Minister Lichev ensured fulfillment of requirements within the Water Framework Directive

08 Jun, 2021 | 15:52

The Minister of Environment and Water eng. Asen Lichev approved programs for monitoring of surface and groundwater for the period 2021 - 2022, which are part of the river basin management plans adopted by decisions by the Council of Ministers. The implementation of the programs should have been financially secured at the end of last year, but this had not been done.

Failure to monitor is a violation of the minimum mandatory requirements within the Water Framework Directive and would constitute grounds for initiating an infringement procedure against Bulgaria. As the budget of the Ministry of Environment and Water is in a critical condition, the Minister had to provide targeted funding for the full implementation of the programs.