Poland admits problems hitting EU pollution targets

Date: 11/03/1999

By Simon Taylor

Poland will ask for long delays before meeting EU standards on water quality after joining the Union, because of massive investment needed to clean up the country's polluted rivers and water supplies.

Warsaw will also ask for a temporary exemption from rules requiring public authorities to assess possible environmental damage from new developments before they are approved.

Polish officials have confirmed that Warsaw will ask for delays following a meeting at the end of last month where Polish environmental law was checked to see how close it was to EU standards.

It has long been widely predicted that Poland will not be able to meet the Union's high environmental standards when it joins the bloc, but this is the first time that its intention to ask for concessions has been officially confirmed.

Polish environment experts say Warsaw will need extra time to meet EU standards on ground and drinking water quality because of the enormous investment needed to clean up pollution caused by Poland's heavy industry.

One official said around 40% of Polish water did not meet EU standards, with particular problems in the large cities such as Warsaw and Krakow on the Vistula river, although he added that the situation had improved over the last five years after the government had made improving water quality a priority. Plans to build 1,200 new water treatment plants are under way and some have already been built.

But the cost of making further improvements will be enormous. Environment Minister Jan Szyszko said recently that Warsaw needed to spend an extra €500 million a year to meet EU standards by 2010 on top of current outlay of €2 billion a year.

The Union will provide €500 million a year from 2000 to help raise environmental standards, but the money has to be shared between all the countries applying to join the EU.

Polish officials are refusing to say how much extra time Warsaw would need to comply with EU rules, adding that the government will decide how long to ask for when it finalises its negotiating position towards the end of this year.