EU APPROVES BULGARIA AND ROMANIA

Romania and Bulgaria will be admitted to the EU in January 2007. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the countries had made enough progress to join the union, but only under certain conditions. Both will be checked for progress in curbing organised crime and corruption, ensuring food safety and the proper use of EU funds. Bulgaria’s and Romania’s accession will bring 30 million people into the EU.

For more information, please visit:
http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/index_en.htm

EU REACHES AGREEMENT ON GROUNDWATER PROTECTION

The Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers agreed on final details of a new directive to protect groundwater from agricultural residues. The law will introduce a mandatory requirement to prevent the input of hazardous substances into the groundwater and impose a single limit value of 50 milligrams
per litre on nitrates in groundwater throughout the EU.

For more information, please visit:
www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/064-1356-345-12-50-911-20061207IPR01146-11-12-2006-2006-false/default_en.htm

AARHUS CONVENTION ADOPTED

The Aarhus Convention has recently been implemented into EU law governing the EU institutions by Regulation (EC) Number 1367/2006 (the Aarhus Regu-lation). The Aarhus Convention is an international agreement which establishes the principle that the public should have certain rights in relation to the environment, including access to environmental information, public participation in environmental decision-making, and access to justice. The regulation will come into force on June 28, 2007.

For more information, please visit:
www.unece.org/env/pp/

WWF CALLS FOR ECOLOGICAL FLOOD PREVENTION

The Austrian Economic Chamber and WWF released a paper under the slogan, ‘Prevention instead of damage repair’, calling for more investment in ecological flood prevention. WWF identified approximately 11,000 hectares from 24 Austrian rivers that require renaturation. WWF has also issued a working paper reviewing the flood events of 2006 and highlighting the importance of floodplain restoration.

For more information, please visit:
www.wwf.at/News/news714a/index.html

31/1/2007, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

CONFERENCE: NAVIGATING THE EU WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE

PIANC, an international association for technical aspects of navigation, together with the Navigation Task Group on the Water Framework Directive (WFD) hosts this conference covering hydromorphology, priority substances, the setting of ecological targets, legal aspects including also the implications of the WFD for new development proposals, river basin planning, and sediment management.

For more information contact:
info@pianc-aipcn.org

12-14/2/2007, BERLIN, GERMANY

SYMPOSIUM: TIME TO ADAPT — CLIMATE CHANGE AND
THE EUROPEAN WATER DIMENSION

Scientific evidence suggests that climate change will result in frequent and severe extreme events and affect the availability of water. As part of the German EU presidency’s activities, the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety will host this symposium to discuss the likely impacts of climate change on water management and waterdependent sectors such as agriculture, energy, inland navigation and tourism, as well as options for adaptation.

For more information visit:
www.climate-water-adaptation-berlin2007.org

7-9/6/2007, BELGRADE, SERBIA

IWA CONFERENCE: GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT IN THE DANUBE RIVER BASIN AND OTHER LARGE RIVER BASINS

Groundwater is a vital – but too often hidden – resource for about 75% of all Europeans. One of the goals of this conference is to contribute to better understanding of groundwater processes and groundwater management, especially referring to the requirement of the EU Water Framework Directive. It will also offer a platform for the exchange of technical and scientific information regarding groundwater abstraction and protection.

For more information visit:
www.jcerni.org/activities/conferences/iwa2007/home.html

 Next: Danube Day 2006: River of Life