The Kosovo National Assembly adopted the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment, the Energy Community Secretariat announced last week.
According to the Energy Community Secretariat, this new legislative development will strengthen environmental protection in Kosovo. In particular, the law will ensure that projects with significant impact on the environment are granted building permits only after their assessment has been carried out and suitable mitigation measures are put in place.
The Secretariat “congratulates Kosovo on this immense progress and its dedication to resolving the issue of non-compliance with the environmental acquis. The Secretariat will continue the joint work and cooperation with Kosovo’s authorities on the upcoming secondary legislation to fully align with the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive”. Additionally, the press release noted that once Kosovo achieves full compliance, the breach identified by the Ministerial Council will be remedied.
Separately, the Energy Community’s “Annual Implementation Report“, published in November, noted that in the area of environment, Kosovo made “some progress” during the reporting period but “implementation still remains at a low level”.
Last week’s Ministerial Council meeting saw the adoption of new 2030 targets to reduce primary and final energy consumption, accelerate the uptake of renewables and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, a new electricity package was adopted, which will enable full market integration of Energy Community Contracting Parties (inc. Kosovo) into the European market.
The press release noted that the Kosovo designation is without prejudice to positions on status,and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
