EU readies for major pan-European ministerial Conference in Kiev

Water will be the priority issue defended by the EU during the Kiev Ministerial. The Commission is expected to sign a "Water initiative" with the NIS. This initiative foresees the setting up of water management systems based on river basins (a model already in place in the EU Member States) and tripartite partnerships between public authorities, business and civil society to ensure adequate supply of water and sanitary installations in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Tackling these issues is important to address the poor quality of water and decide how best to share the limited available water resources both among countries and among sectors, such as agriculture or industry.

During the conference, the environment ministers are expected to sign three new protocols:

• The Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers to the Aarhus Convention: this Protocol will require polluting companies to provide information on their releases of polluting substances, such as greenhouse gases, dioxins and heavy metals, to a national register that is accessible and searchable through the Internet.
• The Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment to the Espoo Convention: this Protocol will require environmental and public health considerations to be systematically taken into account when plans and programmes, for instance in agriculture, industry of transport, are drawn up.
• The Protocol on Civil Liability and Compensation for Damage Caused by the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents on Transboundary Waters to the Helsinki Conventions: this Protocol will ensure that if an industrial accident pollutes international rivers or lakes, its victims, such as fishermen or drinking water plants downstream, will receive compensation.

Environment Ministers are also expected to hold policy debates on:

• The state of Europe's environment;
• Compliance with multilateral environmental agreements;
• Energy efficiency and pricing;
• Biological and landscape diversity;
• Education for sustainable development;
• Environmental partnerships;
• The future of the "Environment for Europe" process.