Skip to main content

Eighth Seminar of Cooperation on the Espoo Convention in the Baltic Sea Region

28 - 29 September 2015
Vilnius Lithuania

With a view to promoting cooperation and synergies among the legal instruments, the seminar discussed the following themes:

1)  Assessment and reduction of transboundary impacts on transboundary watercourses and international lakes in the context of the Espoo Convention,  its Protocol on SEA  and the UNECE Water Convention; and the UN Watercourses Convention;
2)  Effective public participation in SEA and EIA in the context of the Espoo Convention, the Protocol on SEA and the Aarhus Convention.
 

Document Title    
     
Agenda ENG  
List of participants    
Report ENG  
Presentations    
Monday, 28th September    

Work on EIA Convention and SEA-Protocol

ENG

 
Case studies (country reports) on transboundary EIAs and SEA    
 

- Poland

ENG

ENG

- Latvia

ENG  
      - Sweden ENG  
      - Finland ENG  
      - Germany ENG  
      - Lithuania ENG  

The Rail Baltica project in the Baltic States–state of play:

   

        Construction of the European standard gauge public railway infrastructure line in Latvia

ENG  

        European standard railway line Kaunas - Lithuanian/Latvian state border (Rail Baltica 2)

ENG  

        The Rail Baltic Project in Estonia, State of play

ENG  

The role of Espoo-consultations in a communicative world – A Marine Spatial Planning example from Sweden and the Baltic Sea Region (Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management)

ENG  

Assessment and reduction of transboundary impacts on transboundary watercourses and international lakes in the context of the Espoo Convention, the Protocol on SEA and the Helsinki Convention:

The international dimension of the EU water policy. Links between the Espoo Convention and the UN Watercourses Convention

ENG  

- Relationships between Espoo and Helsinki Conventions - Special focus on Finland-Russia boundary (Freshwater Centre Finnish Environment Institute)

ENG  

- Transboundary water co-operation between Lithuania and neighbouring countries according to Helsinki Convention and bilateral agreements

ENG  
Tuesday, 29th September    

Effective public participation in SEA/EIA in the context of the Espoo Convention, the Protocol on SEA and the Aarhus:

- Public participation in the context of transboundary EIA/SEA: main concepts and the case law of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee

ENG  

- Public participation in the light of Espoo and Aarhus conventions: the practice of Lithuanian courts (Law Application Division, MoE of Lithuania) (TBC)

ENG  

Case studies on transboundary EIAs and SEAs (continues) 

   
EIA of the Balticconector offshore gas pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia (Finland) ENG  

AOB:

- Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 amending Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (transposition – state of play)

- coordinated and/or joint procedures with assessment under Birds and/or Habitats Directives (Directive 92/43/EEC and Directive 2009/147/EC)