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EUROPEAN

COMMISSION

Brussels, 8.9.2022

SWD(2022) 252 final

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT

Environmental Implementation Review 2022

Country Report - SLOVAKIA

Accompanying the document

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the

European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions

Environmental Implementation Review 2022:

Turning the tide through environmental

compliance

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Slovakia 1

This report has been written by the staff of the Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission.

Any comments are welcome to the following e-mail address: [email protected]

More information on the European Union is available on the internet (https://europa.eu).

Photographs:

For reproduction or use of these photos, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holder.

©European Union, 2022

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

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Slovakia 2

Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................... 3

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS ...................................................................................................................................... 4

1. C

IRCULAR ECONOMY AND WASTE MANAGEMENT

....................................................................................................... 4

Measures towards a circular economy ................................................................................................................ 4

Waste management............................................................................................................................................. 6

2. B

IODIVERSITY AND NATURAL CAPITAL

.................................................................................................................... 10

Nature protection and restoration ..................................................................................................................... 10

Ecosystem assessment and accounting ............................................................................................................. 16

3. Z

ERO POLLUTION

.............................................................................................................................................. 19

Clean air ............................................................................................................................................................. 19

Industrial emissions ............................................................................................................................................ 21

Major industrial accidents prevention – SEVESO ............................................................................................... 23

Noise .................................................................................................................................................................. 24

Water quality and management ........................................................................................................................ 24

Chemicals

........................................................................................................................................................... 29

4. C

LIMATE ACTION

.............................................................................................................................................. 31

Key national climate policies and strategies ...................................................................................................... 31

Effort-sharing target .......................................................................................................................................... 32

Key sectoral developments................................................................................................................................. 32

Use of revenues from the auctioning of EU ETS allowances .............................................................................. 33

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS .............................................................................. 35

5. F

INANCING

...................................................................................................................................................... 35

Environmental investment needs in the European Union .................................................................................. 35

EU environmental funding 2014-2020 ............................................................................................................... 38

EU environmental funding 2021-2027 ............................................................................................................... 39

National environmental protection expenditure ................................................................................................ 41

Green budget tools ............................................................................................................................................. 43

Overall financing compared to the needs .......................................................................................................... 45

6. E

NVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE

........................................................................................................................... 46

Information, public participation and access to justice...................................................................................... 46

Compliance assurance ........................................................................................................................................ 48

Effectiveness of environmental administrations ................................................................................................ 49

Reforms through the Commission’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI) ........................................................... 50

TAIEX EIR peer to peer projects .......................................................................................................................... 50

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Executive summary

The main challenges identified in past Environmental

Implementation Reports (EIRs) with regard to

implementation of EU environmental policy and law by

Slovakia were:



to improve waste management, particularly by

increasing recycling, rolling-out separate collection of

waste and reducing landfilling;



to complete the Natura 2000 network and to reduce

the pressures on nature ecosystems, in particular on

forest and on water bodies;



to improve air quality in critical regions and the

quality of monitoring, and to roll out scheme for

exchanging household boilers to improve air quality;



to complete the environmental infrastructure in

water and waste water management sectors; and



to advance the phase-out of environmentally harmful

subsidies to brown coal.

Slovakia is still facing a

serious implementation gap

almost all environmental sectors and is underperforming

in the transition to a resource-efficient economy.

A poor performance in

waste management,

with strong

dependence on landfilling of municipal waste, remains

the main concern. A full assessment is pending, but

Slovakia continues to be at risk of not meeting the 2020

municipal waste recycling target, and most likely

forthcoming targets too. Slovakia’s recycling rate has

been growing since 2015; however the steep increase in

2014-2017 was mainly due to statistical adjustments.

Slovakia has one of the largest Natura 2000 networks,

but

biodiversity

continues to be under pressure. There

are still gaps in designation of sites and adoption of

management plans. Nature protection and forestry law

have been amended since 2020 and nature protection

reform was launched in 2022 to address the negative

impacts from forestry and logging in protected areas;

however, its application is yet to be evaluated. Regarding

the conservation status of habitats and species, there

were no major changes for habitats. Meanwhile, the

share of species in both good and bad conservation

status increased slightly, due to improved knowledge.

In the

air sector,

Slovakia still needs to reduce emissions

from the burning of solid fuel in homes and from

agriculture, transport and industry. Slovakia projects to

reach emission reduction commitments for all air

pollutants except ammonia. Persistent breaches of air

quality limits for particulate matter continue to cause

serious health risks for the Slovak people.

Despite the progress achieved, it is not clear if this is

sufficient to achieve good water status of

water

bodies

by 2027. The south-western part of the country is one of

the biggest sources of drinking water in Central Europe

and the intensity of freshwater abstraction is

comparatively low, but there are impacts from old

environmental burdens. Grievances linked to small water

hydro-plants are unsolved. Furthermore, the completion

of urban waste water infrastructure is pending.

EU financing continues to provide substantial support for

the

environmental implementation gap,

and Slovakia is

due to receive EUR 6.3 billion in grants under its

Recovery and Resilience plan (RRP) in 2021-2026 and EUR

12.3 billion under the cohesion policy in 2021-2027.

Slovakia’s environmental financing for investments came

to 1.12% of GDP (EU average: 0.7%) in 2014-2020, relying

both on EU funding and national sources. The overall

environmental investment needs for 2021-2027 are

estimated to reach at least 1.46% of GDP, indicating an

additional financing need (gap) of over 0.33% of the

country’s GDP for environmental implementation.

Although several measures included in the national RRP

positively contributed to the attainment of the 37%

climate target, in a number of cases these were long

over-due. Additional reforms and investments are

therefore needed from other EU funding (especially

cohesion funds) and national sources to to close the

implementation gap and to meet the objectives of the

European Green Deal (EGD).

Slovakia has to take urgent action to implement fully the

measures in the RRP, and

break with its poor

performance record in the absorption of EU funds.

Priorities include: phasing out EHSs to lignite;

construction and demolition waste reform, the boiler

replacement scheme and reform on landscape planning

and on nature protection and water management.

Additional investments are needed while investments to

potentially stranded assets are to be avoided, like

mechanical-biological treatment (MBTs) or waste-to-

energy facilities and to ensure that support for

renewable energy sources (RES) is compliant with the 'do

no significant harm' (DNSH) principle. Finally, the

enhanced use of economic instruments to make

polluters pay

is relevant for number of sectors.

The

environmental governance

framework remains

unstable. Although some legislative acts improved public

participation and access to justice, it seems that these

improvements will not sustain. For example, a new

reform of the permitting system was adopted, which,

subject to further assessment, might lower the level of

environmental protection.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Part I: Thematic Areas

1. Circular economy and waste management

Measures towards a circular economy

The new Circular Economy Action Plan adopted in March

2020 is one of the main building blocks of the European

Green Deal. The EU’s transition to a circular economy will

reduce pressure on natural resources and will create

sustainable growth and jobs. It is also a prerequisite to

achieve the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality target and to

halt biodiversity loss. The Action Plan announces

initiatives along the entire life cycle of products, aiming

to reduce the EU's consumption footprint and to double

the EU's circular material use rate by 2030. It targets how

products are designed, promotes circular economy

processes, encourages sustainable consumption, and

aims to ensure that waste is prevented and the resources

used are kept in the EU economy for as long as possible.

The circular material use rate is a good indicator of an

economy’s circularity, as it includes all the materials that

are fed back into our economy. Large differences in the

circularity rate exist across countries. To help achieve the

EU Circular Economy Action Plan’s goal of doubling the

EU circular material use rate by 2030, ambitious

measures targeting the whole product life cycle are

needed at Member States’ level. Such measures range

from sustainable product design to increase durability,

reparability, upgradability and recyclability of products,

to other measures like remanufacturing, increasing

circularity in production processes, recycling, and

boosting eco-innovation and increasing the uptake of

green public procurement.

Slovakia’s circular (secondary) use of material was 4.8%

in 2014 and 6.4% in 2020, compared with the EU average

of 12.8% in 2020. Slovakia is therefore well below the EU

average and the pace of its performance increase is still

slow.

Figure 1: Circular material use rate (%), 2010-2020

Resource productivity expresses how efficiently the

economy uses material resources to produce wealth.

Improving resource productivity can help to minimise

negative impacts on the environment and reduce

dependency on volatile raw material markets. As shown

in Figure 2, with EUR 1.34 generated per kg of material

consumed in 2020, resource productivity in Slovakia is

well below the EU average of EUR 2.09 per kg.

Figure 2: Resource productivity 2010-2020

Eurostat,

Circular Economy Monitoring Framework

Eurostat,

Resource productivity

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Circular economy strategies

The Commission encourages Member States to adopt

and implement national/regional circular economy

strategies covering the whole life cycle of products. Such

strategies are one of the most effective ways to progress

towards a more circular economy at Member State level.

Since the launch of the European Circular Economy

Stakeholder Platform in 2017

, national, regional or local

authorities have used the platform to share their

strategies and roadmaps.

Slovakia started with integration of circular economy

principles into various strategies

, with the first

comprehensive circular economy strategy developed

finally in 2022 in cooperation with OECD

under the

Commission’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI), called

‘Closing the Loop in the Slovak Republic’

. It is a roadmap

towards circularity for competitiveness, eco-innovation

and sustainability with more than 30 concrete policy

recommendations supported by an implementation plan

and a monitoring framework that would need to be

introduced by 2040. Priority areas are food and biowaste,

the construction sector, sustainable production and

consumption, and economic instruments as a horizontal

area. Some CE information platfom also exist

and first

examples of methodologies on circular private and public

procurement are available

Slovakia has included one circular economy-related

reform - on the management of construction and

demolition waste - in its national RRP.

Slovakia has taken some first steps were towards

circularity. A fee for light plastic bags was introduced in

2018. The landfill fees were gradually increased since

2019 and there is a plan to increase the fees further. As

of the beginning of 2022, the deposit-refund system for

single-use beverage packaging became operational and

Slovakia is among the first EU Member States to

introduce it

Eco-innovation

A successful transition to a circular economy requires

social and technological innovation. The full potential of

the circular economy can only be reached when

implemented across all value chains. Therefore, eco-

innovation is an important enabling factor for the circular

economy. Product design approaches and new business

models can help to produce systemic circularity

innovations, creating new business opportunities.

Slovakia ranked 21st in the list of EU countries in the

2021 Eco-Innovation Scoreboard of, scoring 82 and it

belongs to the group of ‘catching up countries’. Slovakia

performs below the EU average in all components of the

2021 Eco-innovation index, except for the component

’resource efficiency outcomes‘.

Figure 3: Eco-innovation performance

Green public procurement (GPP)

Public procurement accounts for a large proportion of

European consumption, with public authorities’

purchasing power representing 14% of EU GDP. This can

help drive the demand for sustainable products that

meet repairability and recyclability standards. At present,

reporting to monitor the uptake of GPP is voluntary.

Slovakia adopted a National Action Plan for Green Public

Procurement covering the period 2016-2020 period.

Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform

Greener Slovakia - Strategy of the Environmental Policy of the Slovak

Republic until 2030, Vision and Sustainable Development Strategy of

Slovakia up to 2030 (hereafter “Slovakia 2030”, Economic Policy

Strategy 2030

https://www.oecd.org/environment/waste/highlights-closing-the-

loop-in-the-slovak-republic-roadmap_EN.pdf

Example is the Information platform about the Green and Circular

Economy:

Informačná platforma zelené a obehové hospodárstvo

(enviroportal.sk)

https://www.incien.sk/aktuality/metodika-cirkularneho-verejneho-

obstaravania-vo-verejnych-a-sukromnych-zakazkach/

All you need to know about the deposit system for bottles and cans

(Q&A) - spectator.sme.sk

European Commission - Directorate-General for Environment (DG

ENV), Eco-innovation Observatory,

Eco-innovation index.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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However, monitoring showed that the strategic objective

to achieve a 50% share of green contracts in 12 selected

product groups procured by public authorities, including

counties and municipalities, was not yet met. A new

concept for development and implementation of GPP in

Slovakia was adopted by the government in 2019

, to

encourage ministries and other central state

administration bodies to make more intensive use of the

GPP

. The latest amendment to the procurement act

extended the mandatory social aspect in public

procurement with the environmental aspect, with a 6%

quota (to be reached for both and/or separately,

depending on type of public authority)

. The Greener

Slovakia Strategy sets a long-term goal to achieve, by

2030, 70% of GPP for the total value of public

procurement and for the total number of contracts.

2019 priority actions remain relevant and are retained,

and a new one on circular material usage is added.

2022 priority actions



Strengthen the policy framework to speed up

transition towards the circular economy by

economic sectors, including priority sectors

plastics, textiles and construction.



Adopt measures to increase the circular material

rate.

the

all

use

Waste management

Turning waste into a resource is supported by:

(i) fully implementing EU waste legislation, which

includes the waste hierarchy, the need to ensure

separate collection of waste, the landfill diversion

targets, etc.;

(ii) reducing waste generation and waste generation per

capita in absolute terms;

(iii) limiting energy recovery to non-recyclable materials

and phasing out landfilling of recyclable or recoverable

waste.

This section focuses on management of municipal

waste

for which EU law sets mandatory recycling

targets.

Preventing products and materials from becoming waste

for as long as possible is the most efficient way to

improve resource efficiency and to reduce the

environmental impact of waste. Waste prevention and

re-use are the most preferred options and top the waste

hierarchy. The amount of municipal waste generated is a

good indicator of the effectiveness of waste prevention

measures.

Although Slovakia’s municipal waste generation

remained below the EU average in 2020 (433 kg/y/capita

as against 505 kg/y/capita), there had been a significant

increase since 2013 (304 kg/y/capita)

, as Figure 4

shows. The first Waste Prevention Programme (WPP) was

put in place in 2014, but it has had no positive effects in

reducing the levels of municipal waste, which can be

influenced by many factors (including population and

EU Ecolabel and the Eco Management and Audit

Scheme (EMAS)

The number of EU Ecolabel products and EMAS-

licensed

organisations in a given country provides some

indication of the extent to which the private sector and

national stakeholders are actively engaged in the

transition to a circular economy. It also shows how

committed public authorities are to supporting

instruments designed to promote the circular economy.

As of September 2021, Slovakia had five products and

one license registered in the EU Ecolabel scheme.

Compared with the EU totals of 83590 products and 2057

licences, this shows a further decline in what was already

a low take-up

. 53 organisations from Slovakia are

currently registered in EMAS, the European Commission's

Eco-Management and Audit Scheme

. In this case,

Slovakia shows a strong increase compared with the 2019

report

Although Slovakia has taken first steps in strengthening

the circular economy policy framework, a number of

Concept for development and implementation of GPP in Slovakia,

2019:

Legislatívny proces - SLOV-LEX

Following the concept, four methodologies for GPP were prepared

and adopted by the government in 2020 and 2021; these are

mandatory for ministries and central administration bodies.

Public Procurement Act, 2021:

SLOV-LEX

EMAS is the European Commission’s Eco-Management and Audit

Scheme, a programme to encourage organisations to behave in a more

environmentally sustainable way.

European Commission,

Ecolabel Facts and Figures.

As of May 2018. European Commission,

Eco-Management and Audit

Scheme.

According to the

Slovak register,

there are 72 organisations currently

registered in EMAS and 3 organisations with residency in Slovakia that

are registered under the Germany‘s corporate registration.

Municipal waste consists of (a) mixed waste and separately collected

waste from households, including paper and cardboard, glass, metals,

plastics, bio-waste, wood, textiles, packaging, waste electrical and

electronic equipment, waste batteries and accumulators, and bulky

waste, including mattresses and furniture; (b) mixed waste and

separately collected waste from other sources, where such waste is

similar in nature and composition to waste from households. (Directive

2008/98/EC,

Article 3(2)(b)).

Eurostat - Data Explorer (europa.eu)

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 7

household expenditure). Slovakia’s waste generation

(excluding major mineral waste) generally shows an

increasing trend (except between 2012 and 2014). A

similar trend can be observed for Slovakia’s GDP,

particularly after 2016, indicating that Slovakia’s

economic growth is not yet decoupled from its

generation of waste

waste. Also, Slovakia did not correctly transpose the pre-

treatment obligation into its national legislation and the

network of installations for treatment of waste is

insufficient. Therefore, in November 2021, the

Commission initiated an infringement procedure against

Slovakia for failing to comply with the Landfill Directive

and the Waste Framework Directive

23, 24

Furthermore, an infringement procedure

against

Slovakia is still ongoing as concerns landfills that were

open before 2004 and are currently still in operation, but

which lack a sufficient conditioning plan, as required by

the Landfill Directive. In addition, a number of old

landfills that are out of operation still have not been

closed and rehabilitated as also required by the Landfill

Directive. Also, old environmental burdens

require

significant investments.

The legislative framework for separate collection of bio-

waste improved in Slovakia as the amendment of the

Waste Act (in effect as of 1 January 2021) repealed most

of exceptions from the obligation of separate collection

of household kitchen waste which has stalled together

with the waste management market. However, some

derogations are still in place until end of 2022 because

relevant infrastructure is missing

27, 28

. The ‘pay-as-you-

throw’ (PAYT) scheme has not been extended since the

2017 EIR report and, in any case, the level of uptake is

low. To increase reuse and recycling rates, PAYT

combined with an increase in the landfill tax (LFT) should

be considered

Recycling (including composting) seems to be growing

(42% vs the EU average of 47% in 2020)

; however, the

steep increase in the recycling rate in 2014-2017 was

mainly due to adjustments in the statistical reporting

methodology rather than by an improvement in

Figure 4: Municipal waste by treatment in Slovakia,

2010-2020

Figure 4 also shows municipal waste by treatment, in

terms of kilos per capita. Although some decrease has

been observed (50% in 2020 compared with 66 % in

2016), Slovakia still has one of the highest rates in the EU

for landfilling of municipal waste (EU average in 2020 at

23%), confirming that managing waste efficiently remains

an important challenge for Slovakia. Also, although the

incineration rate is low (around 8% in 2020), concerns

exist that the waste will be simply shifted from landfills to

incinerators, because the development of new energy

recovery facilities is foreseen in the updated Waste

Management Programme (WMP) for 2021-2025.

Based on information available to the Commission, a

significant number of irregular and substandard landfills

operate in Slovakia and present serious risks for human

health and the environment. Studies and investigations

launched by the European Commission found that, in all

111 landfills operating in Slovakia, waste is not subject to

appropriate treatment as these do not have sufficient

installations to ensure the selection of different types of

Slovakia Waste Prevention Country Profile 2021 — European

Environment Agency (europa.eu)

Eurostat,

Municipal waste by waste operation, April 2022.

Directive 1999/31/EC.

Directive 2008/98/EC.

Circular economy:

Commission takes action against five Member

States (europa.eu)

Waste: Commission calls on POLAND and SLOVAKIA to comply with

EU rules on landfills:

March infringements package: key decisions

(europa.eu)

The inventory of old environmental burdens in Slovakia took place in

2006-2008 and identified almost 2 000 sites, of which around 250 are of

high risk. For example, the most known, Vrakuňa landfill, is the site of a

former chemical plant that has an impact on one of the most important

sources of drinking water in Central Europe located in southern

Slovakia. The implemenation of the sanation

Revízia v�½davkov na životné prostredie (minzp.sk)

Municipalities get ready for new waste collections as postponements

are binned - spectator.sme.sk

Factsheet_Polluters_pay_Slovakia_V1.pdf (europa.eu)

According to Slovak authorities, in accordance with the definition of

municipal waste, municipal waste from other sources will be added to

the statistics of the Slovak Republic in the course of 2022 and revised

data will be reported to Eurostat.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 8

performance. Slovakia has a very high number of

municipalities (around 3 000). This leads to

fragmentation, inefficiencies and a lack of economy of

scale in waste collection and treatment. Another problem

is that despite overall revamping of Slovakia’s waste

legislation in 2016, it is deemed to be quite complex now

and has since failed to deliver on extended producer

responsibility (EPR) schemes.

Figure 5 shows that Slovakia needs to step up investment

in recycling to meet the EU 2020 recycling targets. The

country will need to make an even greater effort to meet

the post-2020 recycling targets.

Figure 5: Recycling rate of municipal waste, 2010-2020

provisions and investments to ensure compliance with

existing and new legal requirements.

By 5 July 2020, Member States had to bring their national

laws in line with modifications included in the revised

Waste Framework Directive, the Packaging and Packaging

Waste Directive and the Landfill Directive

. With a

delay

, Slovakia has notified to the Commission its

transposition of the 2018 waste package. A conformity

assessment is now ongoing. Slovakia has also notified

transposition of the Packaging and Packaging Waste

Directive to the Commission. A conformity assessment is

ongoing too.

Slovakia adopted a revised Waste Management

Program

(WMP) for 2021-2025 in November 2021. The

update of the Waste Prevention Programme

(WPP) for

2019-2025 forms a part of Chapter VI of the approved

WMP. The two revised programmes were sent to the

Commission in December 2021. Assessment by the

Commission services is on-going.

Given that there was limited progress on the 2019

priority actions of and in the light of the Early warning

report yet to be released, the priority actions are largely

proposed again, as in the 2019 report. Actions related to

landfills and incinerators were also extended and one

action on waste prevention was added.

2022 priority actions



Further increase landfill taxes to divert recyclable

waste from landfill. Channel the resulting revenues

into measures to improve waste management in line

with the waste hierarchy.



Avoid building excessive infrastructure for the

treatment of residual waste, e.g. mechanical-

biological treatment (MBT) facilities and avoid

investment in potentially stranded assets like

installations for (co-) incineration for mixed municipal

waste.



Improve and extend the separate collection of waste,

including for bio-waste. Use economic deterrents, e.g.

PAYT schemes and set mandatory recycling targets for

municipalities with measures (e.g. fines) if there is

non-compliance.

The Commission's Early Warning report'

listed Slovakia

was as one of the countries at risk of missing the EU 2020

target of recycling 50% of municipal waste. The report

listed key priority measures that Slovakia should take to

close the implementation gap. The Commission is

currently finalising its analysis of the progress on

recommendations from the 2018 Early Warning Reports

and of progress towards achieving the 2025 waste

recycling targets. This report will be presented at the end

of 2022 and will assess the progress made to date.

Implementation of the 2018 waste legislative package

Waste Management Plans and Waste Prevention

Programmes are instrumental for the sound

implementation of EU waste legislation. They set out key

Eurostat,

Recycling rate of municipal waste,

April 2022.

European Commission, Report on the implementation of waste

legislation, including the early warning report for Member States at risk

of missing the 2020 preparation for re-use/recycling target on municipal

waste,

SWD(2018)422

accompanying

COM(2018)656.

Directive (EU) 2018/851, Directive (EU) 2018/852, Directive (EU)

2018/850

and

Directive (EU) 2018/849

amend the previous waste

legislation and set more ambitious recycling targets for the period up to

2035.

Commission urges 7 Member States to fully enact new EU rules on

waste streams into national legislation:

June infringements package:

key decisions (europa.eu)

vestnik-2021-3.pdf (minzp.sk)

ppvo-sr-19-25.pdf (minzp.sk)

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 9



Close and rehabilitate non-compliant landfills as a

matter of priority. Ensure that all landfilled waste has

been subject to (pre-)treatment.



Improve the functioning of EPR systems, in line with

the general minimum requirements on EPR



Implement the waste prevention measures.

Set out in Directive (EU) 2018/851 amending Directive 2008/98/EC.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 10

2. Biodiversity and natural capital

The 2030 EU biodiversity strategy adopted in May 2020

aims to put Europe’s biodiversity on a path to recovery

and sets out new targets and governance mechanisms to

achieve healthy and resilient ecosystems.

In particular, the Strategy sets out ambitious targets to:

(i) protect a minimum of 30% of the EU’s land area and

30% of its sea area and integrate ecological corridors, as

part of a true trans-European nature network;

(ii) strictly protect at least a third of the EU’s protected

areas, including all remaining EU primary and old-growth

forests;

(iii) effectively manage all protected areas, defining clear

conservation objectives and measures, and monitoring

them appropriately.

Nature protection and restoration

Natura 2000

, the largest coordinated network of

protected areas in the world, is the key instrument to

achieve the objectives in the Birds and Habitats

Directives. These are to ensure the long-term protection,

conservation and survival of Europe's most valuable and

threatened species and habitats; and of the ecosystems

they underpin. Key milestones towards meeting the

objectives of the Birds and Habitats Directives are:

setting-up of a coherent Natura 2000 network; the

designation of sites of Community importance (SCIs) as

special areas of conservation (SACs), and setting of site-

specific conservation objectives and measures for all

Natura 2000 sites.

The Strategy also sets out an EU Nature Restoration Plan

– a series of concrete commitments and actions to

restore degraded ecosystems across the EU by 2030, and

manage them sustainably, addressing the key drivers of

biodiversity loss.

The EU's Habitats and Birds Directives are key legislative

tools to deliver on targets in the EU's Biodiversity

Strategy, and are the cornerstone of European legislation

aimed at the conserving the EU's wildlife

Slovakia’s 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy and Action

Plan is currently in preparation. However, sufficient

funding for biodiversityis lacking and a broader financing

plan for biodiversity, including activities identified in

Natura 2000 Prioritised Action Framework (PAF) is also

missing.

Slovakia’s RRP includes the component on climate

adaptation and biodiversity. Under this, investments are

coupled with reforms in landscape planning, nature

protection and water management contributing to the

climate adaptation. Examples of investments include the

renaturation of watercourses or wetlands or

afforestation of forest land by native tree species. Among

the first results, Slovakia passed a national park reform at

the end of 2021, which sets the first step in the transition

to the unified management of state-owned lands located

within national parks

Setting up a coherent network of Natura 2000 sites

Slavakia hosts 66 habitat types

and 195 species

covered by the Habitats Directive. The country also hosts

populations of 83 bird taxa listed in the Birds Directive

Annex I

As shown in Figure 7, by 2021, 29.8% of Slovakia was

covered by Natura 2000 sites (EU coverage 18.5%).

Special Protection Areas (SPAs) classified under the Birds

Directive covered 26.7% (EU coverage 12.8%) and Sites of

Community Importance (SCIs) designated under the

Habitats Directive covered 12.5% of the Slovak territory

(EU coverage 14.2%).

Considering both Natura 2000 and other nationally

designated protected areas, Slovakia legally protects

37,40% of its terrestrial areas (EU-27 average 26,4%)

The latest assessment of the SCI part of the Slovak Natura

2000 network shows that, after adding of 169 sites in

These should be reinforced by the Nature Restoration Law, according

to the new EU Biodiversity Strategy.

Slovak national parks won't need to envy Poland and Ukraine

anymore - spectator.sme.sk

Natura 2000 comprises Sites of Community Importance (SCIs)

designated pursuant to the Habitats Directive and Special Protection

Areas (SPAs) classified pursuant to the Birds Directive; figures of

coverage do not add up exactly due to the fact that some SCIs and SPAs

overlap. Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) means a SCI designated

by Member States.

EEA, Article 17 dashboard, Annex I total, 2019.

EEA, Article 17 dashboard, Annex II + Annex IV excluding those in

Annex II + Annex V excluding those in Annex II, 2019. This counting only

takes into account species and habitats for which assessment of

conservation status was requested.

EEA, Article 12 dashboard, Annex I, 2020. This counting only takes

into account birds taxa for which information was requested.

European Environment Agency,

Protected Areas,

terrestrial protected

area percentage (2021) , March 2022.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 11

2017, there remain a number of insufficiencies which

Slovakia has committed procedure itself to resolve.

There is an ongoing infringement against Slovakia related

to these insufficiencies. New sites were identified in

2018-2020 and negotiated with land owners and users in

2020-2021;the legal procedure should be finalised in

spring 2022 (please see also further).

Nevertheless, 446 SCIs have not yet been designated as

SACs. In addition, Slovakia has persistently failed to set

detailed site-specific conservation objectives and the

necessary conservation measures that would ensure

effective protection and restoration of the 473 sites. For

this reason the Commission opened an infringement

procedure against Slovakia in July 2019

and issued a

reasoned opinion in February 2022

Figure 6 shows the situation in 2021 at EU level for

terrestrial and marine protected area coverage in

meeting the Biodiversity Strategy 2030 target.

Figure 6: Terrestrial protected area coverage, 2021

Progress in maintaining or restoring

conservation status of species and habitats

favourable

In accordance with of Habitats Directive Article 17 and

Birds Directive Article 12, reports are prepared to assess

progress towards maintaining or restoring favourable

conservation status of species and habitats. The results of

these reports are key to measure the performance of

Member States.

Figure 7: Natura 2000 terrestrial protected area

coverage, 2021

According to the report submitted by Slovakia on the

conservation status of habitats and species covered by

Article 17 of the Habitats Directive for the period 2013-

2018

, the share of assessments for habitats in good

conservation status was nearly the same as in the

previous reporting period 2007-2012. The share of

species in good conservation status increased from 20%

to 23% between the two reporting periods

. As far as

birds are concerned, about 58% of the breeding species

showed short-term increasing or stable population trends

while the same figure for wintering species was 67%.

The share of habitats in bad conservation status

decreased slightly to 10%, while that share for species

increased to 22%. For most habitats and species, Slovakia

also resolved the unknown classifications between the

two reporting periods.

Designating Special

Areas of Conservation (SACs) and

setting conservation objectives and measures

The six-year deadline set by the Habitats Directive to

designate SCIs as SACs, and establish appropriate

conservation objectives and measures, has expired for

473 sites in Slovakia.

EU Biodiversity Strategy Dashboard,

indicators A1.1.1 and A1.2.1,

February 2022.

European Environment Agency,

Natura 2000 Barometer,

February

2022.

Nature protection: Commission calls on SLOVAKIA to complete

Natura

2000

network:

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/INF_19_4251

Nature: Commission calls on SLOVAKIA to ensure that EU nature

protection laws are respected:

February infringements package: key

decisions (europa.eu)

Černeck�½, J., Čuláková, J., Ďuricová, V., Saxa, A., Andráš, P., Ulrych, L.,

Šuvada, R., Galvánková, J., Lešová, A., Havranová, I. 2020. Správa o

stave biotopov a druhov európskeho v�½znamu za obdobie rokov 2013 –

2018 v Slovenskej republike. Banská Bystrica: ŠOP SR, 109 pp,

ISBN 978-

80-8184-076-0

State of Nature Report. EEA 2021.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 12

Figure 8: Assessments of conservation status for

habitats for 2007-2012 and 2013-2018 reporting

periods

reaction to forest disturbances such as bark beetle

infestations or storm damage. Article 6(3) of the Habitats

Directive requires that plans and projects not directly

connected with or necessary to the management of a

Natura 2000 site but likely to have a significant impact

thereon undergo an appropriate assessment of their

effects on the site before their implementation.

According to the Commission, Slovak legislation still does

not ensure that sanitary logging activities, which might

have a significant impact on Natura 2000 sites, undergo

these assessments. At the same time, forest

management plans, which did not undergo such an

assessment in the past, are still in force. Therefore, in

July 2020, the Commission decided to refer Slovakia to

the Court of Justice of the EU over failure to assess the

impact of sanitary logging on Natura 2000 sites

The case also addresses the failure to take measures for

the protection of a bird species in breach of Article 6(2)

of the Habitats Directive concerning the need to avoid

habitat deterioration and disturbance of a protected

species. Since Slovakia joined the EU in 2004 the

population of the Capercaillie has decreased by half in

the 12 Special Protection Areas (SPA) classified for its

protection under the Birds Directive. The main reason for

this large decline has been the disappearance of suitable

habitats due to logging.

As shown in Figures 8 and 9 on the conservation status of

habitats and species, there were no major changes

between the two reporting periods. Changes in status

occurred mainly due to improved knowledge based on an

established monitoring system and the redistribution of

previously unknown status; the share of those in

unknown status fell almost to zero. The share of species

in bad conservation status increased while that status for

habitats slightly decreased between the two reporting

periods. At the same time, the share of habitats in good

conservation status has hardly changed and the share of

species in the same status increased. Natural processes,

agriculture and alien species were the main pressures for

habitats. For species, agriculture and the development,

construction and use of infrastructure and areas and

natural processes, were most important.

Figure 9: Assessments of conservation status for species

for 2007-2012 and 2013-2018 reporting periods

Slovakia has taken the first steps

to address specific

problems with sustainable forest management in

protected areas. Slovak forests in Natura 2000 sites are

facing high levels of logging, especially sanitary logging in

European Environment Agency,

Conservation status and trends of

habitats and species,

December 2021. Please note when comparing the

figures shown for 2007-2012 and 2013-2018 these may also be affected

by changes of methods or due to better data availability.

idem

Amended legislation

entered into force in January 2022 that

regulates/limits forest management in protected areas, namely

National Parks and SPAs.

Commission decides to refer Slovakia to the Court of Justice of the EU

over failure to assess the impact of sanitary logging on Natura 2000

sites and failure to take measures for the protection of a bird species:

Infringement - Nature - Slovakia (europa.eu)

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 13

average of 9.07% in 2020

. Nevertheless, conversion to

organic farming should speed up, since it has stagnated

in recent years. This leaves ample room for improvement

to reach by 2030 EU targets of the Biodiversity and Farm

to Fork Strategies.

Bringing nature back to agricultural land and restoring

soil ecosystems

Agricultural land

The Biodiversity Strategy works alongside the new Farm

to Fork Strategy and the new Common Agricultural Policy

(CAP) to support and achieve the transition to fully

sustainable agriculture. The Biodiversity and Farm to Fork

strategies have set four important targets for 2030:

- a 50% reduction in the overall use of – and risk from –

chemical pesticides;

- a 50% reduction in the use of more hazardous

pesticides;

- a 50% reduction in losses of nutrients from fertilisers

while ensuring there is no deterioration of soil fertility

(which will result in a 20% reduction in the use of

fertilisers);

- bring back at least 10% of agricultural area under high-

diversity landscape features and increase areas under

organic farming to at least 25%.

According to the analysis in the Commission

recommendations for Slovakia’s CAP strategic plan

Slovak farms and forests are facing major challenges

linked to the management of natural resources and

biodiversity, especially in light of the intensification of

agricultural production and the impacts of climate

change. Changing weather patterns are making Slovakia’s

agricultural sector vulnerable to higher yield variability

and crop disturbances due to water imbalances, pests

(that also damage forests) and, heat-induced stress for

livestock. However, there are some opportunities linked

to increased productivity and new crops.

As in many other Member States, the biodiversity

situation in Slovakia is continuously worsening especially

for bird species, amphibians and reptiles, agricultural and

forest habitats in Natura 2000 sites, and aquatic and

wetlands ecosystems. Another continuing challenge is

the lack of proper protection and management of overall

variety in landscape features on agricultural land. Data on

the common farmland bird index show a declining trend

(the index for Slovakia was 103.45 in 2012 and it went

down to 83.50 in 2018 whereas the value for EU-27 in

2018 was 70).

The numbers both of hectares of organically farmed

agricultural land and of organic farmers show the

importance that organic farming has gained in Slovakia

over recent decades. Slovakia, with an estimated 11.67%

of area under organic farming, is slightly above the EU

Figure 10: Share of total utilised agricultural area

occupied by organic farming per Member State, 2020

As recommended by the Commission, Slovakia should

bolster environmental care and climate action to

contribute to the EU's environmental and climate-related

objectives. Among others, this should include:

increasing resilience to climate change by increasing

water efficiency through modernisation of water

infrastructure and rainwater harvesting, crop adaptation,

and appropriate land management practices improving

water retention in soils; (ii) reducing greenhouse gas

emissions from agriculture; and (iii) fostering sustainable

forest management and enhancing multifunctionality,

forest protection and restoration of forest ecosystems.

Soil ecosystems

Soil is a finite and extremely fragile resource. It is

increasingly degrading in the EU.

The

new

Soil

Strategy,

adopted

17 November 2021, stresses the importance of soil

protection, of sustainable soil management and of

restoring degraded soils to achieve the Green Deal

objectives as well as land-degradation neutrality by 2030.

Area under organic farming

Statistics | Eurostat (europa.eu)

Commission recommendations for Slovakia’s CAP strategic plan

SWD(2020) 392 final

EUR-Lex - 52020SC0392 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu)

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sdg_02_40/default/t

able?lang=en

Eurostat, Area under organic farming, February 2022).

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 14

This entails:

(i) preventing further soil degradation;

(ii) making sustainable soil management the new normal;

(iii) taking action for ecosystem restoration.

One factor in the degradation of soil ecosystems is the

area of soil that is sealed or atificialised

. The land taken

(land ‘taken’ means land that is sealed or artificialised)

per year in 2012-2018 can be seen as a measure of one

significant pressure on nature and biodiversity - land-use

change. At the same time, land-use change constitutes an

environmental pressure on people living in urbanised

areas.

Despite a reduction in the last decade (land take was

over 1 000 km

/year in the EU-28 between 2000-2006),

land take in the EU-28 still amounted to 539 km

/year in

2012-2018. The concept of ‘net land take’ combines land

take with the return of land to non-artificial land

categories (re-cultivation). While some land was re-

cultivated in the EU-28 in 2000-2018, 11 times more land

was taken than returned. Slovakia ranks above the EU

average as regards land take with net land take of 151.9

/km

(EU-27 average: 83.8 m

/km

)

In 2018, Slovakia updated its reporting on land

degradation according to the Performance Review and

Implementation System (PRAIS3) with actions intended

to combat the degradation identified

Figure 11: Land take and re-cultivation in EU27

/km

), 2012-2018

In 2015, the United Nations Convention to Combat

Desertification reached an agreement

to endorse a

vision of land-degradation neutrality and link this vision

to the implementation of the UN’s sustainable

development goals (SDGs) in general, and to SDG 15.3

in particular. Slovakia has not yet committed to set land

degradation

neutrality

targets

under

UNCCD

agreement .

Soil organic matter plays an important role in the carbon

cycle and in climate change. Soils are the second largest

carbon sink in the world after the oceans.

Forests and

timber

The EU Forest Strategy for 2030 adopted in July 2021 is a

part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package

. The strategy promotes

the many services that forests provide. Its key objective is

to ensure healthy, diverse and resilient EU forests that

contribute significantly to strengthened biodiversity and

Artificial land cover is defined as the total of roofed built-up areas

(including buildings and greenhouses), artificial non-built-up areas

(including sealed area features, such as yards, farmyards, cemeteries,

car parking areas etc. and linear features, such as streets, roads,

railways, runways, bridges) and other artificial areas (including bridges

and viaducts, mobile homes, solar panels, power plants, electrical

substations, pipelines, water sewage plants, and open dump sites).

Land take in Europe — European Environment Agency (europa.eu)

fig

All Reports | Prais3 (unccd.int)

European Environment Agency,

Land take in Europe,

December 2021.

The LDN Target Setting Programme | UNCCD.

‘By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil,

including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive

to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.’

The LDN Target Setting Programme | UNCCD

COM SWD (2021) 652

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 15

climate ambitions.

Forests are important carbon sinks and conserving them

is vital if the EU is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

Of the 27% of EU forest area protected under the

Habitats Directive, less than 15% of assessments show a

favourable conservation status

. The share of forested

areas in the EU in a bad conservation status increased

from 27% in 2015 to 31% in 2018

In Slovakia, forests cover 45.32% of territory

but only a

third of assessments show a good conservation status

The European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR)

prohibits the placing on the EU market of illegally

harvested timber. EU Member States’ competent

authorities must conduct regular checks on operators

and traders, and apply penalties for non-compliance.

With the amendment of Article 20 of the EUTR, reporting

every 2 years has been changed to annual reporting and

covers the calendar year as of 2019.

In the period March 2017 - February 2019

, Slovakia

carried out 14 checks on domestic timber operators. It

also carried out 1 check on operators importing timber. It

is estimated that Slovakia had 2 550 operators placing

imported timber types onto the single market over the

reporting period.

The 2019 EIR reported on problems with sustainable use

of (woody) biomass in certain regions of Slovakia. While a

positive change of national RES Act was adopted at the

end of 2018, the preparation of criteria for sustainable

use of renewable sources, including for biomass,

committed by Slovak government in February 2019 under

the Environmental Policy Strategy 2030

, seems to be

pending. At the same time, new concerns were triggered

by amendment of RES Act proposed at the end of 2021

The new Deforestation Regulation will repeal and replace

the EU TR, as it will essentially integrate and improve the

existing system to check the legality of timber.

Figure 12: Conservation status of forests protected

under the Habitats Directive in EU Member States,

2013-2018 (% assessments)

Invasive alien species (IAS)

IAS are a key cause of biodiversity loss in the EU

(alongside changes in land and sea use, overexploitation,

climate change and pollution).

Besides inflicting major damage on nature and the

economy, many IAS also facilitate the outbreak and

spread of infectious diseases, posing a threat to humans

and wildlife.

The implementation of the EU Invasive Alien Species

Regulation and other relevant legislation must be

stepped up.

The Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 aims to manage

recognised invasive alien species and decrease the

number of ‘red list’ species they threaten by 50%.The

core of Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 on Invasive Alien

Species (the IAS Regulation

) is the list of invasive alien

species of Union concern.

The total number of invasive alien species of Union

concern is currently 66, of which: 30 are animal species

and 36 are plant species; 41 are primarily terrestrial

species, 23 are primarily freshwater species, 1 is a

brackish-water species and 1 is a marine species.

EEA,

State of Nature in the EU

The

state

nature

the

European

Union

Report on the status and trends in 2013 - 2018 of species and habitat

types protected by the Birds and Habitats Directives.

COM/2020/636

final.

EEA,

Forest information system for Europe.

JCR,

Mapping and assessment of primary and old-growth forests in

Europe,

p. 13.

Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 20 October 2010.

COM/2020/629 final

Legislatívny proces - SLOV-LEX

Hromadná pripomienka — Ekoforum.sk

A 2021 report

on the review of the application of the

IAS Regulation shows that the implementation of the IAS

European Environment Agency,

Conservation status and trend in

conservation status by habitat group - forests,

January 2022.

Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 22 October 2014 on the prevention and management of the

introduction and spread of invasive alien species

Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the

Council on the review of the application of Regulation (EU) No

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 16

Regulation is already starting to deliver on its objectives

such as a coherent framework for addressing IAS at EU

level and increased awareness of the problem of invasive

alien species. At the same time, the report identified

some challenges and areas for improvement. Given that

the deadlines for implementing the various obligations of

the IAS Regulation applied gradually between July 2016

and July 2019, it is premature to draw conclusions on

several aspects relating to implementation of the IAS

Regulation.

A 2021 report

on the baseline distribution shows that of

the 66 species on the EU list, 20 have been observed in

the environment in Slovakia. The spread can be checked

in Figure 13.

Figure 13: Number of invasive alien species of EU

concern, based on available georeferenced information

for Slovakia

2022 Priority Actions



Establish site-specific conservation objectives and

measures for all sites.



Provide adequate resources and strengthen capacity

to implement the above conservation measures.



Complete the SCI part of the Natura 2000 network.



Integrate biodiversity considerations into other

policies and their associated funds (notably

agriculture, forestry and infrastructure planning).



Reduce pressure from the agricultural sector on

natural resources and in particular via the land

management practices improving water retention in

soils



Improve incentives for foresters and farmers to better

protect forest and biodiversity. Ensure sustainable

forest management through effective planning taking

into account ecosystem services provided by forests.

Prevent the deterioration of Natura 2000 sites

including by ensuring that forestry management plans

are assessed in accordance with EU law.



Take the necessary steps to ensure full compliance

with the requirements specified in Article 13 of the

IAS Regulation.

Ecosystem assessment and accounting

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 calls on Member

States to better integrate biodiversity considerations into

public and business decision making at all levels and to

develop natural capital accounting. The EU needs a

better performing biodiversity observation network and

more consistent reporting on the condition of

ecosystems.

An ecosystem assessment is an analysis of the pressures

on – and the condition of – terrestrial, freshwater and

marine ecosystems and their services. It uses spatially

explicit data and a comparable methodology based on

European data about the functions of ecosystem assets

and the ecosystem services they produce.

Ecosystem accounting is built on five core accounts

(ecosystem extent, ecosystem condition, physical

ecosystem services, monetary ecosystem services and

monetary ecosystem assets). These accounts are

compiled using indicators of ecosystem assets and the

ecosystem services they produce.

In 2014, Slovakia approved an Action Plan on

implementation of the updated National Strategy for

Biological Diversity by 2020, including several activities

on ecosystem assessment.

Subsequently, the working group on mapping and

evaluation (MAES-SK) was set up with experts and

An infringement case is ongoing for Slovakia. It failed to

establish and implement one single action plan or a set of

action plans to meet the requirements specified in Article

13 of the IAS Regulation by 13 July 2019, and to transmit

it/them to the Commission without delay

1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22

October 2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction

and spread of invasive alien species,

COM(2021) 628 final,

13.10.2021.

Cardoso A.C., Tsiamis K., Deriu I., D' Amico F., Gervasini E., EU

Regulation 1143/2014: assessment of invasive alien species of Union

concern distribution, Member States reports vs JRC baselines, EUR

30689 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg,

2021, ISBN 978-92-76-37420-6, doi:10.2760/11150,

JRC123170.

Biodiversity: Commission calls on 18 Member States to protect the

environment against invasive alien species:

June infringements

package: key decisions (europa.eu)

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 17

representatives from various sectors of state and

scientific institutions.

Several studies focused on ecosystem assessment.

Among them, was a comprehensive biophysical and

monetary assessment completed in 2020 based on the

quality of Slovak ecosystems/habitats and their

degradation rate. The assessment allowed the creation of

a detailed map and geo-database of ecosystems, an

evaluation of the potential and production of Slovak

ecosystems to provide ecosystem services, as well as an

assignment of the economic value to individual

ecosystems in EUR/ha/year by the value transfer method

according to prices.

Another study from 2020 focused on a national

ecosystem services assessment and a catalogue of

ecosystem services. The catalogue defines and describes

18 ecosystem services. It assesses the national

landscape’s capacity for ecosystem services provision

based on evaluation of the landscape units and selected

properties and indicators at ecosystem level. Also, under

the guidance of Slovak experts, the Carpathian ecosystem

services toolkit was developed for the Carpathian

countries in 2021

. In the scope of the LIFE 2020-2030 IP

project, an evaluation of socio-economic benefits and

ecosystem services in the Natura 2000 framework is

ongoing

A proposal for a regulation amending Regulation (EU) No

691/2011 on European environmental economic

accounts might lead to mandatory reporting of

ecosystem accounts (extent and ecosystem services)

from 2025.

The establishment of pilot accounts (extent, condition,

capacity) and their monetisation are ongoing priorities. It

needs to be further elaborated, particularly concerning

the development of a methodological base for

measurement and valuation of ecosystem services supply

and use, overall balance, trade-offs and synergies.

Slovakia has provided updated information and this

shows that significant progress has been recorded since

January 2016 (Figure 14). This assessment is based on 27

implementation questions and is updated every 6

months.

Figure 14: ESMERALDA MAES barometer, January 2016

– March 2021

Progress on ecosystem accounting implementation is

assessed at national scale based on 13 questions (see

Figure 15).

Figure 15: Ecosystem accounting Barometer, September

2021

2022 priority action



Continue supporting the mapping and assessment of

ecosystems and their services, and ecosystem

accounting development, through appropriate

indicators for integrating ecosystem extent,

condition and services (including some monetary

values) into national accounts; continue supporting

the development of national business and

biodiversity platforms, including natural capital

https://www.interreg-

central.eu/Content.Node/Centralparks/Carpathian-Ecosystem-Services-

Toolking-EN.pdf

Role of the Natura 2000 network and management of some

prioritized habitats in the integrated landscape protection in the Slovak

Republic:

LIFE 3.0 - LIFE Project Public Page (europa.eu)

European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Publication Office,

Ecosystem assessment: summary for policymakers,

page 80, May 2021.

MAIA Portal, Mapping and assessment for Integrated Ecosystem

Accounting (EU Horizon 2020 project), 2022. MAIA uses the System of

Environmental Economic Accounting – Experimental Ecosystem

Accounting (SEEA-EEA) as the methodological basis for the ecosystem

accounting. The SEEA-EEA is an integrated an comprehensive statistical

framework that is based on five core accounts: ecosystem extent,

condition, services and monetary ecosystem asset.

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Slovakia 18

accounting systems to monitor and value the impact

of business on biodiversity.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 19

3. Zero pollution

Clean air

EU clean-air policies and legislation need to significantly

improve air quality in the EU, moving the EU closer to the

quality recommended by the WHO and curbing emissions

of key air pollutants.

Air pollution and its impacts on ecosystems and

biodiversity should be further reduced with the long-

term aim of not exceeding critical loads and levels. This

requires strengthening efforts to reach full compliance

with EU clean air legislation and defining strategic targets

and actions for 2030 and beyond.

The 2030 zero pollution action plan targets are to reduce

the health impacts of air pollution by 55% and to reduce

the EU ecosystems threatened by air pollution by 25%,

compared to 2005.

The EU has developed a comprehensive suite of air

quality legislation. It establishes health-based air quality

standards

and emission reduction commitments per

Member State for a number of air pollutants

Air quality in Slovakia continues to give cause for severe

concern. The latest available annual estimates (for 2019)

by the European Environment Agency

point to about

4 200 premature deaths (or 50 900 years of life lost (YLL))

attributable to fine particulate matter concentrations

90 (2 500 YLL) to ozone concentrations

and 10 (100 YLL)

to nitrogen dioxide concentrations

88, 89, 90

Emissions of key air pollutants have decreased

significantly in Slovakia over the last years, while GDP

growth continued (Figure 16). According to the latest

projections as submitted under Article 10(2) of the

National Emission Reduction Commitments Directive

(NECD)

, Slovakia projects to reach emission reduction

commitments for all air pollutants covered by the

Directive for the period 2020 to 2029 and for most

pollutants for 2030 onwards. However, the projections

do not demonstrate reaching the 2030 onwards emission

reduction commitments for NH

Latest inventory data

submitted by Slovakia, prior to review by the

Commission, indicate that Slovakia is in compliance with

the emission reduction commitments for all pollutants in

2020.

Slovakia submitted its National Air Pollution Control

Programme on 3 March 2020.

Figure 16: Emission trends of main pollutants/GDP in

Slovakia, 2005-2019

European Commission, 2016.

Air Quality Standards

European Commission,

Reduction of National Emissions

European Environment Agency, Air Quality in Europe –2021 Rapport.

Please see details in this report as regards the underpinning

methodology, p.106

Particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of aerosol particles (solid and

liquid) covering a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions. PM10

refers to particles with a diameter of 10 micrometres or less. PM2.5

refers to particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less. PM is

emitted from many human sources, including combustion.

Low-level ozone is produced by photochemical action on pollution.

NOx is emitted during fuel combustion e.g. from industrial facilities

and the road transport sector. NOx is a group of gases comprising

nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

Please note that these figures refer to the impacts of individual

pollutants, and to avoid double-counting cannot be added up to derive

a sum.

According to the report

Drivers and health impact of ambient air

pollution

(2021) prepared by Institute for Environmental Policy and the

World Bank, current concentrations of PM2.5, PM10 and NO2 result in

the mortality and morbidity costs amounting to EUR 3.0 billion (using

value of life year lost methodology) and EUR 5.8 billion (using the value

of statistical life methodology), making them equal to 3.6% to 6.9%

respectively of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017.

Directive 2016/2284/EU

European Environment Agency

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

kom (2022) 0438 - Ingen titel

Slovakia 20

Union over exceedances of PM

limit values

. Slovakia

has not taken adequate measures for the reduction of

the PM

concentrations in the air quality zone

Banskobystrick�½ kraj, the agglomeration Košice and the

air quality zone Košick�½ kraj. The air quality measures

presented by Slovakia, have not proven to be timely and

effective to reduce pollution within the agreed limits and

contribute to keeping the exceedance periods as short as

possible, as required under EU law.

An infringement procedure on-going since 2017 for

shortcomings in the air quality monitoring system was

finally closed in 2022 after the system was improved

with EU funding under the Operational Programme

Quality of Environment (OPQoE) for the period 2014 –

2020

In the 2019 EIR, the Commission suggested that Slovakia

takes, as part of its national air-pollution control

programme, actions to reduce emissions from its main

emission sources including, for example, further reducing

emissions from energy production and heat generation

using solid fuels, or promoting efficient and clean district

heating and/or fiscal incentives. However, a subsidy

scheme for replacement of obsolete households’ boilers

launched in 2019 under OPQoE has been cancelled in

2021. It shall be replaced by a new scheme for large-scale

renovation of family houses to be made more energy-

efficient, foreseen under Slovak RRP to be implemented

as of 2022

. Therefore, in comparison with the 2019 EIR

outlook, Slovakia has not put in place adequate measures

to make sufficient progress in reducing the

concentrations of some pollutants (in particular PM

)

and additional efforts are still needed to ensure full

compliance with the EU air quality legislation.

For the year 2020, exceedances above the limit values

established by the Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD)

were registered for particulate matter (PM

) in one air

quality zone (SKBB01 – Banskobystricky kraj).

Furthermore, for two air quality zones the target values

regarding ozone

concentration have not been met

Persistent breaches of air quality requirements, which

have severe negative effects on health and environment,

are being followed up by the European Commission

through infringement procedures (mainly over PM

and

exceedances) covering all Member States concerned,

including Slovakia. The European Commission has

referred Slovakia to the Court of Justice of the European

Figure 17: PM2.5 and NOx emissions by sector in

Slovakia, 2019

2022 Priority Actions



Take, in the context of the National Air Pollution

Control Programme (NAPCP), actions towards

reducing emissions from the main sources mentioned

above.



Ensure full compliance with the EU air quality

standards and maintain downward emissions trends

of air pollutants, to reduce adverse air pollution

impacts on health and economy with a view to

reaching WHO guideline values in the future.

European Environment Agency

European Environment Agency,

Eionet Central Data Repository

Commission refers SLOVAKIA to the Court of Justice over poor air

quality

February infringements package: key decisions (europa.eu)

Air - Op-kzp

Plán Obnovy Rodinn�½ch Domov 2022, Dotácie na obnovu rodinného

domu (plan-obnovy-dotacie.sk)

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 21

Industrial emissions

The main objectives of EU policy on industrial emissions

are to:

(i) protect air, water and soil;

(ii) prevent and manage waste;

(iii) improve energy and resource efficiency;

(iv) clean up contaminated sites.

To achieve this, the EU takes an integrated approach to

prevention and control of routine and accidental

industrial emissions. The cornerstone of the policy is the

Industrial Emissions Directive (IED)

. The Commission

tabled a proposal in April 2022

100

. The revision seeks to

improve the Directive’s contribution to the zero-pollution

objective, as well as its consistency with climate, energy

and circular-economy policies.

The overview of industrial activities regulated by the IED

below is based on the project ‘industrial emissions policy

country profiles’ (2015)

101

because, unlike for other

Member States, no information was reported for more

recent years

102

; thus, this is partly a repeat of the 2019

EIR.

In Slovakia, around 600 industrial installations must have

a permit in accordance with the IED. In 2015, the

industrial sectors in Slovakia with the most IED

installations were intensive rearing of poultry or pigs

(21%), followed by non-hazardous waste management

(22%) and chemicals (14%).

Figure 18: Number of IED industrial installations by

sector in Slovakia (2015)

103

The industrial sectors identified as contributing the

largest burden to the environment for emissions to air

were: iron and steel production for Arsenic (As), Copper

(Cu), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Lead (Pb), Sulfur Oxides

(SOx) and dioxins; energy production for Nickel (Ni),

Mercury (Hg) and Particulate Matter (PM 2.5); pulp and

paper industry for Cadmium (Cd) and Zinc (Zn) and

manure management for Ammonia (NH3)

104

Figure 19: Emissions to air from IED sectors and rest of

national total air emissions in Slovakia, 2018

105

The European Environment Agency has identified

Directive 2010/75/EU covers industrial activities carried out above

certain thresholds. It covers energy industry, metal production, mineral

and chemical industry and waste management, as well as a wide range

of industrial and agricultural sectors (e.g. intensive rearing of pig and

poultry, pulp and paper production, painting and cleaning).

100

The revision of the IED is performed in parallel to the revision of

Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 on the European Pollutant Release and

Transfer Register (E-PRTR).

101

European Commission,

Industrial emissions policy country profile

–

Slovakia.

102

European Environment Agency,

European Industrial Emissions Portal.

103

European Environment Agency, EU Registry,

European Industrial

Emissions Portal (data retrieved on 3 November 2021).

104

The heavy metals are presented both as a weighted sum of eco

toxicity and human toxicity factors to illustrate both the ecological and

human impact (based on USEtox).

105

European Environment Agency, LRTAP,

Air pollutant emissions data

viewer (Gothenburg Protocol, LRTAP Convention) 1990-2019 (data

retrieved on 3 November 2021).

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 22

Slovakia as one of the main countries responsible for

damage from heavy metals in 2017

106

. It has also

identified U.S.Steel in Košice, the installation for the

production of iron and steel , as one of the 30 industrial

facilities in Europe having the highest absolute damage

costs from emissions of the main air pollutants and

greenhouse gases over the five-year period 2013–2017.

Environmental burdens from industrial emissions to

water mainly result from ferrous metal production for

nitrogen, from pulp, paper and wood production for total

organic carbon and phosphorous and from energy

generation in the case of heavy metals. The breakdown,

based on E-PRTR data, is presented in Figure 20.

years, depending on the environmental risks posed by

the installations. No information was available in the EU

Registry at the time of reporting about the number of site

visits carried out by Slovakia, unlike for other Member

States

108

The development of Best Available Techniques (BAT)

Reference Documents (BREFs) and BAT Conclusions

ensures a good collaboration with stakeholders and

enables better implementation of the IED

109

. Since the

last EIR report, BAT Conclusions were adopted for waste

incineration, for the food, drink and milk industries and

for surface treatment using organic solvents including

wood and wood products preservation with chemicals.

The Commission relies on the efforts of national

competent authorities to implement the legally binding

BAT conclusions and associated BAT emission levels in

environmental permits, resulting in considerable and

continuous reduction of pollution.

In 2019, Slovakia received priority actions to review

permits to comply with new adopted BAT conclusions

and to strengthen control and enforcement to ensure

compliance with BAT conclusions. It has not been

possible for the Commission to follow up these actions

through the reporting to the EU Registry because

Slovakia did not report. The priority actions therefore

remain valid. The reporting delays also concern the

reporting to the E-PRTR.

In 2019, Slovakia also received the priority action to

address air pollution from lignite-fired power plants,

from the steel sector and from oil refining. As mentioned

above, emissions of heavy metals to air, in particular

from the iron and steel sector, remain relevant.

Slovakia has several gaps in the transposition of the

Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions. Among

these, certain permit conditions are not correctly

implemented, the scope of the definition of substantial

change is narrower and the requirement that a

competent natural person manages the plant is not

transposed into national legislation. For the reasons

mentioned above, the Commission decided to send a

letter of formal notice to Slovakia in October 2020

110

Figure 20: Relative releases to water from industry in

Slovakia, 2018

107

The EU approach on enforcement under the IED creates

strong rights for citizens to have access to relevant

information and to participate in the permitting process.

This empowers citizens, and NGOs, to ensure that

permits are appropriately granted and their conditions

respected. As part of environmental inspection,

competent authorities undertake site visits to IED

installations to take samples and to gather necessary

information. Under Article 23(4) of the IED, site visits are

carried out between once every year and once every 3

2022 priority actions

106

EEA (2021).

Costs of air pollution from European industrial facilities

2008–2017.

Eionet Report - ETC/ATNI 2020/4. The ranking is based on

the approach accounting for the value of a life year (VOLY).

107

European Environment Agency, E-PRTR,

European Industrial

Emissions Portal.

The heavy metals are presented both as a weighted

sum of eco toxicity and human toxicity factors to illustrate both the

ecological and human impact (based on USEtox)

(data retrieved on 3

November 2021).

108

Slovak Enviromental Inspectorate publishes its reports on the

national portal.

109

European Commission

BAT reference documents

110

Commission calls on Slovakia to improve domestic rules on pollution

arising from industrial activities

October infringements package: key decisions (europa.eu)

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 23



Review of permits to comply with new adopted BAT

Conclusions.

Strengthen control and enforcement to ensure

compliance with BAT Conclusions.

Address emissions of heavy metals to air.

Address pollution from metal production and

processing.

Improve reporting related to the E-PRTR.

Figure 21: Number of Seveso establishments in Slovakia,

2011, 2014 and 2018

114

Major industrial

SEVESO

accidents

prevention

–

The main objectives of EU policy on the prevention of

major industrial accidents are to:

(i) control major accident hazards involving dangerous

substances, especially chemicals;

(ii) limit the consequences of such accidents for human

health and the environment;

(iii) continuously improve prevention, preparedness and

response to major accidents.

The cornerstone of the policy is the Directive 2012/18/EU

(the Seveso-III Directive)

111

The below overview of industrial plants regulated by

Seveso III Directive (‘Seveso establishments’) is based on

data reported to the eSPIRS database (2018)

112

and the

Slovakia’s report on the implementation of the Seveso III

Directive for period 2015-2018

113

In Slovakia, among the 83 Seveso establishments, 41 are

categorised as lower-tier establishments (LTE) and 42 as

upper-tier establishments (UTE) – based on the quantity

of hazardous substances likely to be present. The UTE are

subject to more stringent requirements. The evolution of

the number of Seveso establishments is presented in

Figure 21.

According to Slovakia, the External Emergency Plan (EEP)

is required for 42 UTE. In 2018, 42 UTE had an EEP and 41

of these plans had been tested over the last 3 years. The

summary is shown in Figure 22. These EEPs are essential

allow

proper

preparation

and

effective

implementation of the necessary actions to protect the

environment and the population, should a major

industrial accident nevertheless happen.

Figure 22: Situation regarding EEP in Slovakia, 2018

115

The information to the public referred to in Annex V of

the Seveso III Directive – especially how the public

concerned will be warned if there is a major accident; the

appropriate behaviour in the event of a major accident;

and the date of the last site visit – are permanently

available for 100% of the Seveso establishments in

Slovakia.

The statistics on UTE, for which information on safety

measures and requisite behaviours were actively made

114

111

Directive 2012/18/EU on the control of major-accident hazards

involving dangerous substances

112

European Commission,

Seveso Plants Information Retrieval System.

113

As provided for by Article 21(2) of the Seveso-III Directive

European Commission,

Assessment and summary of Member States’

implementation reports for Implementing Decision 2014/896/EU

(implementing Directive 2012/18/EU on the control of major accident

hazards involving dangerous substances),

2022.

115

idem

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 24

disease annually

120

. Moreover, some 40 000 people

suffer from disturbed sleep. In Slovakia, people exposed

to noise fell by 7% between 2012 and 2017. On the basis

of the latest full set of information that has been

analysed, noise mapping of agglomerations, roads and

railways is complete. However, The Court of Justice of

the European Union stated in its judgment of 13 January

2022

121

that Slovakia had failed to draw up on time

action plans for certain major roads and major railways

and to communicate to the European Commission

summaries of those action plans. These instruments,

adopted after a public consultation had been carried out,

should include the measures to keep noise low or reduce

it.

In the 2019 EIR, Slovakia received two priority actions to

complete noise maps and action plans: as detailed above,

there has been limited progress for completing noise

plans.

available to the public over the last years, are presented

in Figure 23.

Slovakia has an ongoing infringement, initiated

by the

Commission in 2021,

regarding transposition of the Seveso

III Directive

116

Figure 23: Share of UTE for which information on safety

measures and requisite behaviour were actively made

available to the public in Slovakia for 2011, 2014 and

2018

117

2022 Priority Action



Complete action plans for noise management of

major roads and major railways.

Noise

The Environmental Noise Directive provides for a

common approach to avoid, prevent and reduce the

harmful effects of exposure to environmental noise,

although it does not set noise limits as such. The main

instruments it uses in this respect are strategic noise

mapping and planning. A key target under the 2030 Zero

Pollution action plan is to reduce by 30% the share of

people chronically disturbed by transport noise

compared to 2017.

Excessive noise from aircraft, railways and roads is one of

the main causes of environmental health‐related issues

in the EU. It leads to ischaemic heart disease, stroke,

interrupted sleep, cognitive impairment and stress

118

In Slovakia, based on a limited set of data

119

environmental noise is estimated to cause at least 100

premature deaths and 300 cases of ischaeimic heart

120

Water quality and management

EU legislation and policy requires that the impact of

pressures on transitional, coastal and fresh waters

(including surface and ground waters) be significantly

reduced. Achieving, maintaining or enhancing a good

status of water bodies as defined by the Water

Framework Directive will ensure that EU citizens benefit

from good quality and safe drinking and bathing water. It

will further ensure that the nutrient cycle (nitrogen and

phosphorus) is managed in a more sustainable and

resource-efficient way.

116

Prevention of major accidents involving dangerous substances:

Commission calls on Slovakia to improve its national rules:

September

infringements package: key decisions (europa.eu)

117

European Commission,

Assessment and summary of Member States’

implementation reports for Implementing Decision 2014/896/EU

(implementing Directive 2012/18/EU on the control of major accident

hazards involving dangerous substances),

2022.

118

WHO 2018, Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region

119

For further information: European Environment Agency, Noise Fact

Sheets 2021.

These figures are an estimation by the European Environmental

Agency based on: (i) the data reported by Member States on noise

exposure covered by Directive 2002/49/EC; (ii) ETC/ATNI, 2021, Noise

indicators under the Environmental Noise Directive 2021:

Methodology

for estimating missing data,

ETC/ATNI Report No 2021/06, European

Topic Centre on Air Pollution, Transport, Noise and Industrial Pollution;

(iii) the

methodology for health impact calculations,

ETC/ACM, 2018,

Implications of environmental noise on health and wellbeing in Europe,

Eionet Report ETC/ACM No 2018/10, European Topic Centre on Air

Pollution and Climate Change Mitigation.

121

Case No C-683/20, ECLI:EU:C:2022:22, CURIA - Documents

(europa.eu)

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 25

Water Framework Directive

The Water Framework Directive (WFD)

122

is the

cornerstone of the EU’s water policy in the 21

century

123

. The WFD, along with other water-related

legislation

124

, set the framework for sustainable and

integrated water management, which aims at a high level

of protection of water resources, prevention of further

deterioration and restoration to good status.

By March 2022, Member States had to report the third

generation of River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs)

under the WFD. Slokavia has reported on time. The

Commission will now assess the reported status and

progress, checking how the findings identified in the

assessment of the second RBMPs

125

have been

addressed.

In December 2021, the Commission published the sixth

Implementation Report

126

. It includes an interim

assessment on progress in implementing the

Programmes of Measures and on monitoring of the new

priority substance. The assessment report for Slovakia

127

showed that since the beginning of the second RBMPs,

both river basin districts (RBDs), Vistula and Danube,

have started with either implementation of proposed

measures or with preparatory activities. As most of the

measures are planned for the Danube RBD, progress is

more visible ifor this RBD. The assessment concluded

that despite progress achieved in reaching WFD

objectives in Slovakia, it was not clear from the provided

information, whether this progress is sufficient enough to

fulfil the WFD obligation for the year 2021.

Based on reporting and data in the second RBMPs,

published in 2020

128

, in Slovakia, 52.6% of all surface

water bodies reach good ecological status/potential and

3.6% reach very good ecological status/potential,

and 97.5% have good chemical status (although it is

unclear whether all relevant pressures had been

identified for the water bodies that are not monitored

but assessed as being in good chemical status). For

groundwaters, 10.8% failed to achieve good chemical

status and 2.9% are in poor quantitative status (but

26.5% of the groundwater geothermal bodies were

unmonitored).

As reported in the 2019 EIR, the required justification on

exemption regarding new projects, which potentially can

affect the status of water bodies, weas not in place in the

second RBMPs for Danube and Vistula RBDs. Slovakia was

therefore asked to ensure that such projects are

thoroughly assessed and justified in line with the

requirements in the Water Framework Directive. Hydro

power stations

129

were named as an example that can

lead to new changes in the physical (hydromorphological)

characteristics of surface water bodies. Due to

transposition and application gaps relating to provisions

in several pieces of EU legislation, including the WFD,

small hydro powerplants are subject to an infringement

proceedings launched by the Commission. In this regards,

an additional letter of formal notice was sent to Slovakia

in February 2022

130.

Figure 24 illustrates the proportion of surface water

bodies in Slovakia and

other

European

countries

that failed to achieve good ecological status.

122

123

The

Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC).

The

EU Water Policy.

124

This includes the

Groundwater Directive (2006/118/EC),

the

Environmental Quality Standards Directive (2008/105/EC),

the

Floods

Directive (2007/60/EC),

the

Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC),

the

Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC),

the new

Drinking Water Directive (2020/2184/EC),

the

Nitrates Directive

(91/676/EEC),

the

Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC),

the

Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU) and the

new

Regulation

on minimum requirements for water reuse (2020/741).

125

Detailed information can ben found in the

Report from the

Commission on the implementation of the Water Framework Directive

and the Floods Directive,

as well as in the 2019 EIR.

126

See the

Implementation Report of the WFD and FD.

127

European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment,

Assessment of Member States’ progress in Programmes of Measures

during the second planning cycle of the Water Framework Directive.

Member State:

Slovakia,

2022.

128

WISE Freshwater (europa.eu)

129

Court Decision in Small Hydropower Case: The Public Interest Takes

Precedent over Private Business | WWF (panda.org)

130

Environmental assessments: Commission calls on SLOVAKIA to assess

the national plan on the usage of hydro energetic potential:

February

infringements

package:

key

decisions

(europa.eu)

Namely, only 4 out of 37 small hydro power plants listed in the Slovak

national plan were made subject to the strategic environmental

assessment in accordance with the Strategic Environmental Assessment

Directive. Leaving out the vast majority means that the authorities

could not identify the options that would cause the least amount of

harm to the environment.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 26

Figure 24: Proportion of surface water bodies (rivers,

lakes, transitional and coastal waters) in less than good

ecological status per River Basin District

131

Unter the IED framework, it should be stressed that over

the last decade Slovakia showed a significant decrease

(37.5%) in releases of heavy metals like Cd, Hg, Ni, Pb

and in total organic carbon -TOC (36.3%) to water

133

Total water abstracted annually (corresponding to 2019

baseline) in Slovakia from surface and groundwater

sources is 566.79 hm

(EEA, 2022). The percentage for

water abstraction per sector is 5.06% for agriculture,

51.58% for public water supply, 9.62% for electricity

cooling, 27.93% for manufacturing, 5.71% for

manufacturing cooling, and 0.10% for mining and

quarrying, as illustrated in Figure 26. Slovakia uses a

abstractions do not require permits in Slovakia and not

all are registered.

Figure 26: Water abstraction per sector in Slovakia

134

Figure 25 presents the percentage of surface water

bodies in Slovakia and other European countries failing to

achieve good chemical status. For Slovakia, the

percentage is 2.5%, if one includes water bodies failing

due to substances behaving as ubiquitous (persistent,

bio-accumulative and toxic - uPBTs). Without these

substances, the percentage of surface water bodies

failing to achieve good chemical status remains the same.

Figure 25: Percentage of surface water bodies not

achieving good chemical status

132

In Slovakia, the

water

exploitation

index

plus

135

136

(WEI+) is 0.39% (corresponding to year 2017 ), which

is less than the 20% that is generally considered as an

indication of water scarcity. Slovakia is ranked 23rd

(from high to low score) in terms of WEI+ within the EU.

133

131

132

European Environment Agency,

2021

European Environment Agency,

December 2019.

Water pollutant releases changes from 2010 to 2019 for the EU

Member States — European Environment Agency (europa.eu)

134

European Environment Agency,

Water abstraction by source and

economic sector in Europe,

2022.

135

The Water Exploitation Index plus (WEI+) is a measure of total fresh

water use as a percentage of the renewable fresh water resources

(groundwater and surface water) at a given time and place. It quantifies

how much water is abstracted and how much water is returned after

use to the environment.

136

By May 2022, EEA will develop seasonal WEI+ at river basin and

NUTS2 level, which provide a more complete picture of water stress

and water scarcity for each Member State.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 27

Figure 27 :. Water exploitation index plus (WEI+) inside

137

fewer areas for the second cycle, in order to consider

wider effects.

Slovakia has not

yet

adopted

and

reported the second generation

of Flood

Risk Management Plans (FRMPs) under the Floods

Directive

141

. The Commission will assess progress since

the adoption of the first FRMPs and publish a new report,

as done in 2019.

Drinking Water Directive

As regards good practices, it is worth mentioning that

Slovakia launched public consultations for the third

RBMPs one year before the adoption deadline and

conducted the public consultations in a transparent

manner, including online workshops

138

on various topics

of river basin management planning. Stakeholders could

provide feedback online or in written format.

Slovakia’s RRP

139

supports investments and reforms in

the area of water management and landscape planning

to preserve biodiversity. The investment is planned to

result in 90km renatured watercourses. The RRP also

boosts water efficiency (water retention systems) in

building sector.

On the Drinking Water Directive

142

, the last report on the

quality of drinking water for 2017-2019 was reported by

Slovakia in March 2020

143

. The quality of drinking water

in Slovakia has not been indicated as an area of a concern

but pressures on drinking water sources, especially from

old environmental burdens, are numerous.

The recast Directive

144

entered into force on 12 January

2021 and Member States have until 12 January 2023 to

transpose it into their national legal system. Slovakia will

have to comply with these reviewed quality standards.

Bathing Water Directive

Regarding the Bathing Water Directive, Figure 28 shows

that, in 2020, out of 32 Slovak bathing waters, 56.3%

were of excellent quality

145

. Detailed information on

Slovak bathing waters is available from a national

portal

146

and via an interactive map viewer of the

European Environment Agency.

Floods Directives

As previously mentioned, in December 2021 the

Commission published the sixth Implementation Report.

It includes the review and update of the Preliminary

Flood Risk Assessments during the second cycle (2016-

2021).

The assessment report

140

showed that Slovakia

recommended the provision of a methodology to define

what constituted a ’significant flood‘ at the time of the

flooding and the necessity for more details and clarity on

criteria relating to how human health, the environment,

cultural heritage and economic activity have been

considered for arriving at areas of potential significant

flood risk (APSFRs). On the positive is the consolidation of

fragmented geographical areas of potentially significant

risk which were identified during the first cycle, into

Figure 28: Bathing water quality in Europe in the 2020

season

147

141

137

European Environment Agency,

Water exploitation Index Plus,

2022.

Statistics | Eurostat (europa.eu)

138

https://www.minzp.sk/voda/vodny-plan-slovenska/

139

Slovakia’s recovery and resilience plan | European Commission

(europa.eu)

140

European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment,

Assessment of Second Cycle Preliminary Flood Risk Assessments and

Identification of Areas of Potential Significant Flood Risk under the

Floods Directive: Member State:

Slovakia,

2022

According to information of Slovak authorities, it is planned by June

2024.

142

OJ L 330, 5.12.1998, p. 32–54.

143

https://cdr.eionet.europa.eu/sk/eu/dwd/envydixpw

144

OJ L 435, 23.12.2020, p. 1–62.

145 European Environment Agency, 2021.

State of bathing water —

European Environment Agency (europa.eu),

p. 17.

146

Zoznamy vôd určen�½ch na kúpanie (uvzsr.sk)

147

European Environment Agency,

Bathing Water Quality in 2020,

2022.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 28

authorities and farmers have cleaned up waters, it has

had a positive impact on drinking water supply and

biodiversity, and on the sectors, such as fisheries and

tourism that depend on them. Nevertheless, excessive

fertilisation remains a problem in many parts of the EU.

Infringement cases against Slovakia on water quality

monitoring and the nitrate action programme were

closed in 2019. Nevertheless, according to the above

mentioned report, Slovakia is among those Member

States, in which nitrates vulnerable zones (NVZs)

151

are

sometimes very limited areas that do not take into

account the whole water catchment area. This results in

a very fragmented designation and a reduced efficiency

of action programmes.

Figure 29: Slovakia, bathing water quality 2017-2020

148

Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive

Slovakia has, over the years, encountered difficulties in

meeting its obligations under the Urban Waste Water

Treatment Directive (UWWTD). There are 356

agglomerations reported under UWWTD with a

population equivalent of 2 000 or more in Slovakia. As of

31 December 2015 (as set in its 2003 Treaty on

Accession), compliance with the requirements of the

Directive had to be ensured for all these agglomerations.

As regards the intermediate deadlines of 2004, 2008,

2010 and 2012, according to the Commission analyses,

233 agglomerations failed to provide a collecting system

or to ensure that individual systems achieve the same

level of environmental protection as required by the

Directive. Another 32 agglomerations failed to ensure

that urban waste water entering collecting systems is

subject to secondary or more stringent treatment before

discharge. As regards the final, 2015 deadline , 17

agglomerations failed to provide a collecting system

and/or to ensure that the urban waste water entering

collecting systems is treated appropriately.

Overall, in Slovakia, the compliance rate for

agglomerations reported under UWWTD is 93%, which is

higher than the EU average in 2018. 7% of urban

wastewater in Slovakia is not collected and/or does not

meet the requirements for biological treatment

152

Nevertheless, according to the OECD, only 65% of the

Nitrates Directive

The latest Commission Report on the implementation of

the Nitrates Directive

149

, covering the period 2016-2019,

warns that nitrates are still causing harmful pollution to

water in the EU

150

. Excessive nitrates in water are

harmful to both human health and ecosystems, causing

oxygen depletion and eutrophication. Where national

148

European Environment Agency, European Bathing Water Quality in

2017, 2018, 2019, 2020.

149

Commission Report

on the implementation of Council Directive

91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution

caused by nitrates from agricultural sources based on Member State

reports for the period 2016–2019 - Publications Office of the EU

(europa.eu)

150

Staff Working Document accompanying the report on the

implementation of the Nitrates Directive for the period 2016-2019

151

areas draining into these waters affected and at risk of being

affected by nitrates pollution where agriculture contributes significantly

to this pollution

152

Country profiles on urban waste water treatment: Slovakia

(europa.eu)

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Environment'

155

which led to some systemic changes in

EU chemicals legislation. The strategy is part of the EU's

zero-pollution ambition – a key commitment of the

European Green Deal

The EU’s chemicals legislation

156

provides baseline

protection for human health and the environment. It also

ensures stability and predictability for businesses

operating within the EU single market.

Since 2007, the Commission has gathered information on

the enforcement of two regulations: the Registration,

Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals

(REACH) and the Classification, Labelling and Packaging

(CLP). In December 2020, the Commission assessed the

reports from Member States on the implementation and

enforcement of these Regulations

157

, in line with REACH

Article 117(1) and CLP Article 46(2). According to the

latest available data, national enforcement structures

have not changed much. However, it is apparent from

this report that there are still many disparities in the

REACH-CLP implementation, notably in the area of law

enforcement. Recorded compliance levels seem to be

quite stable over time, but with a slight worsening trend

likely due to enforcement authorities being more

effective in detecting non-compliant products/companies

and more non-compliant products being put on the EU

market. In August 2021, using a set of indicators on

different aspects of enforcement, the Commission

published a measurable assessment of the

enforcement

158

of the two main EU Regulations on

chemicals.

Responsibility for checking compliance with REACH in

Slovakia lies with the Slovak Trade Inspection

159

. Slovakia

has devised and fully implemented enforcement

strategies for both the REACH and the CLP Regulations

160

In Slovakia only 17 staff are allocated to REACH and CLP

enforcement

161

. Accordingly, REACH controls for SMEs in

the reporting period remain at

251 well

below average. Most of the REACH controls are

proactive (inspections), compared with reactive/non-

routine controls (i.e. investigations in response to

complaints, accidents and referrals). Although the actual

level of expertise has increased since the last reporting, it

Slovak population benefit from a connection to a

wastewater treatment plant

153

Figure 30: The proportion of urban waste water that

meets all requirements of the UWWTD (collection,

biological treatment, biological treatment with nitrogen

and/or phosphorus removal) in compliant urban areas

of the UWWTD (‘compliance rate’)

Despite the improvement in compliance throughout the

years, for which the use of EU funding has been

fundamental, the incomplete implementation of the

UWWTD led to an infringement case being opened

against Slovakia in 2021, in addition to the one initiated

in 2016

154

2022 priority actions



New physical modifications of water bodies should

be assessed in line with Article 4(7) of the Water

Framework Directive. In these assessments

alternative options and adequate mitigation

measures have to be considered.

Continue current efforts to further reduce nitrates

pollution from agriculture in groundwater.

Efforts should be made to improve the coordinated

implementation across water and nature policies.

Complete implementation of the Urban Waste

Water Treatment Directive for all agglomerations, by

building up the necessary infrastructure.



Chemicals

The EU seeks to ensure that chemicals are produced and

used in a way that minimises any significant adverse

effects on human health and the environment. In

October 2020, the Commission published its chemicals

strategy for sustainability - 'Towards a Toxic-Free

155

156

153

Policy-Paper-Making-the-Slovak-Republic-a-more-resource-efficient-

economy.pdf (oecd.org)

154

December infringements package: key decisions (europa.eu)

COM(2020) 667 final.

REACH: OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p.1. - CLP: OJ L 252, 31.12.2006, p.1

157

European Commission, Final Report, on the operation of REACH and

CLP,

Final report_REACH-CLP MS reporting_2020.pdf (europa.eu)

158

European Commission, REACH and CLP enforcement: EU level

enforcement indicators

159

Final report_REACH-CLP MS reporting_2020.pdf (europa.eu),

p. 71

160

Final report_REACH-CLP MS reporting_2020.pdf (europa.eu),

p. 76.

161

European Commission, Final Report, on the operation of REACH and

CLP,

Final report_REACH-CLP MS reporting_2020.pdf (europa.eu),

p. 75.

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is still not sufficient for some specific tasks under REACH,

namely in relation to risk management and some specific

areas of concern such as nanomaterials and endocrine

disruptors. The percentage of non-compliance cases out

of the total number of REACH and CLP controls is almost

equal to the EU average

162

Figure 31: Percentage of non-compliance cases out of

the total number of REACH and CLP controls during

2019, per Member State and compared with the EU

average

163

2022 priority action



Upgrade

implementation

and

enforcement

administrative capacities towards a zero tolerance for

non-compliances.

162

Final report_REACH-CLP MS reporting_2020.pdf (europa.eu),

p. 87-

88.

163

European Commission,

WISE Freshwater,

2021.

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4. Climate action

In line with the Paris Agreement and as part of the

European Green Deal, the European Climate Law sets

the EU target of reaching climate neutrality by 2050 and

reducing its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 55% by

2030 compared to 1990. The law also limits the

contribution that carbon removals can make towards

emission reductions in 2030 to ensure that there is

sufficient mitigation effort.

The EU and its Member States submitted updated

Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the

UNFCCC in December 2020.

The EU is working across all sectors and policies to cut

GHG emissions and make the transition to climate-

neutral and sustainable economy, as well as addressing

unavoidable consequences of climate change.

EU climate legislation incentivises GHG emissions

reductions from power generation, industry, transport,

the maritime sector and fluorinated gases (F-gases)

used in products.

For road transport, EU legislation requires GHG intensity

of vehicle fuels to be cut by 6% by 2020 compared to

2010

164

and sets binding GHG emission standards for

different vehicle categories

165

Under F-gas Regulation, the EU’s F-gas emissions will be

cut by two-thirds by 2030 compared with 2014 levels.

From 2021 emissions and removals of greenhouse gases

from land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF)

have been included in the EU emission reduction

efforts.

The EU adaptation policy is an integral part of the

European Green Deal. From 2021, Member States are

required to report on their national adaptation

policies

166

, as the EU Climate Law recognises adaptation

as a key component of the long-term global response to

climate change. Member States will be required to

adopt national strategies, and the EU will regularly

assess progress as part of the overall EU governance on

climate action. The updated EU adaptation strategy,

ppublished in February 2021, sets out how the EU can

adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change and

become climate resilient by 2050.

Key national climate policies and strategies

Slovakia has an integrated National Energy and Climate

Plan (NECP) 2021-2030. The Slovak NECP will require an

update, in view of the EU’s increased climate ambitions

for 2030 and the developments related to the invasion

of Ukraine. Slovakia is bound to reaching climate

neutrality in line with the EU general target by 2050.

Slovakia also has a long-term strategy: Low-Carbon

Development Strategy of the Slovak Republic until 2030

with a view to 2050

167

In its RRP, Slovakia allocates 45% of the plan to climate

objectives. It outlines crucial reforms and investments

to further the transition to a more sustainable, low-

carbon and climate-resilient economy. Investments are

made in transport and climate adaptation, large-scale

buildings’ renovations and renewable energy and

industry decarbonisation schemes.

Slovakia has a national adaptation strategy

168

. The

Climate Change Adaptation National Action Plan was

approved in 2021

169

. In Slovakia, there are no legal

arrangements on climate change adaptation. The

elaboration of climate law is one of the emerging tasks.

Between 1990 and 2020, economy wide greenhouse gas

emissions decreased by 49%. At the same time, the

greenhouse gas intensity of the economy remains

significantly higher than the EU average.

167

164

The Fuel Quality Directive (Directive 98/70/EC) sets strict quality

requirements for fuels used in road transport in the EU to protect

human health and the environment, and to make road travel across

the EU safer.

165

Directive 98/70/EC

166

Article 29 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.

Long-term Strategy was approved on 5 March 2020 by

Government

Resolution

No 104/ 2020. This Strategy aims to identify measures,

including additional measures, to achieve climate neutrality in

Slovakia by 2050.

168

National adaptation strategy was updated and approved on 17

October 2018 by

Government Resolution No 478/2018,

and the next

National Adaptation Strategy shall be submitted to the government by

end 2025.

169

The Action Plan contributes to a better reflection of adaptation

measures in the 7 sectors: water protection, water management and

water use, sustainable agriculture, adapted forestry, the natural

environment and biodiversity, health and healthy population, adapted

residential environment and technical, economic and social measures:

https://rokovania.gov.sk/RVL/Resolution/19453/1

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Slovakia 32

Figure 32: Total greenhouse gas emissions (incl.

international aviation), 1990-2020

Figure 34: Emissions, annual emission allocations

(AEAs) and accumulated surplus/ deficit of AEAs under

the Effort Sharing Decision in Slovakia, 2013-2020

Effort sharing target

For emissions not covered by the EU Emissions Trading

System (ETS), Member States have binding national

targets under the Effort Sharing legislation

170.

Under EU

legislation, Slovakia has a target of limiting any increase

of GHG emissions in non-ETS sectors (buildings, road

and domestic maritime transport, agriculture, waste

and small industries) to a maximum of 13% by 2020 and

to reduce emissions by 12% by 2030 compared with

2005 levels. Slovakia is estimated to largely overachieve

its current national targets for 2020, but it is facing a

challenge with the national target of a 12% reduction by

2030; this is because non-ETS GHG emissions are

projected to increase.

Figure 33: Emissions and targets under the Effort

Sharing Decision/ Effort Sharing Regulation in Slovakia,

2020 and 2030 as percentage change from 2005

Key sectoral developments

On road transport, the GHG intensity of vehicle fuels in

Slovakia decreased by 4% from 2010 to 2019. The

country needs to act swiftly to meet the current EU-

wide reduction target of 6%. There are several types of

action that Member States can take in this regard.

These include: further expanding the use of electricity in

road transport; supporting the use of biofuels, in

particular advanced biofuels, incentivising the

development and deployment of renewable fuels of

non-biological origin; and reducing upstream emissions

before refining processes.

In 2020, road transport in Slovakia represented 18% of

total GHG emissions. Emissions have increased by 9.5%

compared with 2005. As a transit country, Slovakia has

experienced an increase in emissions in transport,

which is rapidly becoming the largest emitting sector.

Transport emissions are projected to remain at these

levels or even to increase under current policies.

170

Regulation (EU) 2018/842

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Figure 35: Greenhouse gas emissions by sector

171

–

historical emissions 1990-2019, projections 2021-

2030

172

Figure 36: Reported and accounted emissions and

removals from LULUCF

173

On buildings, emissions have decreased substantially

since 2005

Emissions from agriculture have stabilised since 2000.

In the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry

(LULUCF) sector

Slovakia projects a further decrease of

net removals by 2030. Reported quantities under the

Kyoto Protocol for the LULUCF sector in Slovakia show

net removals of, on average, -5.9MtCO

-eq for the

period 2013 to 2019. In this regard, Slovakia makes a

contribution of 1.7% to the EU-27 annual average sink

of -344.9 MtCO

-eq of. Accounting for the same period

depicts net credits of, on average, -2.2 MtCO

-eq, which

corresponds to 2.0% of the EU-27 accounted sink of -

115.0 MtCO

-eq. There is a notable dynamic and a

generally decreasing trend of reported net removals

and accounted net credits with marked decreases for

2014 and 2018.

Use of revenues from the auctioning of EU

ETS allowances

Total revenues from the auctioning of emission

allowances under the EU ETS over the years 2012-2021

were EUR 1.36 billion. In Slovakia, all auctioning

revenues are earmarked and go to the Environmental

Fund, which also receives money from other sources.

2022 priority actions



Improve sustainable transport and increase electro-

mobility and the deployment of charging

infrastructure.



Seize the energy efficiency potential by further

investing in the renovation of buildings and

replacing domestic heating systems, and as

reforming the social housing investment framework.

Higher energy efficiency in these areas will

considerably improve air quality, reduce energy bills

and stimulate local employment.



Increase building owners’ awareness about energy

renovation and provide advisory services

171

The sectors in the figure correspond to the following IPCC sectors:

Energy supply: 1A1, 1B and 1C. Energy use in manufacturing

industries: 1A2. Industrial processes and product use: 2. Transport:

1A3. Other energy use: 1A4, 1A5 and 6. Agriculture: 3. Waste: 5.

International aviation: 1.D.1.a.

172

European Environmental Agency,

Total GHG trends and

projections.

173

The differences between reported and accounted emissions from

LULUCF under the Kyoto Protocol are described in the ‘explanatory

note on LULUCF – accounted and reported quantities under the Kyoto

Protocol’.

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

Improve the low quality of the current Energy

Performance Certificates (EPC) for buildings.



Accelerate the deployment of renewables, the share

of which has been stagnating for years.



Ensure the sustainability of biomass.



Better safeguard landscape structures and ecological

stability in protected areas (in first and second

protection

zones)

when

considering

the

authorisation of buildings and activities.



Revitalise watercourses that would contribute to

flood protection, drought minimisation, and act

against a qualitative degradation of the available

water resources.



Realign property in key areas of national parks,

which will make it possible to declare new non-

intervention areas and the restoration of habitats.



The provision of new and more adapted skills on the

labour market could help to better exploit the job-

creation potential of a climate-neutral economy and

facilitate the labour transition of those workers in

the most energy- and carbon-intensive sectors.

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Part II: Enabling framework: implementation tools

5. Financing

Environmental investment needs in the

European Union

Financing environmental measures is essential for their

success. Although most financing comes from national

sources, various EU funds contribute significantly, helping

to close the financing gaps.

Post-2020, environmental implementation will also be

supported by the EU’s COVID-19 Recovery Fund (via the

Recovery and Resilience Facility, RRF) and the ‘do no

significant harm’ (DNSH) principle which runs across the

EU budget. The renewed commitments made at COP26

(Glasgow, October-November 2021) and the Biodiversity

Convention (April-May 2022)

174

will also be reflected in

the EU budget.

for climate change adaptation, the costs of which are

expected to stay for longer time horizon).

A preliminary update of the EU’s core environmental

investment gap is provided in Table 1

178

. Almost 40% of

the environmental investment gap relate to dealing with

pollution, which accounts for nearly two-thirds if

combined with water management. The investment gap

in circular economy and waste is estimated at EUR 13-28

billion a year, depending on levels of circularity

implemented. The annual biodiversity financing gap is

estimated at around EUR 20 billion.

Table 1: Estimated breakdown of the EU’s

environmental investment gaps, by environmental

objective (a year)

179

Estimated investment gap (EU-27,

p.a.)

EUR billion

42.8

39%

Overall environmental investment needs (EU 27)

The EU’s investment needs for the green transition cover

a range of interlinked areas. The additional investment

needs over the baselines (i.e. the gap between what is

needed and what is forecast to be invested if no

additional action is taken) for climate, energy and

transport were estimated in 2021 at EUR 390 billion a

year (EU27)

175

, with a further EUR 130 billion a year to

deliver the EU's core environmental objectives

176

. The

costs of climate change adaptation can also be

significant, and are estimated to reach a total of EUR 35-

62 billion (narrower scope) or EUR 158-518 billion (wider

scope) per year

177

. Those investment needs reflect the

implementation objectives to 2020 and to 2030 (except

Environmental

objective

Pollution prevention

& control

Water management

& industries

Circular economy &

waste

Biodiversity

ecosystems

180

R & D & I and other

Total

26.6

24%

13.0

12%

21.5

20%

6.2

110.1

100%

174

The Convention on Biological Diversity (cbd.int); Post-2020 Global

Biodiversity Framework | IUCN.

175

COM(2020) 562 final Stepping up Europe’s 2030 climate ambition

Investing in a climate-neutral future for the benefit of our people:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-

content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0562&from=EN

and

SWD(2021)621, accompanying proposal COM(2021)557 to amend the

REDII Directive (EU) 2018/2001.

176

SWD(2020) 98 final/2 Identifying Europe's recovery needs:

Identifying Europe’s recovery needs (europa.eu)

177

SWD(2018)292 Impact assessment accompanying the Proposal for

the

LIFE

Regulation

(COM(2018)385)

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/budget-

may2018-life-swd_en.pdf

178

With decreases due to Brexit and some reconciliation among the

objectives. Source: DG ENV ’Study supporting EU green investment

needs analysis‘ (ongoing, 2021-2023) and DG ENV internal analysis

’Environmental investment needs and financing in the EU’s green

transition’, July 2020.

179

Source: as idem

180

To meet the needs of the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy (Natura 2000,

green infrastructure), at least EUR 20 billion a year should be unlocked

for nature (COM/2020/380 final) while to fully cover the strategy

(including restoration) EUR 30-35 billion may be needed, indicating a

gap of EUR 10-20 billion a year compared with current baseline

expenditure.

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Environmental investment needs in Slovakia

The Slovak economy is characterised by a growing

manufacturing sector, rather low endowments in sub-soil

assets, and a growing consumption of material

resources

181, 182

. As a result, the country is highly

dependent on external markets for both imports of raw

material and exports of manufactured goods. This is

coupled with rising amounts of waste generated and

increasing pressure on the environment

183

. According to

new Slovak Environmental Strategy 2030,significant

financing needs will be needed to ensure a smart and

sustainable development

184

Pollution prevention and control

The EU’s first Clean Air Outlook

185

under the clean air

programme estimated that the total air pollution control

costs for Slovakia to reach by 2030 the NECD emission

reduction requirements

186

amount to EUR 699 million a

year, including EUR 525 million for capital investment

(assuming the achievement of the 2030 climate and

energy targets).

The second EU’s Clean Air Outlook

187

suggests that, if all

relevant legislation adopted up to 2018 (including all

legislation on air pollution and the 2030 climate and

energy targets set in 2018) delivered its full benefits and

if Member States also implemented the measures

announced in their NAPCPs, the EU would largely achieve

the reductions of air pollutant emissions that correspond

to the obligations under the NEC Directive for 2030,

except for 15 Member States for ammonia, including

Slovakia.

According to the Commission's assessment of the

NAPCP

188

, the projected emission reductions for 2020

and 2030 are likely to be achieved only partly for NH

and

2.5

and likely not for NOx and non-methane volatile

organic compounds

189

Member States will have to increase their efforts even

further to comply with the more ambitious emission

reduction obligations for 2030 under the NEC Directive

Compared with their 2018 emission levels, Slovakia is

among those countries that will need to reduce their

ammonia emissions by up to 30% or more

190

Water management

Significant investment needs still exist in Slovakia to

accelerate compliance with the Water Framework

Directive and the Floods Directive. Flooding is a recurrent

problem but natural water retention measures for flood

prevention are often disregarded. This is despite their

being sometimes more cost-effective than hard

infrastructure for flood prevention and being cheaper

than the costs of flood recovery. Due to climate change,

natural hazards like droughts and floods are expected to

become more frequent and extreme.

Slovakia has 356 agglomerations above 2,000 p.e. and

2047 agglomerations below 2000 population equivalent

(p.e),covering around 2200 municipalities. A number of

agglomerations are not yet compliant with the collection

and treatment requirements of the UWWT Directive in

accordance with the deadlines set in the Treaty on

Accession (expired in 2015). The aim of collecting waste

water for agglomerations above 2.000 p.e. is almost

achieved but investments are still needed in treatment.

EU funding has provided a significant share of previous

public funding over the past decade. An OECD study

assessed Member State’s investment needs for drinking

water and sanitation up to 2030. For Slovakia, it

estimates a cumulative expenditure of EUR 3.3 billion by

2030 over baselines, with EUR 1.3 billion included on

181

OECD identified three areas which appear as instrumental for

resource efficiency improvement in Slovakia: i) strengthening waste

management, including food waste, that is underperforming ii)

transforming pollution and resource intensive industries, such as metal

processing, mining and electricity production, including the

environmentally harmful subsidies and iii) improving productivity in the

wood and processing sectors.

182

OECD, Making the Slovak Republic a more resource efficient

economy, Country Study OECD Environment Policy Paper NO7, 2017.

OECD, Slovak Republic.

183

Ministry of the environment of the Sloval Republic,

http://www.minzp.sk/iep/publikacie/ekonomicke-analyzy/making-

slovak-republic-more-resource-efficient-economy.html

184

Ministry of the environment of the Sloval Republic,

http://www.minzp.sk/iep/strategicke-materialy/envirostrategia-2030/

185

Ministry of the environment of the Sloval Repûblik,

Progress towards

the achievement of the EU's air quality and emissions objectives

(europa.eu)

186

Directive (EU) 2016/2284.

187

COM(2021) 3 final.

International Institute for Applied Systems

Analysis (IIASA),

Support to the development of the

Second Clean Air Outlook,

2020 and

Annex.

188

Final Report for the European Commission. Review of the National

Air Pollution Control Programme – Slovakia.

Review of the National Air

Pollution Control Programme – Slovakia.

Projected combined impacts

of Policies and Measures (PaM) on emission reductions, air quality and

the environment and associated uncertainties.

189

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/reduction/NAPCP.htm

- The

Ambient Air Quality Directive sets binding limits for a number of

pollutants, including sulphur dioxide (SO

), nitrogen dioxide (NO

particulate matter (PM

). The National Emissions Ceilings (NEC)

Directive sets ceilings for total national emissions of four types of

pollutants: sulphur dioxide (SO

), nitrogen oxides (NO

), volatile organic

compounds (VOC) and ammonia (NH

190

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Progress

towards the achievement of the EU's air quality and emissions

objectives, 2018.

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Slovakia 37

exception of bio-waste and paper, are sufficient

197

However, further investments are needed. As for the

revised EU waste targets, the Commission's study

estimates that investment needs in the waste sector, for

municipal and packaging waste, reach an additional EUR

126 million in 2021-27 (over baselines) or EUR 267

million in 2021-35, suggesting an annual average

investment need of around EUR 18 million (or EUR 18

million with biowaste facility replacement costs). The

investment is necessary in collection, biowaste

treatment, recycling reprocessors, waste sorting facilities

and waste registry digitalisation

198

Biodiversity & ecosystems

Member States’ prioritised action frameworks (PAFs),

adopted according to Article 8 of the Habitats Directive,

present the conservation priorities for the Natura 2000

network and its supporting green infrastructure, their

costs and planned funding sources for the period

corresponding to the current multiannual financial

framework (MFF 2021-2027). According to Slovakia’s

PAF

199

, EUR 1.75 billion would be needed for nature

conservation, including the management of the Natura

2000 network, in the programming period 2021-2027,

corresponding to an average of EUR 242 million per year

(including EUR 43 million annual one-off costs). This

excludes additional costs to implement the Biodiversity

Strategy to 2030, including on increased protection and

restoration. The broader financing plan for biodiversity at

the national level could help to identify additional

financial gaps for other Biodiversity Strategy priorities

(beyond Natura 2000 and PAF), but this is missing for

now.

Reform of the institutional framework in view of merging

forest protection and management is on-going. Further

steps are needed in the forestry sector, including to

review government support to wood production and use,

and to disincentivise harmful practices

200

capital investment. The country fact sheet for Slovakia

suggests an annual investment need of about EUR 130

million in its water industry (with around 80% of that

related to wastewater), while the total financing need is

up to EUR 330 million (including operating costs as well) a

year. There is a notable gap (13%) between urban and

rural areas in terms of the percentage of the population

with access to safely managed sanitation

191

. Social

affordability is also an issue. Some 87% of the population

is being connected to the public water supply system

with a high leakage rate (28%)

192

. Furthermore, less than

30% of municipalities of up to 2.000 inhabitants are

connected to a sewage network. Moreover, the recent

Water Framework Directive and Floods Directive

Implementation Report

193

and the financial - economic

study

194

accompanying it, are also a relevant source of

information in this domain.

Waste & circular economy

Slovakia’s existing economic model is highly dependent

on industry. Decoupling economic growth from pressure

on the environment is a challenge

195

. Failing to adopt the

circular systems will only make this challenge bigger and

widen existing regional disparities.

Slovakia has already identified the most instrumental

measures for making the country a more resource

efficient economy, including improving

waste

management, with a focus on diverting waste from

landfills and stimulating recycling and reuse

196

. The Value

for Money Study in the environment sector concluded

that waste reprocessing capacities in Slovakia (built in the

period 2010-2016) for meeting the 2020 targets, with the

191

OECD,

Financing a Water Secure Future,

2022.

financing-water-supply-sanitation-and-flood-protection-country-fact-

sheet-slovak-republic.pdf (oecd.org)

Preliminary projection of needs for water supply and sanitation

assuming 1) increased population growth, 2) full compliance with the

Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, 3) improvements of the water

supply network, 4) full compliance with the new Drinking Water

Directive.

192

Commission Staff Working Document Impact Assessment

Accompanying the document Proposal for a Directive of the European

Parliament and of the Council on the quality of water intended for

human consumption (recast) SWD/2017/0449 final - 2017/0332 (COD)

193

WFD and FD Implementation Reports

– DG Environment – European

Commission.

194

European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment,

Economic data related to the implementation of the WFD and the FD

and the financing of measures,

Final report. Publications Office, 2021.

195

Ministry of the environment of the Sloval Repûblik,

http://www.minzp.sk/iep/publikacie/ekonomicke-analyzy/making-

slovak-republic-more-resource-efficient-economy.html

196

Ministry of the environment of the Sloval Repûblik,

http://www.oecd.org/environment/waste/Policy-Paper-Making-the-

Slovak-Republic-a-more-resource-efficient-economy.pdf

197

Institute

for

Environmental

Policy,

Slovakia,

2017:

http://www.minzp.sk/iep/publikacie/revizia-vydavkov/

198

European Commision,

Study on investment needs in the waste

sector and on the financing of municipal waste management in Member

States,

2019.

199

https://www.minzp.sk/files/sekcia-

ochranyprirodyakrajiny/paf2020/paf_sk_2021-

2027_aktualizacia_schvalena-maj_2021_na-web_21-6-2021.pdf

200

OECD, Making the Slovak Republic

a more resource efficient

economy, Country Study OECD Environment Policy Paper NO7, 2017.

OECD, Slovak Republic.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

kom (2022) 0438 - Ingen titel

Slovakia 38

environmental funding 2014-2020

The MFF for 2014-2020 allocated almost EUR 960 billion

(in commitments, 2011 prices)

201

for the EU. The

commitment to green transition included a 20% climate

spending target and funding opportunities for the

environment, in particular, under the European

Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds

202

. The 2014-2020

budget was subsequently topped up with over EUR 50

billion (current prices) from REACT-EU for policy action

against the coronavirus (COVID-19)

203

Slovakia received EUR 16.5 billion from the ESI Funds for

2014-2020 to invest in job creation and a sustainable and

healthy European economy and environment. The

planned direct environmental investment amounted to

EUR 2.2 billion with a further EUR 1.1 billion identified as

indirect environmental investment value, totalling to

over EUR 3.2 billion. Figure 37 shows an overview of

(planned) individual ESI Funds earmarked for Slovakia (EU

amounts, without national amounts).

Table 2: Direct and indirect environmental investments

under the ESI Funds in Slovakia, 2014-2020

205

Allocations

for the environment

(EUR million)

3 188.6

2 135.6

698.0

419.8

157.9

165.8

224.9

469.3

1 053.0

46.5

305.1

54.3

612.4

34.6

28.7

23.6

5.2

1.7

3 219.1

2 161.0

1 058.1

Instrument

Under Cohesion policy (ERDF + CF)

Direct environmental investments

water

waste

air quality

biodiversity and nature

land rehabilitation

climate and risk management

Indirect environmental investments

renewable energy

energy efficiency

other energy

206

sustainable transport

business development, R&I

Under EAFRD/rural development

Direct environmental investments

climate and risk management

Indirect environmental investments

renewable energy

Under EMFF

Direct environmental investments

environment protection & resource

efficiency

Under ESI Funds total

Direct environmental investments

Indirect environmental investments

Figure 37: ESI Funds allocated to Slovakia, including

environmental investments, 2014-2020

204

It is not yet possible to fully report on the programming

period 2014-2020. Nevertheless, current data suggests

that ESI funds implementation is not on track in

201

202

Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013.

The European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds include the

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF),

the European Social Fund (ESF) with the Youth Employment Initiative

(YEI), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)

and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

203

Regulation (EU) 2020/2221.

204

European Commission, DG Environment - Data analysis, DG

Environment analysis based on ESI Funds Open Data Portal

(cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu),

Integration of environmental concerns in

Cohesion Policy Funds (COWI, 2017), Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013,

Regulation (EU) 2021/1060

and

Implementing Regulation (EU) No

215/2014.

Cut-off date for data: December 2021. Environmental

investments here are captured via the combined use of intervention

fields

and

coefficients

under

the Regulation

(EU)

1303/2013 and Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 allowing for a more precise

identification and valuation of relevant environmental investments.

N.B. Indirect environmental investments are valued using the Annex I

environmental coefficients of the Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 (as

opposed to full value).

205

European Commission, DG Environment - Data analysis. The values

of environmental investments identified here in the specific

environmental areas may differ from the tracking values

at cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu, e.g. for

clean air

biodiversity

due to

two factors: the set of environmental coefficients used and the range of

funds assessed. DG Environment’s analysis here covered the full range

of ESI Funds. See also previous footnote.

206

Intelligent energy distribution systems (smart grids) and high

efficiency co-generation and district heating, based on intervention field

53 and 54 respectively (with 40% environmental coefficients) of

REGULATION (EU) 2021/1060, Annex I.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

kom (2022) 0438 - Ingen titel

Slovakia 39

Slovakia

207

. This applies also to environment protection

and resource spending and climate change adaptation

and risk prevention spending.

Funding for the environment from the ESI Funds has also

been supplemented by other EU funding programmes

available to all Member States, such as, the LIFE

programme or Horizon 2020., This leads add to a total of

EUR 3.3 billion in EU environmental financing for Slovakia

in 2014-2020.

The LIFE programme

208

is entirely dedicated to

environmental and climate objectives. It finances

demonstration and best practice actions for green

solutions to be deployed. In the 2014-2020 period,

Slovakia received EU support for 12 LIFE projects (for

nature and environment) with EUR 47 million from the

LIFE programme (out of 1 028 EU-27 LIFE projects with a

total EU contribution of EUR 1.74 billion)

209

In 2014-2020, Horizon 2020 allocated about EUR 4.7

million for Slovakia (in particular, for climate action,

circular economy and biodiversity) which is about 3.4 %

of Slovakia’s total allocation

210

. Under the European Fund

for Strategic Investments (EFSI), Slovakia did not receive

any environmental funding out of its total allocation (EUR

485.2 million)

211

. From the European Investment Bank

(EIB), again Slovakia did not receive any environmental

support out of the total EIB loans for Slovakia (EUR 4.1

billion)

212

. The country ranks number 18 in size of total

EIB lending.

In 2020, the EIB provided EUR 24.2 billion to fight climate

change at EU level, 37% of its total financing and EUR 1.8

billion (3% of its financing) for the environment

213, 214

EU environmental funding 2021-2027

The 2020 European Green Deal investment plan calls on

EUR 1 trillion green investments (public and private) by

2030. MFF 2021-2027 and the NextGenerationEU will

mobilise EUR 2.018 trillion (in current prices) to support

the COVID-19 recovery and the EU's long-term priorities,

including environmental protection

215

. Following the

European Green Deal’s

216

‘do no harm’ pledge and the

Interinstitutional Agreement on the 2021-2027 MFF

217

30% of the EU budget will support climate efforts and

7.5% (as of 2024) and 10% (as of 2026) will support

biodiversity. This requires increased programming of

financial resources for biodiversity, specifically under the

2021-2027 cohesion policy and the 2023-2027 Common

Agricultural Policy (CAP) to reach those targets.

Sustainable finance significantly increases transparency

on environmental sustainability (a goal promoted by the

EU Taxonomy)

218

and strengthens non-financial reporting

requirements, facilitates green bond issuance (by the EU

green bond standard

219

). Reinforced by the Renewed

Sustainable Finance Strategy (2020)

220

it will increase

investment flows to climate and environment. In support

of financing climate adaptation, the new strategy on

adaptation to climate change

221

can facilitate closing the

insurance protection gap from non-insured climate-

related events

222

. The EIB will align 50% of its lending

with climate and environment by 2025

223

with an EUR

250 billion contribution to the EGD Investment Plan by

2027.

Table 3 gives an overview of the EU funds earmarked

specifically to Slovakia for the 2021-2027 period. These

funds are also supplemented by other EU funding

programmes available to all Member States.

207

Open Data Portal for the European Structural Investment Funds -

European Commission | Data | European Structural and Investment

Funds (europa.eu)

March 2022: 101% allocated and 53% spent overally

208

European Commission, LIFE Programme.

209

Source:

CINEA.

210

Source: EASME,

https://sc5.easme-web.eu/,

accessed: 15-12-2021.

211

Approved and signed EFSI financing - EIB, 2015-2020: Source:

https://www.eib.org/en/products/mandates-

partnerships/efsi/index.htm.

212

EIB loans in EU countries in 2014-2020. Source: EIB Open Data Portal:

https://www.eib.org/en/infocentre/eib-open-data.htm

213

The EIB Group jointly works with the European Commission in

implementing several programs that finance environmental

implementation: InvestEU, the successor of EFSI, Pillar II and III of the

Just Transition Mechanism. The EIB Group stands as a key implementing

partner for InvestEU with responsibility for managing 75% of the overall

budgetary capacity of the mandate.

214

EIB 2021 Activity Report.

215

European Commission,

2021-2027 long-term EU budget &

NextGenerationEU.

216

COM/2019/640 final.

217

Interinstitutional Agreement, OJ L 433I.

218

https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/banking-and-

finance/sustainable-finance/eu-taxonomy-sustainable-activities_en

219

EU Green Bond Standard

- 2021/0191 (COD).

220

COM (2021) 390 Final - European Commission, Strategy for Financing

the Transition to a Sustainable Economy.

221

COM/2021/82 final.

222

The strategy would support improved insurance gap coverage

including through the natural catastrophe markets as reflected with the

EIOPA (the Association for European Insurance and Occupational

Pension Authorities) dashboard on insurance protection gap for natural

catastrophes. See:

The pilot dashboard on insurance protection gap for

natural catastrophes | Eiopa (europa.eu).

223

EIB Climate Bank Roadmap 2021-2025, November 2020

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 40

Table 3: Key EU funds allocated to Slovakia (current

prices), 2021-2027

Instrument

Cohesion policy

ERDF

ESF+

ETC (ERDF)

Just Transition Fund

EAFRD/rural

development

under CAP Strategic

Plans 2023-2027

228

European

Fisheries

Aquaculture

(EMFAF)

Maritime,

and

Fund

15.2

230

Country funding allocation (million

EUR)

Total: 12 358.1

224

8 117.4

1 613.0

225

2 404.4

223.3

226

458.9

227

1 295.4

229

Recovery and Resilience

Facility (RRF)

2021 – 2026

231

6 328.6

232

(grants)

In Slovakia, the programming for the majority of EU funds

(cohesion policy funds, EAFRD and EMFAF) is ongoing.

However, the negotiations have been concluded under

the RRF.

Slovakia’s national recovery and resilience plan (RRP)

responds to the urgent need of fostering a strong

recovery and making it future ready. The reforms and

investments in the plan will help Slovakia become more

sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the

challenges and opportunities of the green and digital

transitions. To this end, the plan consists of five key

policy areas (the green economy, education, research

and innovation, health, and public administration &

digitalization) with 18 components. They will be

supported by EUR 6.3 billion in grants. Some 45% of the

plan will support climate objectives (see Figure 38). This

exceeds the RRF’s 37% climate target. In terms of green

transition, the plan reflects its climate pledge. In absolute

terms, the highest contributions towards this target

come from measures targeting building renovations,

railway modernisation and industry decarbonisation.

Investments in renewable energy capacity combined with

a set of reforms aimed notably at facilitating the access

to the grid of clean energy sources are set to help

Slovakia to achieve its 2030 renewables target. A wide

programme of building renovations, including for coal, oil

boilers or out-of-date gas boilers exchange and

management of construction waste, will reduce their

impact on GHG emissions and improve air quality.

A distinct set of measures is designed to support industry

decarbonisation. In transport, a comprehensive package

of reforms and investments will target electro-mobility,

inter-modality and public modes of transportation. The

plan also includes reforms and investments aimed at

sustainable landscape, forest and water management

233

The plan is to be implemented under several conditions

to ensure that the ‘do no significant harm’ (DNSH)

principle is applied. For example, no investments to

biomass boilers and construction of new small hydro-

power stations are eligible while the modernisation of

existing hydro-power stations is linked with detailed

checking of compliance with the environmental

legislation

234

In terms of allocation per policy objectives (PO) for

programming period 2021-2027, Slovakia indicates in its

draft Partnership Agreement

235

that PO2 ‘a greener,

low-carbon transitioning towards a net zero carbon

economy’ has the highest allocation (EUR 3.9 billion),

followed by PO 4 ‘a more social and inclusive Europe’

(EUR 2.8 billion) and PO 3 ‘a more connected Europe by

enhancing mobility’ (EUR 2.2 billion). The draft covers all

relevant environmental sectors mainly under PO 2, which

includes 3 policy priorities: 2P1 Energy efficiency and

decarbonisation; 2P2 Environment and 2P3 Sustainable

urban mobility. The indicators on climate tagging and

biodiversity tracking are not yet available. The draft

might be subject to further revision and a question on a

balanced support of EGD objectives remains open.

Slovakia must also satisfy the enabling conditions on

satisfactory waste management plans in order to fund

investments in the waste management and the circular

224

European Commission,

2021-2027 Cohesion policy EU budget

allocations.

225

The transfer to the Connecting Europe Facility (Transport) is not

included.

226

Interreg initial allocations per MS including ETC transnational and

ETC cross-border co-operation.

227

European Commission,

2021-2027 Cohesion policy EU budget

allocations.

228

European Commission,

CAP strategic plans.

229

Regulation (EU) 2021/2115,

Annex XI.

230

Regulation (EU) 2021/1139,

Annex V.

231

The actual reforms and investments under the RRF have to be

implemented until 31 December 2026.

232

Council Implementing Decision, FIN 517.

233

Slovakia’s recovery and resilience plan | European Commission

(europa.eu)

234

Commission Staff Working Document: Analysis of the recovery and

resilience plan of Slovakia | European Commission (europa.eu)

235

Domov | Partnerská dohoda (gov.sk)

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

kom (2022) 0438 - Ingen titel

Slovakia 41

economy, on updated planning for investments needed

in water and wastewater sectors, and on prioritised

action frameworks for investments in nature and

biodiversity.

environmental protection (Horizon Europe)

242

, clean

transport and energy (the CEF)

243

or sustainable

infrastructure (InvestEU)

244

Figure 38: Climate expenditure in RRPs, 2021-2026

236

National environmental protection

expenditure

Total national environmental protection expenditure

(including all relevant current and capital expenditure)

245

in the EU-27 was EUR 272.6 billion in 2020, representing

2% of the common GDP being quite stable over time.

While absolute expenditure is concentrated in a few

countries, as a share of GDP, most countries spend

between 1-2%, including Slovakia with 1.7%.

Of the above total, the EU-27's capital expenditure on

environmental protection (i.e. investment) amounted to

EUR 56.3 billion in 2018, lowering to EUR 54.5 billion in

2020, representing around 0.4% of GDP. Most Member

States invested 0.2-0.5% of their GDP in environmental

protection, Slovakia dedicated 0.4% of its GDP. During

2014-2020, this totalled to around EUR 376 billion of

environmental investment in the EU-27, and to EUR 2.7

billion for Slovakia.

Under NextGenerationEU, the Commission will issue up

to EUR 250 billion of EU green bonds (one third of the

NGEU total) until 2026 that will comply with the general

spirit of the DNSH principle, but will not be subject to the

currently developed Delegated Acts related to the EU

Taxonomy and will not fully align with the proposed EU

Green Bond Standard.

In addition to EU funds earmarked specifically for

Slovakia in the 2021-2027 period, there are also funding

programmes open to all Member States. These include,

the LIFE programme

237

(EUR 5.4 billion), Horizon Europe

(EUR 95.5 billion)

238

, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF)

239

(EUR 33.7 billion)

240

or the funds to be mobilised under

the InvestEU

241

. They will also support the green

transition, including research and innovation activities for

236

European Commission. The contributions to climate objectives have

been calculated using Annex VI of the RRF Regulation (EU) 2021/241.

237

European Commission,

LIFE Programme.

238

European Commission,

Multiannual financial framework 2021-2027

(in commitments) - Current prices.

239

The CEF (Transport) includes also EUR 11.3 billion transferred from

the Cohesion Fund. 30 % of the transferred amount will be made

available, on a competitive basis, to all Member States eligible for the

Cohesion Fund. The remaining 70% will respect the national envelopes

until 31 December 2023. Any unspent amount, by that date, under

national envelopes will support all Cohesion Fund’s Member States.

240

Regulation (EU) 2021/1153.

241

The InvestEU Fund is set to mobilise over EUR 372 billion of

investment through an EU budget guarantee of EUR 26.2 billion to back

the investment of financial partners such as the European Investment

Bank (EIB) Group and others.

242

243

European Commission,

Horizon Europe.

European Commission,

Connecting Europe Facility.

244

European Union,

InvestEU.

245

At economy level, including final consumption, intermediate

consumption and capital expenditure of households, corporations and

governments related to environmental protection goods and services. It

excludes EU funds, while may include some international expenditure

beyond domestic. Data source: Environmental Protection Expenditure

Accounts (EPEA), Eurostat. EPEA accounts are based on the on the

CEPA 2000 classification

, excluding climate, energy and circular

economy.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

kom (2022) 0438 - Ingen titel

Slovakia 42

Figure 39: Direct and indirect environmental protection

investments in the EU-27 (EUR million and % of GDP),

2018

246

Figure 40: EU-27 Member States' environmental

protection investments (Capex) by institutional sectors

(Total economy = 100%), 2018

247

By institutional sector, around 52% of Slovakia’s

environmental

protection

investments

(capital

expenditure) came from general government, a further

41% from specialist producers (of environmental

protection services, e.g. waste and water companies) and

6% from the classical industry (or business) sector that

normally pursues environmental activities as ancillary to

their main activities. At EU level, 37% comes from

governments, 33% from specialist producers and 30%

from industry (business).

Breakdown of investment by environmental topic is

partially available, at the level of institutional sectors only

(rather than at economy level), due to different reporting

patterns. At Slovakia’s general government level in 2018,

35% of environmental protection investments went to

waste management, 32% to wastewater and 11% to

tackle various pollution. For the country’s specialist

producers, around half of the relevant investments were

received by wastewater (54%), over a third by waste

management (35%) and 11% by water and soil

protection. As regards industry and businesses, 35% of

environmental investments went to protection of air and

21% to wastewater to name the most significant items.

The total annual European green bond issuance

248

2020 was USD 156 billion (EUR 137 billion)

249

, growing

from USD 117 billion (EUR 105 billion) in 2019, also

including some non-EU European countries. For EU27

Member States only, the 2020 annual green bond

issuance was EUR 124 billion. As part of this, Slovakia did

not issue green bonds. 83% of the green bonds issued by

European countries served energy, buildings or transport

objectives between 2014-2020, 8% supported water and

247

246

Eurostat,

Environmental Protection Expenditure Account,

2021.

Eurostat, Environmental Protection Expenditure Accounts

(env_epe).

248

Green bonds were created to fund projects that have positive

environmental and/or climate benefits. The majority of green bonds

issued are green “use of proceeds” or asset-linked bonds. The very first

green bond was issued in 2007 with the AAA-rated issuance from

multilateral institutions, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the

World Bank.

249

At Eurostat’s annual average EUR/USD exchange rates.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 43

Figure 42: Environmental taxes in the EU27, 2020

253

waste, with further 6% supporting land use – with links to

ecosystem conservation & restoration, based on the

Climate Bonds Taxonomy being broadly similar to the EU

Taxonomy

250

Figure 41: Annual EU green bond issuance in 2020 (EUR

billion)

251

Green budget tools

Green taxation and tax reform

Slovakia’s revenue from environmentally relevant taxes is

at the average level in the EU. Environmental taxes stood

at 2.38% of GDP in 2020 (EU-27 average: 2.24%). The

largest portion of the environmental taxes was for energy

taxes, at 2.13% of GDP, against an EU average of 1.74%.

Transport taxes represented 0.22% of GDP (EU average

0.42%). Taxes on pollution and resources stand at 0.03%

(EU average 0.08%). In the same year, environmental tax

came to 6.81% of total revenues from taxes and social

security contributions (above the EU average of

5.57%)

252

The 2019 European Green Deal underlines that well-

designed tax reforms can boost economic growth and

resilience, and foster a fairer society and a just transition,

by sending the right price signals and incentives to

economic actors. EGD creates the context for broad-

based tax reforms, removal of fossil fuel subsidies,

shifting the tax burden from labour to pollution, and

accounting for social considerations. The application of

the ‘polluter pays principle’ (PPP)

254

, stipulating that

polluters should bear the cost of measures to prevent,

control and remedy pollution, is facilitated by the EU

Commission’s flagship technical support instrument (TSI)

on greening taxes

255

Recent assessment of economic instruments in Slovakia

shows that there is scope for their enhanced use to make

polluters pay in several sectors, for example a tax on solid

fuel, or a pay-as-you-throw scheme combined with an

increase in the landfill tax

256

253

254

250

Interactive Data Platform at

www.climatebonds.net.

Further

information

Climate

Bonds

Taxonomy:

https://www.climatebonds.net/standard/taxonomy

251

Climate Bonds Initiative,

2022.

252

Ensuring

that

polluters

pay

(europa.eu):

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/system/files/2021-10/Slovakia.pdf

Eurostat, Environmental taxes accounts (env_eta).

Article 191(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European

Union: “Union policy on the environment (…) shall be based on the

precautionary principle and on the principles that preventive action

should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be

rectified at source and that the polluter should pay”.

255

European Commission,

Greening taxes- applying polluter pays

principle in practice, green budgeting TSI participation.

256

Factsheet_Polluters_pay_Slovakia_V1.pdf (europa.eu)

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 44

Environmentally-harmful subsidies

Addressing and removing environmentally-harmful

subsidies (EHS) is a further step towards wider fiscal

reforms

257

Fossil fuel subsidies are costly for public budgets and

adversely impact the achievement of EGD objectives. In

many cases, they also go against incentives for

investments in green technologies, and do not contribute

to levelling the playing field. Fossil fuel subsidies have

varied around EUR 55 billion in the EU since 2015. They

rose by 4% between 2015 and 2019; however some

countries, such as Latvia, Lithuania Sweden, Greece or

Ireland, managed to decrease subsidies for fossil fuels. In

the EU, subsidies on petroleum products, in sectors such

as transport and agriculture, kept on growing over this

period, whereas subsidies on coal and lignite decreased,

largely owing to a diminishing role of solid fuels in

electricity generation.

As a share of GDP, fossil fuel subsidies ranged from 1.2%

in Hungary to less than 0.1% in Malta in 2019 (the EU

being 0.4% on average). In 2019, for Slovakia, total fossil

fuel subsidies amounted to EUR 0.4 billion, representing

0.44% of GDP. In 2020, the EU-27’s total amount of fossil

fuel subsidies decreased to EUR 52 billion (due to falling

consumption trends amid the COVID-19-related

restrictions) which, without Member State actions, are

likely to rebound as economic activity picks up from

2020

258

As reported in the 2019 EIR, Slovakia took first steps to

phase out environmentally harmful subsidies of high-

emissions electricity generation from lignite, advancing

its commitment from 2030 to 2023 (although the

exploitation of lignite can continue beyond). This reform

is also included in the RRP and further TSI projects are

on-going to assist the region of Upper Nitra in the

transition out of coal including for example on the

solution for the previously coal-sourced district heating.

This should be done with an involvement of stakeholders

to ensure a balanced approach amid concerns on

potentially excessive support to biomass

259

Figure 43: Trends in natural gas and coal subsidies in

Slovakia

260

% GDP

Natural

gas

Coal

2013

0,001

0,002

2014

0,001

0,002

2015

0,001

0,002

2016

0,001

0,002

2017

0,001

0,002

2018

0,001

0,002

2019

0,001

0,002

2020

0,001

0,002

Slovakia is among the Member States which allocated

more than the EU average on fossil-fuel subsidies as % of

GDP and all higher than renewable-energy subsidies

261

Current green budgeting practices

Green budgeting encompasses various climate and

environmental tagging and tracking practices in budgets

and some EU Member states already use green

budgeting elements

262

. Green budgeting helps identify

and track green expenditure and green revenues to

increase transparency on the environmental implications

of budgetary policies, thereby improving policy

coherence and supporting green policies (including

climate end environmental objectives)

263

Guidance on EU climate proofing and sustainability

proofing has also been developed, to assess project

eligibility and compliance with environmental legislation

260

261

257

European Commission, STUDY ON ASSESSING THE ENVIRONMENTAL

FISCAL REFORM POTENTIAL FOR THE EU28, January 2016

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/green_semester/pdf/Eu

nomia%20EFR%20Final%20Report%20MAIN%20REPORT.pdf

258

COM(2021) 950

and

Annex

259

Udržateľné tepelné riešenie (zivotpouhli.sk)

OECD,

Fossil Fuel Subsidies Tracker.

European Court of Auditors,

Energy taxation, carbon pricing and

energy subsidies,

2022.

262 European Commission,

Green Budgeting Practices in the EU: A First

Review,

2021,

Green Budgeting in the EU Key insights from the 2021

Commission survey

and and OECD, Public Governance Directorate,

Climate Change and Long-term Fiscal Sustainability, Working Paper,

February 2021.

Climate Change and Long-term Fiscal Sustainability

(oecd.org)

263 OECD Paris Collaborative on Green Budgeting initiative, 2017.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 45

and criteria

264

. The Commission established a green

budgeting reference framework

265

and in 2021 launched

a technical support project (TSI) on green budgeting to

assist Member States in developing or further developing

national green budgeting frameworks to reap the

benefits for policy coherence and for the green

transition. Slovakia participates in this project.

Overall financing compared to the needs

The EU's overall environmental financing for investments

is estimated to have been 0.6-0.7% of GDP in the 2014-

2020 period, taking into account major EU funds and

national financing. This ranged from 0.3% (Ireland) to

1.91% (Bulgaria), linked to the level of environmental

challenges in Member States. The overall EU

environmental investment needs in the 2021-2027

period are estimated in the range 0.9-1.5% of the

projected common GDP (2021-2027), suggesting an

additional financing need (gap) of 0.6-0.8% of GDP, over

the baseline environmental financing of the previous

period

266

Figure 44: Total environmental financing baseline (2014-

2020) and estimated needs (2020-2030) in the EU27 (%

of GDP)

267

Slovakia’s environmental financing for investments came

to an estimated 1.12% of GDP (EU average of 0.7%) in

2014-2020, being balanced between EU funding and

national sources. The environmental investment needs in

the 2021-2027 period are estimated to reach over 1.46%

of GDP (covering needs with country breakdown

available), indicating a financing gap of at least 0.33% of

GDP for environmental implementation. This is likely to

be higher when also accounting for needs estimated

currently at EU level only (e.g. water protection,

circularity and biodiversity strategy).

In the 2019 EIR, Slovakia had one priority action for

environmental financing to improve the capacity to use

EU funds for the environment effectively, including to

prepare for the next financing period 2021-2027. Given

that Slovakia is facing implementation difficulties in the

programming

period

2014-2020,

this

recommendationremains valid. Moreover, there is room

for improvement in the coming years and additional

priority actions are proposed.

2022 priority actions



To devise an environmental financing strategy to

maximise opportunities for closing environmental

implementation gaps, bringing together all relevant

administrative levels.



To ensure an increased level of financing for the

environment, including from private sources

(currently than a third), to cover investment needs

across the environmental objectives and to close

investment gaps.



To continue phasing-out of environmentally harmful

subsidies (EHSs).



Enhance use of economic instruments to make

polluters pay.

264

European Commission,

Technical guidance on sustainability proofing

for the InvestEU Fund.

265

European Commission, Green Budgeting Reference Framework,

based on the review of the OECD Paris Collaborative on Green

Budgeting initiative, 2017.

266

Source: DG Environment data analysis. EU financing sources covered:

ESI Funds (ERDF, CF, ESF, YEI, EAFRD, EMFF), Horizon 2020, LIFE, EFSI

(EU amount), EIB loans. National financing: total national environmental

protection capital expenditure (investments) - source: Eurostat EPEA

dataset. Cut-off date for data: end 2021. N.B. The total financing may

be higher, in particular through further indirect investments, requiring

further analysis in the future.

267

Eurostat,

ESI Funds Open Data,

2021.

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Slovakia 46

6. Environmental governance

Information, public participation and access to

justice

Citizens can more effectively protect the environment if

they can rely on the three ‘pillars’ of the Aarhus

Convention:

(i) access to information;

(ii) public participation in decision making;

(iii) access to justice in environmental matters.

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public

and business that environmental information is shared

efficiently and effectively

268

Public participation enables authorities to make decisions

that take public concerns into account. Access to justice

is a set of guarantees that allows citizens and NGOs to

use national courts to protect the environment

269

. It

includes the right to bring legal challenges ("legal

standing")

270

Environmental information

The INSPIRE Directive aims at establishing a European

spatial data infrastructure for sharing environmental

spatial information between public authorities across

Europe, assisting in policymaking across boundaries and

facilitating public access to this information. Geographic

information is needed for good governance at all levels

and should be readily and transparently available.

Slovakia’s implementation of the INSPIRE Directive could

be better. Its performance has been reviewed based on

the country's 2021 country fiche

271

. Data identification

and documentation have made slow progress and

implementation levels need improvement, specifically

the accessibility of spatial data sets. More efforts are

needed:

(i) to make the data more widely accessible; and

(ii)

prioritise

environmental

datasets

implementation, especially those identified as high-value

spatial datasets for implementing environmental

legislation

272

Table 4: Country dashboard on the implementation of

the INSPIRE Directive (2016-2020)

273

2016

2020

Legend

■

Implementation of

this provision is well

advanced or (nearly)

completed.

Outstanding issues

are minor and can be

addressed

easily.

Percentage: >89%

■

Implementation of

this provision has

started and made

some or substantial

progress but is still

not close to be

complete.

Percentage: 31–89%

■

Implementation of

this

provision

falling

significantly

behind.

Serious

efforts are necessary

implementation gap.

Percentage: <31%

Effective coordination and data

sharing

Ensure effective

coordination

Data

sharing

without obstacle

■

■

■

INSPIRE performance indicators

i. Conformity of

metadata

ii. Conformity of

spatial

data

274

sets

■

iii. Accessibility of

spatial data sets

through view and

download

services

iv. Conformity of

network services

■

Public participation

The Ministry of Environment provides a dedicated

webpage on the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment)

and SEA (Strategic Environmental Assessments)

268

The Aarhus Convention, the Access to Environmental Information

Directive (Directive 2003/4/EC) and the INSPIRE Directive, (Directive

2007/2/EC) together create a legal foundation for the sharing of

environmental information between public authorities and with the

public. This EIR focuses on the INSPIRE Directive's implementation.

269

These guarantees are explained in the Commission Notice on access

to justice in environmental matters, OJL 275, 18.8.2017 and a related

Citizen's Guide.

270

This EIR report focuses on the means implemented by Member

States to guarantee rights of access to justice, legal standing and to

overcome other major barriers to bringing cases on nature and air

pollution.

271

https://inspire.ec.europa.eu/INSPIRE-in-your-Country/SK

272

273

European Commission,

List of high value spatial data sets

INSPIRE

knowledge base

274

The deadlines for implementation of the spatial data interoperability

were in 2016 still in the future: 23.11.2017 for Annex I data and

21.10.2020 for Annex II and III data. It must be also considered that this

conformity indicator will in many cases never reach 100% conformity as

a majority of the countries provide as-is data sets in addition to the

INSPIRE harmonised data sets.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 47

processes

275

. There is comprehensive information on the

applicable legislation, step-by-step details of both

procedures, guidance documents and contact points, and

an information system providing full documentation on

current and past EIA and SEA procedures

276

. Information

on how to submit comments by the public, to whom and

within which timeline, is available in the document with

which the EIA/SEA project is notified. However,

individuals would generally need to already have detailed

information on the permitting process of concern to

them in order to locate documentation.

There is no summary information available on

participation in EIA and SEA processes, although such

information is available for individual cases.

There is some information on access to justice, usually

only in the official language of the country, maintained

by the government, and it needs to be searched for.

The Commission has identified several non-conformity

issues in the Slovak transposition of the amended EIA

Directive

277

. The shortcomings relate mainly to access to

information, timeliness of the decisions, to possible

conflicts of interest and the lack of effective,

proportionate and dissuasive penalties. Slovakia

committed to address these gaps in the planned

amendment to the Slovak EIA Act.

However, at the same time, new grievancies cannot be

excluded as a result of the new Building Act adopted in

April 2022, which aims to streamline permitting

procedures, amid stakeholders’ concerns

278

Furthermore, public participation has been limited also

for sectoral assessment, like assessment of exceptions at

project level under the Water Framework Directive, as a

result of the amedment to the Water Act in 2021.

Any streamlining of the permitting system in Slovakia

should not lower the level of environmental protection

but rather use the flexibilities offered by EU

environmental legislation. The Commission will carefully

assess the conformity of adopted legislation with EU law

and take further action if EU standards are breached.

In 2019, there was a priority action addressed to Slovakia

on access to justice, namely to better inform the public

about their rights on access to justice. It is concluded that

only limited progress has been made.

Access to justice

The basic principle is that in administrative proceedings

and in judicial procedures, the legal standing is provided

for anyone (natural or legal persons) directly affected by

the case (e.g. by the proposed project). However, as a

result of the adoption of the Aarhus Convention and the

effect of EU law, the interpretation has finally prevailed

that in cases subject to the Aarhus Convention, NGOs can

also challenge violations of substantive law (substantive

legal provisions) and violations of the right to a

favourable environment.

There is no provision in Slovak legislation that explicitly

gives individuals or NGOs access to justice with regard to

’concepts, plans or programmes‘ related to the

environment. However, the Code of Administrative

Judicial Procedure allows the ’interested public‘ to bring

an action against a ’measure taken by a public

administration body‘ and against a ’general binding

regulation‘. In order to be challenged in court, ’concepts,

plans or programmes‘ must either be a measure of a

public administration body or be adopted in the form of a

’general binding regulation of a municipality‘. There are

some difficulties in challenging plans or programmes.

There is a system of regular supervision of regulatory

legally binding acts but it is hardly accessible for

members of the public and NGOs. They can only call

attention of those bodies or officials who are entitled to

initiate an extraordinary supervision procedure.

2022 priority actions



Make spatial data more widely accessible and

prioritise

environmental

datasets

the

implementation of the INSPIRE Directive, especially

those identified as high-value spatial datasets for

implementing environmental legislation.



Collate and publish information on public

participation in EIA and SEA processes in order to

monitor whether public engagement is increasing or

decreasing.



Better inform the public about their access to justice

rights, in particular by referring to judicial and

administrative portals and to the Commission eJustice

275

Posudzovanie vplyvov na životné prostredie - Enviroportál - životné

prostredie online (enviroportal.sk)

276

https://www.enviroportal.sk/sk/eia

277

278

October infringements package: key decisions (europa.eu)

The new construction legislation was adopted in Slovak Parliament

despite citizens concerns:

Pomôžte nám zastaviť nekvalitné stavebné

zákony - VIA IURIS

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 48

fact sheets on access to justice in environmental

matters

279



Improve access to courts by the public concerned

when it comes to challenging administrative or

regulatory decisions, in particular under the areas of

planning related to water, nature and air quality.



Complete transposition of the revised Environmental

Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive

management measures and is currently being updated

and revised. There does not appear to be material aimed

at providing farmers and other land managers with

practical guidance on how to manage their businesses so

as to help with implementation of the Directives. This

was already reported in the 2019 EIR.

Information on the planning of inspections under the

Industrial Emissions Directive is not publicly available, nor

for the follow-up of sanctions further to inspections.

Again, this is similar to the situation reported in the 2019

EIR. However, information on inspections carried out,

and their results, is made available to the public. The

information portal of the Ministry of Environment

provides a link to ‘The integrated Pollution Prevention

and Control’s online information system’

288

, with

information on legal obligations, and a link to the

inspection results registry

289

,with documents going back

for a number of years. Comprehensive annual activity

reports are published by the Slovak Environmental

Inspectorate.

Complaint handling and citizen science

Since 2020, the Ministry of Environment has opened its

Green Line (Zelená Linka) to citizens also as a first contact

point for reporting on environmental crimes; this is a toll-

free number provided on the main page of the

Ministry

290

. In the first year of its operation it registered

2,500 submissions from people in the field of

environmental issues. Of these, 460 were complaints,

with the largest category (148) concerning waste

management - mainly illegal landfills. Complaints are

forwarded to the relevant body - municipalities, district

authorities, the state nature protection or the Slovak

Environmental Inspectorate. Twenty-five complaints

were passed to the police for possible environmental

crime investigations. This phone line system supplements

the existing possibility of submitting complaints to the

Environment Ministry by email. In addition, the

Information System for the Prevention and Remediation

of Environmental Damage (IS PaNEŠ)

291

provides the

possibility for individual citizens to submit information on

environmental damage.

While the Environment Ministry has published data

about the use of the new Green Line, that data does not

provide information on the follow-up to complaints and

Compliance assurance

Environmental compliance assurance covers all the work

undertaken by public authorities to ensure that

industries, farmers and others fulfil their obligations to

protecti water, air and nature, and managing waste

280

It includes support measures provided by the authorities,

such as:

(i) compliance promotion

281

;

(ii) inspections and other checks that they carry out,

i.e.ompliance monitoring

282

;

(iii) the steps that they take to stop breaches, impose

sanctions and require damage to be remediated, i.e.

enforcement

283

Citizen science and complaints enable authorities to

better focus their efforts. Environmental liability

284

ensures that the polluter pays to remedy any damage.

Compliance promotion and monitoring

In Slovakia, information available on the Nature Directive

and the Nitrates Directive is focused on the legal

requirements, and on outlining the cross-compliance

requirements under CAP. For example, the National Food

and Agricultural Centre’s

285

‘Soil Portal’

286

provides

general information, and provides some information to

farmers via a map of service

287

. A Code of Good

Agricultural Practice provides guidance in the area of

279

European e-Justice Portal - Access to justice in environmental

matters (europa.eu)

280

The concept is explained in detail in the Communication on "EU

actions to improve environmental compliance and governance"

COM(2018)10 and the related Commission Staff Working Document,

SWD(2018)10.

281

This EIR focuses on the help given to farmers to comply with nature

and nitrates legislation.

282

This EIR focuses on inspections of major industrial installations.

283

This EIR focuses on the availability of enforcement data and co-

ordination between authorities to tackle environmental crime.

284

The Environmental Liability Directive, 2004/35, creates the

framework.

285

https://www.vupop.sk/

286

http://www.podnemapy.sk/default.aspx

287

https://portal.vupop.sk/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=75d

6cf2d953f42bc9e36050b9e3f7035

288

https://www.enviroportal.sk/environmentalne-temy/starostlivost-o-

zp/ipkz-integrovana-prevencia-a-kontrola-znecistovania/informacny-

system-ipkz-1

289

https://www.enviroportal.sk/ipkz/prevadzka?id=249

290

https://www.minzp.sk/kontakty/

291

https://enviskody.enviroportal.sk/uvod

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

Improve the availability of practical information for

farmers and other land managers on steps to take to

improve implementation of the Nature and the

Nitrates Directives.



Collect and make available up-to-date statistics on

environmental crimes, including on action taken and

penalties imposed.



Continue to develop a strategic approach to combat

environmental crime.

whether infringements were identified and penalties

imposed; nor it is combined with data concerning other

complaints .

Enforcement

In Slovakia, environmental crime is covered by a separate

title of the Criminal Code entitled ’Offenses of general

danger and against the environment’. The website of the

police forces has a page explaining environmental crime.

However, national statistics on crime in Slovakia

292

do not

mention environmental crime or provide separate data

on it. The latest annual report on the state of the

environment, from 2020

293

, provides some summary data

on the most common environmental crimes, but not on

their prosecution.

The Ministry of Interior established an inter-ministerial

expert coordination body for fighting crimes by, which

has a specific national environmental crime expert

working party

294

. In April 2022, the Ministry of

Environment submitted a a strategic proposal on fighting

all types of illegal environmental activities.

Environmental Liability Directive

The Information System for the Prevention and

Remediation of Environmental Damage (IS PaNEŠ)

295

has

been supplemented since 2019 by the addition of a

database of potential cases under the Environmental

Liability Directive (ELD) and by the registry of confirmed

cases. The website provides information on reports

received, and the outcome of each case. Where cases are

confirmed (so far only two)

296

or threats of

environmental damage are confirmed (so far four)

297

detailed information including on the action taken,

financial costs, and legal proceedings, is provided, and

the legislation on this aspect offers a range of options to

operators.

Effectiveness of environmental

administrations

Those involved in implementing environmental

legislation at EU, national, regional and local levels need

to have the knowledge, tools and capacity to ensure that

the legislation and the governance of the enforcement

process bring about the intended benefits.

Administrative capacity and quality

Slovakia ranks 26th out of 180 in the 2020 Environmental

Performance

Index

298

Environmental

policy

developments in Slovakia are mainly driven by EU

Directives and Regulations, and the relevant EU rules are

generally transposed in time. At present, the number of

complaints and infringements in the environmental field

can be considered to be at the EU average.

Coordination and integration

As mentioned in the 2017 EIR, the transposition of the

revised EIA Directive

299

provides an opportunity to

streamline the regulatory framework on environmental

assessments. Despite a delay in full transposition in

relation to the deadline (May 2017), Slovakia has

transposed the revised Directive. The outcome of the

conformity check by the Commission services is reported

above.

The Commission encourages the streamlining of

environmental assessments to reduce duplication and

avoid overlaps in environmental assessments applicable

to projects. Moreover, streamlining helps to reduce

unnecessary administrative burden and accelerates

decision-making, provided it is done without

The 2019 EIR recommended to improve financial security

for liabilities and ELD guidance, and publish information

on environmental damage. Since 2019, Slovakia made

substantial progress on those issues.

2022 Priority actions

292

https://www.minv.sk/?statistika-kriminality-v-slovenskej-republike-

xml

293

https://www.enviroportal.sk/spravy/detail/11203

294

https://www.minv.sk/?MEKO

295

https://enviskody.enviroportal.sk/uvod

296

https://enviskody.enviroportal.sk/register/skody

297

https://enviskody.enviroportal.sk/register/hrozby

298

Environmental Performance Index | Environmental Performance

Index (yale.edu)

299

Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council

of 16 April 2014 amending Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of

the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment.

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Slovakia

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Slovakia 50

compromising the quality of the environmental

assessment procedure

300

. Slovakia has introduced the

streamlining of environmental assessments under EIA

and Habitats Directives already prior the revision of the

EIA Directive. Further streamlining is expected in the

context of the reform of the national Building Act that

Slovakia adopted in April 2022 (please refer to section on

access to justice).

Reforms through the Commission’s Technical

Support Instrument (TSI)

The Commission supports environmental implementation

and the green transition, not only through EU financing

programmes, but also by granting technical assistance

such as the Technical Support Instrument (TSI)

301

The TSI supported several environment-related projects

in Slovakia during the reporting period. In 2019, TSI

supported a project related to drivers and health impacts

of air pollution. In 2020, two projects were selected:

’Roadmap for the transition to a Circular Economy‘ and

’Environmental impacts and land rehabilitation of the

Upper Nitra Coal Region‘. Under the TSI 2022, three new

projects are supported related to the reform of water

charges to address polluter- and user-pay principles, to

the renovation wave, and to climate and macroeconomic

modelling tools supporting the strategic policy-making

process.

TAIEX EIR peer to peer projects

The Technical Assistance and Information Exchange

(TAIEX) EIR Peer-to-Peer tool

302

has been launched in

2017 by the Commission to facilitate peer-to-peer

learning between environmental authorities.

During the reporting period, Slovakia participated in four

multicountry workshops: on the inclusion of green

criteria in public procurement (2020), on Sustainable

Finance (2020); on ammonia reducing technology and

measures (2021); and on zero-pollution (2022).

300

The Commission issued a guidance document in 2016 regarding the

setting up of coordinated and/or joint procedures that are

simultaneously subject to assessments under the EIA Directive, Habitats

Directive, Water Framework Directive, and the Industrial Emissions

Directive, OJ C 273, 27.7.2016, p. 1.

301

Supporting reforms in Slovakia TSI 2022 (europa.eu)

302

TAIEX - Environmental Implementation Review - PEER 2 PEER -

Environment - European Commission (europa.eu)

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