The EU with a budget of 1.1 million Euros will help improve air quality management in Macedonia. A twinning project for that purpose was launched on Wednesday, which is implemented by the Ministry of Environment and the Public Health Institute. Two EU-funded projects have been implemented so far in Macedonia in relation to air quality improvement, but a lot more needs to be done, it was concluded.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, EU Ambassador Aivo Orav urged state services to remain committed to implementing necessary reforms and applying existing laws.

“Sufficient competent human as well as financial resources need to be engaged in a bid to improve the situation. Efforts at state, regional and local level should be joined in order to provide clean air for us and for future generations,” Orav stressed adding the EU would continue supporting the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning to address the challenges related to environmental protection as part of the EU integration process.

Minister of Environment and Physical Planning Nurhan Izairi said that Macedonia had successfully prepared legislation related to air quality in which EU directives had been transposed.

According to him, Macedonia is continuously aligning with key EU institutions in terms of air quality management.

The activities of the project will aid the beneficiaries in making the necessary reforms and improvements for the implementation of air quality legislation. This should ultimately lead to improved air quality and reduced impacts of air pollution to the human health.

During the project, planned to be completed in January 2017, the capacities of the beneficiaries related to the air quality monitoring, data management and reporting will be strengthened. Emission inventories and projections for different sectors will be improved as well as dispersion modelling to support air quality assessments. Significant efforts will be put into preparation of the air quality improvement plans including identification of measures to improve the air quality on local level. The project will include activities to improve the health impact assessments of air pollution.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute and Austria’s Environment Agency are the main partners in the EU-funded project.