The government approved the Bulgarian position for the informal meeting of EU environmental ministers, which will be held on July 20th and 21st, 2021 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The agenda of the meeting envisages a ministerial exchange of initial views on the legislative package “Adaptation to 55%”. The package constitutes the European Commission's views on achieving the EU’s increased climate target for reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions by “at least 55%” by 2030, paving the way for climate neutrality by 2050 and taking into account the need for contribution by all sectors.

In the framework of the forthcoming negotiations on the legislative package “Adaptation to 55%” and in accordance with the position so far, the Bulgarian priorities remain the following: provision of an adequate facilitation framework; consideration of national characteristics (including purchasing power, national prospects, starting positions, early efforts and constraints); compliance with the principle of technological neutrality (including the right of Member States to determine their energy mix); maintenance of the competitiveness of the national industry; fair distribution of transition benefits and efforts; providing European funding (including for the reduction of energy poverty); avoidance of additional costs for households, affordable energy prices and provision of guarantees for achieving the necessary fair socio-economic transition.

In the course of the negotiations, Bulgaria will insist on finding an adequate solution to the problem of emissions from transit traffic, especially in the EU border regions.

The meeting will discuss the progress in the preparation and the expectations for two upcoming international meetings on climate and biodiversity - the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (1-12 November 2021, Glasgow) and the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (11-24 October 2021, Kunming).

EU Member States will also exchange views on implementation progress of the EU Pollinators Initiative. We share the understanding that the situation with the reduction of wild pollinators and honey bees is extremely concerning, both in respect to environmental risks and potential economic losses. We are convinced that urgent action is needed to protect them.