ELSEWHERE AROUND THE CEE REGION

CZECHS RELEASE TIMETABLE FOR IMPROVEMENTS AT TEMELIN
The Czech government on Dec. 11 published the timetable for implementing the improvements it will make at the Temelin nuclear power plant, as part of its agreement with Austria, according to RadioFree Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE). "The timetable provides for meeting all seven Austrian demands to meet nuclear safety requirements by the end of 2004," RFE said. The improvements, which Czech officials estimate will cost about USD 27 million, are intended to make the plant safer, according to published reports. Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel and Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman reached an agreement in Brussels on Nov. 30, whereby the Czech Republic would meet stricter requirements for safety at its Temelin nuclear power plant and Austria would promise not to oppose Czech membership to the European Union. The Temelin nuclear plant, which just went online this year, is located near the Czech border with Austria, and has been a source of conflict between the two countries for some time. Many opponents in Austria, where anti-nuclear sentiment is strong, fought to prevent the construction of the plant, which was begun several years ago and then delayed. The Czech government has said that, with upgrades, the Temelin plant is safe, and argued that their country needs the energy source. Contact: Upper Austrian Parliament Chairman Josef Puehringer, e-mail: <LH.Puehringer@ooe.gv.at>; or Karel Bohm, chairman, Czech State Office for Nuclear Safety, tel: (420-2) 2422-3139; fax: (420-2) 2162-704; e-mail: <karel.bohm@sujb.cz>; or Czech Environment Minister Milos Kuzvart, tel: (420-2) 6712-2719 or (420-2) 6712-1111; or Greenpeace Austria, tel: (43-1) 545-4580.

ABOUT 40 TONS OF OIL SPILLED FROM FLOATING LITHUANIAN WELL IN BALTIC
An accident that occurred during the loading of a Norwegian tanker at the Lithuanian floating oil terminal at Butinge on Nov. 23 resulted in the dumping of about 40 tons of oil into the Baltic Sea, according to a report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE). It was the third spill at Butinge, which is operated by Mazeikiai Nafta (Mazeikiai Oil), since the terminal began operations in 1999, the RFE report said. Unlike an earlier spill in March, the oil did not move north into Latvian waters, but south toward Palanga, according to the report. Lithuanian Environment Minister Arunas Kundrotas estimated that the damage to the environment from the spill will cost more than LIL 2.5 million (USD 750,000), according to RFE. Kundrotas said the accident was caused by misuse of the terminal facility, lack of sufficient regulation and legislation, and lack of accountability among institutions for the terminal’s use, RFE reported. Contact: Lithuanian environmental spokeswoman Natalija Gedvilaite, tel: (370-2) 723-25; e-mail: <Leidybos.biuras@nt.gamta.lt>.

HUNGARY SEEKS USD 100M IN TISZA LAWSUIT
Hearings were to begin in December in a suit by Hungary to claim USD 100 million in damages from Aurul, the firm that owns the Baia Mare gold smelting facility, where a cyanide spill devastated the Tisza River, according to a Dec. 4 report from Reuters. Hungary would also seek to prevent Aurul from conducting any further work at the site, where operations resumed in the summer of 2000, until acceptable technological upgrades were made, the report said. The January 2000 spill occurred when a tailing pond containing cyanide overflowed, killed fish along the length of the Tisza River and destroyed the river’s ecosystems. Since the accident occurred, the gold industry has been involved in establishing a voluntary code for the safe use of cyanide, and has been working with the United Nations Environment Program to develop such a code. Contact: Hungarian Environment Minister Bela Turi-Kovacs, tel: (36-1) 201-2964; or Wanda Hoskin, UNEP Division of Technology Industry and Economics, e-mail: <whoskin@unep.fr>.

ONLINE DATABASE HELPS NGOS FIND FUNDING
The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe has launched an online directory to help non-governmental organisations in the region find the financing they need to do their work. According to the web site, the directory offers information about over 100 different funding institutions that serve Central and Eastern Europe and some Newly Independent Sates. The directory can be found online at: <http://www.rec.org/REC/Databases/Funders/Default.html>.

EUROPE AND THE WORLD

REPORT: 2001 SECOND WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD
The World Meteorological Organization announced on Dec. 18 that the year 2001 would be the second warmest year since record keeping began, according to a report from Environment News Service. The unusually warm weather, which mounting evidence indicates is directly caused by human activity and the release of greenhouse gases, was accompanied by record floods and droughts around the world. Central and Eastern Europe felt the impacts too, with many countries, especially in South Eastern Europe, suffering from a severe drought in the summer and flooding in other parts of the region. Contact: World Meteorological Organization, web: <http://www.wmo.ch/index-en.html>.

POLL: ROMANIANS EAGER FOR ACCESSION, BALTICS COOLER ON EU
Eighty percent of Romanians interviewed, and 74 percent of Bulgarians, believed that European Union membership would be generally good for their country, but only a third of Latvians and Estonians and 41 percent of Lithuanians felt that way, a Gallup Poll commissioned by the EU found, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE). Among the countries that appear to be first in line for accession, the poll found lowest support in Malta, with 39 percent believing accession would be good for their country, the report said. In the Czech Republic, pro-accession sentiment was found to be 46 percent, in Poland it was measured at 51 percent and in Hungary it was
measured at 60 percent, according to RFE. Contact European Commission Enlargement Directorate, e-mail: <enlarg-info@cec.eu.int>; web: <http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/index.htm>.

SLOVAKIA, LATVIA CLOSE ENVIRONMENTAL CHAPTERS IN EU NEGOTIATIONS
Slovakia closed discussions with the European Union on the environment "chapter" of accession negotiations, according to a Dec. 12 report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE). Meanwhile Latvia, which had closed its environmental chapter on Nov. 28, closed its energy chapter on Dec. 12, RFE reported. Slovakia, which expects to spend USD 3 billion to meet EU environmental standards, was granted seven "transition periods," according to reports, which means that in seven areas Slovakia will not have to meet full EU standards at the time of accession. Latvia was granted eight transition periods for complying with EU environmental regulations, and the longest of these grace periods was until 2015, for adjusting the water supply sector, RFE said. Contact: Latvian Environment Minister Vladimirs Makarovis, tel: (371-7)026-400, web: <http://www.varam.gov.lv>; or Slovak Ministry of Environment, tel: (421-7) 5956-2306.