At the start of their first meeting under the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, held in Valladolid, Kingdom of Spain, EU environment ministers discussed the challenges of the integrated management of the different elements of the environment. The common understanding was established that taking into account the cross-cutting nature of environmental considerations and integrating them into other sectoral policies is crucial. Achieving a high level of coherence in EU policies and legislation was identified as a challenge in ensuring integrated management of environmental elements. 

During the discussion, the environmental situation in Ukraine was also discussed, in particular following the destrcution of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam. In his speech, Minister Julian Popov underlined that Bulgaria remains strongly committed in its solidarity with Ukraine and reminded that the environmental damage caused has its impact on other countries in the region. He stressed that the European Union should work together with Ukraine to restore the environmental components. “The green recovery of Ukraine with the support of the EU should start as soon as possible by providing targeted funding in this respect,” said Minister Popov.

The ministers also discussed the measures for tackling marine and ocean pollution, a global environmental problem and a priority for EU environment policy in recent years.

In their afternoon working session, the environment ministers discussed the balance between the deployment of renewable energy and the protection and restoration of biodiversity.

The ministerial meeting will continue tomorrow with a joint session of environment and energy ministers to discuss EU expectations for the outcome of the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai at the end of this year.