The European Commission approved in its Thursday session the Operational Program for the Environment Sector (Environment OPS). According to the Environment Ministry, Romanian will benefit between 2007 and 2012 from some 4.5 billion euros, designed for environmental protection and improvement, as well as for raising the life quality.
Environment OPS requires about a 1 billion euros budgetary effort from Romania's budget, as co-financing.
Funds for the program will arrive in Romania through Cohesion Funds and the European Regional Development Fund.
The main priorities are:
- expanding and updating water supply and water cleaning systems (3.3 billion euros)
- development of waste and contaminated areas integrated management systems (1.2 billion euros)
- modernization of city thermal plants, aiming at pollution output decrease (458 million euros)
- actions to improve the management of protected areas and stopping the biodiversity and natural resources' degradation (215 million euros)
- actions to protect the Black Sea coast from floods and erosion (329 million euros).
