General European Action plan for the environment and water protection

Bjelica Vlajić Iris (Fakultet za poslovne studije i pravo Univerziteta \"Union Nikola Tesla\", Beograd), iris.bjelica.vlajic@fpsp.edu.rs

In its Resolution on the climate and environmental emergency, the European Parliament calls on the Commission to take urgent action and take concrete measures to ensure that all relevant future legislative and budgetary proposals fully contribute to the coherence of the European Union’s (EU) policies on climate and environmental emergencies, in particular by reforming its investment policies in agriculture, trade, transport, energy, and infrastructure to limit global warming to below 1.5°C. The next generation EU Recovery Plan promotes investments in sectors significant to the green and digital transitions to build resilience, create growth and jobs in a fair and inclusive society, and protect water bodies in the EU. The 8th European Environment Action Plan (EAP), as the EU’s overall Environment Action Programme up to 2030, together with the EU budget for 2021-2027, includes a new monitoring mechanism to ensure that the EU supports the environmental and climate objectives of the European Green Deal as defined by the UN 2030 Agenda, the Rio Convention, and other relevant international agreements. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and supporting third countries to do the same are essential for the EU to become a global leader in achieving sustainable development. Actions to achieve the EU’s environmental and climate objectives should be implemented in line with the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, among which the right to clean water is foremost. Therefore, water protection is an indispensable element of this Action Plan. A separate part of the paper deals with the opportunities for the Republic of Serbia arising from the ideas and measures contained in these documents.

Keywords: EU, environment, water, climate, sustainable development