EU environment ministers discussed opportunities for taking action against the pollution caused by plastic waste in Valetta on 25 April 2017, at a summit organised by the Maltese presidency of the European Union. The Hungarian delegation was led by the Ministry of Agriculture’s Minister of State for Public Administration Andrea Gulyás.
The EU ministers agreed that international treaties and national waste management policies must be brought into harmony and mutually reinforce each other, with particular attention to protecting the world’s seas and oceans. Scientific research on the quantity and effects of waste in our oceans and rivers could be a great help in providing more information on the problem. In addition to economic and environmental effects, priority attention must also be placed on the damaging effects of plastics to human health. Further research is also required on the potential pollution of the food chain. The European Union is currently debating a package of proposals on developing crop rotation in farming, which could also be an effective tool in combatting the problem of ocean waste.
The Hungarian Minister of State pointed out that harmonising action plans with treaties on rivers and oceans could increase the effectiveness of measures. The EU plastics strategy must include both inland and ocean waste, and countries with no shoreline are also assuming a proportional share within this approach. Thanks to the introduction of compulsory charges for plastic bags, in EU comparison Hungary has achieved significant progress in reducing the use of these products, with the number of plastic bags falling by more than 50 percent since 2012.
On the sidelines of the summit, the head of the Hungarian delegation met with Estonian Minister of the Environment Marko Pomerants. Estonia will be assuming the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2017. Mr. Gulyás highlighted the fact that the package of regulations on crop rotation farming, on which the Estonian presidency would like to achieve an agreement, must be ambitious, but must also be realistically achievable by all member states. This is an approach that is shared by Estonia, and negotiations will be conducted accordingly.