Entering the European Union (EU) the 10 new member states became eligible for the development assistance offered under the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund – the two instruments of EU regional policy. Implementation of the funds will have a strong impact on the environment and the path of development in these countries. The extent to which the funds will benefit or impact the environment and sustainable growth depends very much upon the capacity of the environmental authorities in these countries to fully participate in all aspects of the funds planning and programming process. The importance of this problem led the REC to organise a conference which brought together environmental authorities and economic development authorities, along with key environmental NGOs from the 10 new member states and two candidate countries (Bulgaria and Romania) to examine environmental aspects of the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund. The main objectives of the event were: Exchange of lessons learned in the first Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund planning and programming period in new member states; Gain insight to experience in the development, preparation, and implementation of successful and sustainable Structural Funds programmes in selected EU 15 countries; Provide recommendations to better integrate environmental concerns into the next programming process (2007-2013); Create an opportunity for discussion on the mechanics of the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund programming and the prospects for sustainable development as well as for continuation of the networking process between environmental authorities and managing authorities; Identify areas for future cooperation with regard to integration of environmental issues into the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund. The conference was organised with financial support from the EU Phare Small Projects Programme and the Italian Ministry for Environment and Territory. Download the final conference paper (250-KByte 21-page PDF file), conference proceedings (175-KByte 18-page PDF file), conference presentations, conference agenda (106-KByte 3-page PDF file) and list of participants (20-KByte 2-page PDF file).

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