EUWI+: New year, new energy for water policy reforms
From 5 to 7 February international project partners and country representatives gathered in Vienna to define milestones of the current work programme of the transboundary project European Union Water Initiative Plus for the Eastern Partnership (EUWI+).
Environment Agency Austria contributes with water and laboratory know how
In field surveys, training sessions and workshops experts of the Umweltbundesamt (the Environment Agency Austria) and the International Office for Water will share their know how on water quality, laboratory standards and river basin management planning. The laboratories in the Eastern Partnership countries will be newly equipped in 2019 in order to meet the requirements of EU monitoring standards.
For World Water Day, World Rivers Day, Danube Day and Dnieper Day side events and communication activities are planned, which will promote progress on integrated water resources management made in the framework of EUWI+.
European Water Initiative Plus: Water resource management in the six countries
The aim of the transboundary project European Union Water Initiative Plus for the Eastern Partnership (EUWI+) is to improve sustainable management of water resources in six countries of the European Eastern Neighborhood Policy. For this purpose, management plans for river basins and transboundary rivers in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine have been developed and will be implemented, based on the requirements of the Water Framework Directive. The experts from European Union member states institutions, together with their partners, are building water monitoring systems on-site which will be tested in model regions. To implement the systems and plans in the best possible way, training sessions are planned for the persons in charge, as well as the development of administrative structures in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. For the consortium French and Austrian experts (mainly from the Environment Agency Austria, the Federal Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism and the Austrian Development Agency) are working on the spot in these countries.
Project funding is provided by the European Commission (DG NEAR), the European Union support programme for improved cooperation in the eastern European Union neighbourhood region and the EU Water Initiative Plus (EUWI+). On a national level, financial support comes from the Austrian Development Agency, the Federal Austrian Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management as well as from the French Office International de l’Eau.
