About: Janez Poto?nik Archives

The United Nations will honour Janez Poto?nik, the EU's top environment official, with its Champions of the Earth prize for his efforts to promote a greener EU economy.

Brussels presented a new proposal on Monday to ban the introduction of non-native plants and animals in the European Union. There are over 12000 non-native species in Europe, which, according to experts, represent a large threat to the continent's biodiversity.
The Commission estimates that invasive species cost Europe 12 billion euros every year, as they can damage infrastructure, agriculture and also human health.

The EU’s top environment and industry officials are meeting Chinese leaders for talks on promoting green growth today (19 July), as Beijing advises the young, elderly and ill to remain indoors due to “heavy pollution” for the 68th time this year.

The EU and China's State Forestry Administration are to sign an agreement today (18 July) to help combat the illegal trade of wildlife products, such as elephant and rhinoceros horns, the EU’s top environment official, Janez Poto?nik, has told EURACTIV.

Some 80% of Europeans are concerned by the environmental impact of their purchases but only one-quarter say they “often” buy green products, reveals the latest EU opinion poll.

If European Union countries implemented existing waste-management regulations, they could create some 400,000 jobs and save diminishing resources, a senior European Commission environment official has said.

The European Commission has proposed EU-wide methods for companies to measure and communicate their ‘greenness’ and the environmental footprint of their products.

The European Commission has hailed a UN agreement that will establish the first global treaty to cut mercury pollution. Specific household items will be blacklisted and new controls on power plants and small-scale mines will be introduced, the United Nations said on Saturday (19 January).

The European Commission unveiled its water blueprint on Thursday (15 November), calling for strengthened enforcement of the 12-year-old Water Framework Directive amid fresh reports that many national governments are failing to live up to their commitments.

EU member states may be falling short of waste management commitments according to data in a new report on management of municipal waste, highlighting stark differences across the union.

SPECIAL REPORT / Europe faces an uphill battle to convince world leaders to buy its plan for strengthening global environmental governance at an important sustainable development conference later this week.

One way of meeting the European Union's goal of ensuring sustainability and competitiveness of the farming sector is through green technologies, says Janez Poto?nik, the EU’s environment commissioner.

European leaders on Friday (2 March) could throw their weight behind a plan to convert the relatively powerless UN Environment Programme (UNEP) into a world body with the muscle to oversee treaties and protect the ecology.

The EU's Environment Commissioner Janez Poto?nik says he will “test the waters” on his priorities for the June Earth Summit during ministerial meetings in Nairobi that began today (20 February).

Environment Commissioner Janez Poto?nik said yesterday (7 February) that the EU would push for firm international commitments on sustainable growth at an upcoming UN conference in Rio de Janeiro, saying “a day will not pass by” without the EU pressing for action.

Compared to other policy areas, environment still remains the Cinderella of the European budget, where allocations amount to just over €2 billion compared to research which gets more than €50 billion for the FP7. Negotiations on the next EU budget 2014-2020 will be crucial, said Commissioner Janez Poto?nik in an interview with EURACTIV Slovakia. 

The European Commission is expected to provide significantly more money for regional environmental and climate projects under proposals scheduled to be unveiled on Monday (12 December).

Environment Commissioner Janez Poto?nik wants 2013 to be the “Year of Air” and is pushing for stronger air quality laws across the European Union. But with many member states failing to enforce current rules, the commissioner could face an uphill battle.

The European Commission's roadmap for a resource-efficient Europe proposes a decent way forward to transform the Union into a sustainable economy, writes Bas de Leeuw from the World Resources Forum.

The European Commission is considering a tax or a ban on plastic bags as it seeks the public's views on how to reduce their use and fight pollution.

The EU needs to improve its "innovation climate" and the speed with which it transforms research into commercial products, EU Science and Research Commissioner Janez Poto?nik told EURACTIV in an interview.

The EU will invest billions in green technologies using a series of public private partnerships (PPPs), Janez Poto?nik, Commissioner responsible for Science and Research, has said in an interview with EURACTIV Slovakia.

With 95% of public research carried out at member state level, comparisons with the United States and Japan do not reflect Europe's true R&D capacity, EU Research Commissioner Janez Poto?nik told EURACTIV Turkey in an interview.