15th of September 2017 in Batumi, a historical event took place – Ministries of Ecology of two countries: Ukraine (Deputy Minister Vasyl Poluyko) and Georgia (Deputy Minister Ekaterina Grigalava) signed Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia and the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine on cooperation in the field of environmental protection of the Black Sea and its catchment.IMG_6969At present, Ukraine and Georgia have much in common:

  • Common political direction – to become a part of EU community, reflected in the relevant Association Agreements Ukraine-EU and Georgia –EU;
  • Common priorities in environmental policy – to harmonize its environmental legislation with the requirements of EU environmental directives;
  • Our common Black Sea, which requires coordinated actions to restore its good environmental status.

The Memorandum concerns the bilateral cooperation in implementation of the two EU Directives: Marine Strategy Framework Directives and EU Water Framework Directive.IMG_6899The Memorandum was signed in frame of the 4th high-level stakeholder conference on blue economy in the Black Sea, organized by the European Commission with support of EMBLAS II project.

Signing such a memorandum was highly appreciated by the European Commission as a step to reinforce introduction of EU marine policy and promoting achievement of the good environmental status of the Black Sea.