In order to determine public interest as stipulated by Article 4.7 of the Water Framework Directive on the possibility of deviating from the objective of the existing good status or the good ecological potential of bodies of water due to the construction of hydro-electric power plants, we prepared expert groundwork for assessment methodologies that use uniform criteria.
Determining a concept for addressing the existing state at the border section of the Mura River is needed so that the strategic decision-making and planning of improvements can be integrated with the planning of measures to achieve the water and environmentally-oriented objectives, including adaptation to climate change with additional planned increases in the share of renewable energy from hydro-electric power.
Making an expert assessment of the change trend in the status of the water body at the border section of the Mura River (dredging (morphological changes of the water body), decrease of the surface of the Mura River and of the Apaško polje groundwater (hydrological changes) after the cross-sectional year of 2002 (Basic water management regulation of the border section of the Mura River – Standing Slovenian-Austrian Commission for the Mura River)), making expert groundwork for the positions of the Republic of Slovenia within the Standing Slovenian-Austrian Commission for the Mura River regarding the determination of the status of the water body at the border section of the Mura River and making expert groundwork for a proposal of measures to improve the status of the water body at the border section of the Mura River that are coordinated between the neighbouring countries of Slovenia and Austria at the Standing Slovenian-Austrian Commission for the Mura River.
The European Topic Centre on Inland, Coastal and Marine Waters (ETC/ICM) is an international consortium brought together to support the European Environment Agency (EEA) in its mission to deliver timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy-makers and the public for the development and implementation of sound environmental policies in the European Union and other EEA member countries.
The effectiveness of sea protection does not depend solely on the measures of the government and the local communities but primarily on our own actions.
By reason of the transboundary nature of the marine environment, Member States need to cooperate to ensure the coordinated development of marine strategies for each marine region or subregion. Member States therefore strive to ensure that assessment methodologies are consistent across the marine region or subregion and that transboundary impacts and transboundary features are taken into account.
