Chapter 27 is related to the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, and the tenth annual Coalition 27 Shadow Report entitled "A Green Agenda with no agenda", deals with key events in the field of the environment and climate change and provides an overview of the implementation of the Green Agenda in the Republic of Serbia.

The quality of the air we breathe, the (un)availability of clean drinking water, the endangerment of natural habitats and species, and the proliferation of unsanitary landfills are the consequences of the failure to implement EU legislation under Chapter 27. The state is sending us an unequivocal message - that it is insufficiently committed to making the necessary reforms, to the detriment of all citizens for whom the environment as such is still not a priority. The public is not privy to all the necessary information to be able to truly participate in decision-making, which makes the processes non-transparent and often in conflict with the needs of the public, especially when public hearings are held during holidays or vacation season.

In addition to practical implementation, important legislative processes are still incomplete, even though many documents should already have been completed. The end of the year is approaching, and we either do not know what progress is being made, or we know that the authorities are late in adopting documents such as the National Energy and Climate Plan, the Environmental Protection Strategy with an Action Plan, the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment, the Law on Strategic Impact Assessment, the Law on Water and the Energy Development Strategy, the publication of which is pending. With the rebalancing of the budget for 2023, the total budget of the Ministry of Environmental Protection was again reduced by RSD 4 billion, ignoring the real problems of all Serbian citizens in the field of environmental protection, as well as the recommendations of the European Commission. On the other hand, we have been waiting for a very long time for annual air quality plans, which means that we can only adopt measures to combat poor air quality in 2024, based on data from 2022. In the field of waste management, we still do not have data on the quantities of waste and the composition of waste and how waste is managed, while at the same time, at least five illegal and unsanitary landfills in Serbia are burning on a daily basis. The conclusion of the new Shadow Report is that other areas of environmental protection including noise, water management, forestry, and nature protection are also not on the priority list of institutions, and that progress is very slow.

Another interesting point highlighted by Coalition 27 concerns the increase in allocations for the international exhibition EXPO 2027. According to current plans, this investment will cost 0.4% of GDP for the national stadium in 2024, which is more than Serbia invests in the fields of environmental protection and education.

Presentation of the Coalition 27 Report at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia was opened by Nikola Bertolini, head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union in Serbia, who pointed out that work on improving the environment requires a lot of effort and time, which is why the Shadow Report is extremely important, for local and national, as well as for the regional levels.

If we further narrow our view and observe the implementation of policies in local self-governments, we can have a more complete view of the implementation of the goals of the Green Deal and the Green Agenda, and that is why the Green Map is a vital part of the Shadow Report. It shows the way in which local self-governments in Serbia implement policies and standards in various areas of environmental protection. Local self-governments often lack the capacity to deal with these issues, so the state of affairs in the analyzed local self-governments is below the legal minimum. Local voices from Arilje, Vršac, Subotica, Bor, as well as representatives of the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities of Serbia spoke at the event.

As announced, the European Commission's Annual Report on Serbia will be published on November 8, and based on the Shadow Report for Chapter 27, we highlight the fact that, starting with the lack of ambition for more serious reforms and the continuous postponement of deadlines for the completion of reforms, over processes that are difficult for the general public to follow, to the lack of adequate funding, progress is slow and uncoordinated.

For example, despite the fact that Chapter 27 has been emphasized for years as one of the most difficult and financially demanding, the Government of the Republic of Serbia has not yet established an operational Green Fund to finance reforms in environmental protection, although year after year, this has been one of the basic recommendations of the European Commission. We should keep in mind that although Chapter 27 is one of the more financially demanding chapters, the reforms are expensive but necessary, because we are already paying the high price of neglecting our environment with damaging effects to our health.

The Shadow Report A Green Agenda with no agenda covers the period from April 2022 to April 2023 and contains detailed recommendations for each area of Chapter 27. You can download the report here. Coalition 27 has presented the Shadow Report at an event that brought together representatives of the civil sector, the EU delegation, the professional public, and the media.

You can view photos from the event HERE

Photos author: Zorica Popović