February 6 (SeeNews) - Romania must improve compliance with EU waste and urban waste water legislation in order to meet the EU targets, as the final deadlines set out in the accession treaty are drawing near, the European Commission said on Monday.
"Romania has significantly improved its environmental performance since its accession in 2007. While Romanian legislation accurately reflects the environmental requirements agreed at EU level, their implementation on the ground is in general a challenge, prompted interalia by a lack of planning, coordination and appropriate funding," the Commission said in its EU Environmental Implementation Review 2017 report.
The implementation gap is problematic in several areas, in particular waste management and waste-water treatment, the Commission said, encouraging Romania to make better use of the EU funds to address these challenges.
Also, the country needs to improve coordination and to enhance the administrative capacity of the authorities and agencies involved in the implementation of EU legislation, in particular with regard to water and waste management and the protection and management of the Natura 2000 sites.
The Commission also recommended Romania to increase support and promotion of resource efficiency measures by SMEs, to ensure that policy orientation has a strategic long-term view and an integrated approach for mainstreaming sustainable development, and to attract more EU funds to invest in sustainable solutions.