mostly to blame.
Environmental authorities held a press conference on May 7, where
they revealed that sample measurements in March showed
concentrations of pollutants emitted by the smelter were 10-200
times the allowable limit, according to the report. 

While citizens of Veles applauded the stop-work order, the management of the Zletovo smelter said the order was illegal and called it a direct
attack on the smelter's workers now being sent home, according to
the report from the REC Office, FYR Macedonia. "Nevertheless, the
smelter is not operating until the sources of its air pollution are
minimised and the contents of its air emission are under the
maximum allowed concentrations," the report said. 
Contact:
REC Office, FYR Macedonia, tel: (389-2) 131 904;
e-mail: recmk@mol.com.mk
or
 FYR Macedonia Environment Ministry, tel: (389-91) 366-930.

CROATIA SEEKS TO PROTECT ENDANGERED SPECIES FROM
SHELL HUNTERS
The Croatian Environment Ministry has initiated a campaign
against illegal harvesting and trade in the endangered crustacean
"litophaga litophaga," which is sought for its sea shell, according to
a May 7 report from the Croatian office of the Regional
Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC). The
campaign is one of several programmes being undertaken to
combat the growing problem of trade in endangered species in the
Croatian Adriatic, the report said. The ministry is currently focused
on education of the public about the problem of harvesting the
shells of this protected species, as well as on the active
participation of the public in the efforts to protect litophaga
litophaga, the REC Croatia office reported. 
Contact:
 REC Office, Croatia, tel: (385-1) 4810- 774; 
e-mail: rec@inet.hr
or 
Matija Frankovic, Croatian Environment Ministry, Division of Environmental
Protection, tel: (385-1) 610-6555.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS STALL SOFIA-GREECE
ROADWORK
A EUR 200 million motorway project to link Sofia with Greece will
not be completed before the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens due
to environmental concerns, Bulgarian Construction Minister Evgeni
Chachev has said, according to a May 9 report from Reuters.
Bulgaria expects athletes and spectators to travel through its
territory on their way to the Olympic sites in Greece in 2004, but
Chachev said modernisation of a 19 kilometre stretch that crosses
an ecologically sensitive region around the town of Kresna will start
only after working out a project to safeguard the zone, Reuters
reported. "Italian company SPEA SpA, which won an international
tender in 1999 for the reconstruction of the whole motorway, is due
to present three options to avoid crossing the ecological zone by
the end of August," Chachev was quoted as saying. 
Contact:
Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Waters, tel: (359-2) 9406-2000

BULGARIA TO GET SAPARD FUNDING FOR AGRICULTURE
Bulgaria is the first of the 10 EU accession countries to be allowed
to administer itself the European Union financial assistance
provided under the SAPARD program, Agriculture Minister
Ventsislav Vurbanov said on May 15, according to a report from
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE). SAPARD, an EU funding
instrument to promote large investments in agriculture and fishing
production processing, has been criticised by environmentalists for
promoting environmentally unfriendly farming practices. Under the
agreement signed by EU Farming Commissioner Franz Fischer,
the Bulgarian State Agriculture Fund will implement the agreement,
which will give EUR 53.2 million to the Bulgarian farming sector
annually until 2007, RFE reported. 
Contact:
Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Waters, tel: (359-2) 9406-2000
or 
Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, tel: (359-2) 9851-1119,
980-9480.

WEATHER CAUSES NATURAL DISASTER FOR CROATIAN
FARMERS
A state of natural disaster has been declared in Varazdin County,
Croatia, by its prefect, Marijan Mlinaric, after frost caused between
CRK 35-40 million in damage to orchards and vineyards in the
area, according to a May 18 report in the Varzadin newspaper,
carried by the Croatian Foreign Press Bureau. Experts claim that
grape, fruit and potato harvests will be 30-100 percent less than
expected after overnight temperatures dropped to as low as -4
degrees Celsius during Easter, the report said. 
Contact:
Croatian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Physical Planning, 
tel: (385-1) 378-2143
or 
Croatian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, tel: (385-1) 610-6693.

DEMONSTRATORS IN BRATISLAVA CALL FOR BETTER
WASTE LAWS
Supporters of the Friends of the Earth Slovakia demonstrated
outside the Environment Ministry in Bratislava to demand
improvements in the country's waste legislation, according to a
May 17 report from ChangeNet. Environment minister Laszlo
Miklos met with the demonstrators and was handed a petition, with
more than 36,000 signatures, that called for amendments and
improvements to the country's waste laws, the report said.
Activists complained that, 10 years after the formation of the
country, there was still no cohesive waste management policy
spelled out in Slovak legislation and no system for minimising the
increases in the waste stream, according to ChangeNet. 
Contact:
Laco Hegyi, Spolocnost priatelov Zeme (Earth Friends Society),
tel: (421-95) 677-1677
e-mail: spz@changenet.sk
 For Civil society news from Slovakia Visit ChangeNet's 
web site: http://www.changenet.sk.

NEW SLOVAK LEGISLATION WOULD PHASE OUT PVCs
The Slovak Parliament passed legislation on May 15 that would
phase out polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products in Slovakia and make
it illegal to sell any PVC products after January 2008, according to
an e-mail from the Earth Friends Society, a group associated with
Friends of the Earth Slovakia. The Earth Friends Society thanked
the Parliament's Environment Committee and the environment
minister for helping push through the legislation, and said they
expect a backlash from the PVC industry. The society feared that
the PVC industry would claim that Slovakia's law amounted to
unfair trade, according to the e-mail. The best way to counter this
claim would be for other countries to pass similar PVC restrictions,
the society recommended in the e-mail. 
Contact:
Laco Hegyi, Spolocnost priatelov Zeme (Earth Friends Society),
tel: (421-95) 677-1677
e-mail: spz@changenet.sk.

STUDY: TISZA SPILL COST HUNGARIAN BUSINESSES
BILLIONS OF FORINTS
The cyanide spill that decimated the Tisza River last year caused
economic losses in Hungary totalling HUF 3.2-to-4.6 billion, the
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said on May 18, according to
a report from Reuters. This figure was based on a WWF-funded
study, carried out by Budapest-based Centre for Environmental
Studies, that noted that hotels and restaurants along the popular
tourist destinations were hit hard by the spill, the report said. The
study noted that only 1,500 tourists visited the region last year,
compared to a normal average of 18,000 to 20,000, according to
Reuters. The study also noted that fisheries along the Tisza
experienced HUF 1.8 billion in losses, Reuters reported. The spill,
which contained more than 100,000 cubic metres of cyanide, was
determined to have originated from a gold mining concern in
Romania. The Hungarian government is suing the company that
owned the mine. 
Contact:
Hungarian Environment Minister Bela Turi-Kovacs, tel: (36-1) 201-2964.

DUTCH WIND PROJECT TO HELP POLAND CREATE CLEANER
ENERGY
The Netherlands will offer EUR 55 million to Poland for the
construction of wind turbines, to help reduce the country's
dependence on air-polluting coal energy, the Polish environment
ministry said on May 21, according to Reuters. Final approval was
expected by the end of the month for the project, to build 30
turbines in northwest Poland by 2003, according Reuters. 
Contact:
Anna Kalinowska, Polish Ministry of Environmental Protection,
Natural Resources and Forestry, Bureau of Education and Public
Relations, tel: (48-22) 825-2003
 e-mail: info@mos.gov.pl

CZECHS WANT TO KEEP KYOTO AGREEMENT ALIVE
Czech Environment Minister, Milos Kuzvart, told a conference of
environment ministers from member countries of the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris that he is in
favour of implementing the Kyoto agreement with or without the
United States, according to a May 17 report from Radio Prague.
Kuzvart told journalists that the Czech Republic is one of a group of
countries in favour of applying the agreement, the main aim of
which is to reduce greenhouse gases and thereby reduce the ill-
effects of climate change, the report said. 
Contact:
Czech Environment Ministry, Marta Novakova, director, Department of
Public Relations, tel: (420-2) 6712-2040 or (420-2) 6731-1496.

STUDY: NOT SWITCHING ON TEMELIN WOULD COST CZECHS
USD 3B
A Czech study claims that not putting the Temelin nuclear power
plant on line would cost Czech taxpayers almost USD 3 billion,
according to a May 24 report from Radio Prague. The study was
conducted under an agreement between the Czech and Austrian
governments to examine the impact of Temelin on the environment,
and to assess alternatives to opening the plant, the report said.
Austria has expressed strong objections to the Temelin plant,
which is just 50 kilometres from their border. The new study into
the effect of not opening the plant says that, together with the
investment into constructing the plant, and the funds required to
safely dispose of the nuclear fuel already at Temelin, this option
would cost CKR 117 billion, or almost USD 3 billion, according to
Radio Prague. 
Contact:
Czech Environment Ministry, Marta Novakova, director, Department of Public Relations, tel: (420-2) 6712-2040 or (420-2) 6731-1496; or Greenpeace Austria, tel: (43-1) 545-4580.

ROMANIA TO COMPLETE SECOND NUCLEAR UNIT AT
CERNAVODA
A contract for finalizing the construction of a second reactor at the
Cernavoda nuclear power station was signed on May 18, between
the Romanian Nuclearelectrica National Society, the Canadian
Atomic Energy Agency, and the Italian ANSALDO, according to a
report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The construction,
which is to last four-and-a-half years, would cost an estimated USD
689 million, the report said. The first Cernavoda reactor uses
Canadian CANDU technology, and Prime Minister Adrian Nastase
said at the signing ceremony that Romania envisages building a
third, "and perhaps even a fourth" unit at Cernavoda, the report
said. 
Contact:
Romanian Environment Ministry, tel: (40-1) 410-0246;  (40-1) 410-0215
e-mail: biodiv@mappm.ro

MINOR WASTE SPILL REPORTED BY IGNALINA PLANT IN
LITHUANIA
Lithuania's Ignalina nuclear power plant reported it had spilled
contents from a container of medium-level nuclear waste on May
16, but no change in radiation levels had occurred, according to
Reuters. "Yesterday, we transported some containers with waste
... after maintenance," a spokeswoman reportedly told Reuters. "It
is medium-level waste. One of the containers fell from the truck and
some waste was spread on the road." The spokeswoman could not
immediately say how much of the material was spilled, but did say
the accident occured within the territory of the plant and the site of
the accident had been cleaned and the spilled materials were
stored in a waste disposal site, Reuters reported. 
Contact:
Lithuanian environmental spokeswoman Natalija Gedvilaite, 
tel: (370-2) 723- 25
e-mail: Leidybos.biuras@nt.gamta.lt

GERMAN PUBLIC TELLS WHO THEY THINK IS READY TO JOIN
THE EU
The German weekly magazine "Der Spiegel" commissioned a
survey at the end of April to determine whether the German public
feels new countries are ready to enter the European Union. The
published results, indicating the percentage of respondents for or
against membership of various countries at the present time, is as
follows: Hungary: 80 percent for, 16 percent against; Czech
Republic: 68 for, 28 against; Malta: 67 for, 25 against; Slovakia: 64
for, 32 against; Estonia: 62 for, 32 against; Latvia: 59 for, 34
against; Poland: 59 for, 38 against; Lithuania: 55 for, 39 against;
Cyprus: 54 for, 38 against; Slovenia: 51 for; 44 against; Bulgaria:
48 for, 48 against; Turkey: 40 for, 58 against; Romania: 32 for, 64
against. 
Contact:
Der Speigel, tel: (40) 3007-2687
web: http://www.spiegel.de

GERMAN REPORT FINDS 'BLACK TRIANGLE' GETTING
GREENER
A report by the German Environment Agency and other
organisations found that Central Europe's famously polluted "black
triangle," situated in the region where the territories of Poland, the
Czech Republic and eastern Germany meet, has been dramatically
improved, according to the May 16 edition of ENDS Environment
Daily. The report was said to have found massive cuts in emissions
of key pollutants from 1989 to 1999: Sulphur dioxide plummeted by
92 percent, nitrogen oxides by 80 percent and particulates by 96
percent. The need for further improvements has nevertheless been
underlined by a recent protest by residents of the German state of
Saxony, who complained that they are suffering from strong
chemical and fuel odours, which they say have caused nausea,
headaches and respiratory problems, ENDS reported. 
Contact:
German Environment Agency, tel: (49-30) 89-030; or German
Environment Ministry, tel: (49 30) 285-500. 
To subscribe to ENDS Environment Daily
e-mail: envdaily@ends.co.uk

MEDIA CENTER BELGRADE HAS ENGLISH WEB PAGES ON
TRAINING
The Media Center, Belgrade announced that they have placed
information about journalist training in English online. The site
offers information on media training needs, training providers and
ongoing courses available in Yugoslavia. Various courses are
offered to meet the needs of a variety of students. 
To find out more, see the site at:
http://www.mediacenter.org.yu/infocentar/english/homee.asp
Anyone with information relevant for the site is asked to send 
e-mail to: radovanovic@mediacenter.org.yu

APPLY BY MAY 31 FOR CEE JOURNALISM SCHOLARSHIPS
ON EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
Young journalists from Central and Eastern European Countries
can take part in three courses on European affairs, scheduled in
Paris later this year and in 2002, organised by the Fondation
Journalistes en Europe (Journalists in Europe Foundation),
according to an announcement from the Croatian Government's HIC
news. The program is open to journalists, 25- to 35-years-old, with
at least four years' professional experience in journalism, a good
understanding of both French and English and writing skills in
either English or French, the announcement said. The closing date
for applications from Central and Eastern Europe is May 31.
Contact:
 Secretariat International 4, tel: (33-1) 5577-2000, fax: (33-1) 4824-4002
e-mail: europmag@europmag.com;  web: http://www.europmag.com