11.3 Coordination Among the Different Levels and Actors …
173
various Convention meetings and events, etc.
5 In turn, the various basin commissions take an active part in the practical implementation of the Convention (Jekel
2015). Naturally, the UNECE and the state parties to the Convention also actively
coordinate in the various decision-making bodies and channels that underpin the
operation and the development of the Convention (see Sect. 8.2.2).
As regards basin treaties and organisations, the EU itself seems to be more engaging as well. The EU is party to the Rhine and the Danube Conventions. Therefore, the
European Commission follows the activity of the two relevant basin commissions
closely. In turn, as shown above, all basin organisations within the EU actively participate in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (see Sect. 8.2.3),
providing a direct link between the EU and basin-wide activities. Occasionally, the
EU also relies on the support of basin organisation with regards to specific governance
projects. For instance, the European Commission, has, over the past two decades,
launched a number of initiatives—such as the Danube-Black Sea Task Force (2001)
6
or the EU’s Danube Region Strategy (2011)
7 —in whose implementation the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube has played an important part.
Yet, given the rigid structure of EU decision-making none of the basin organisations
at issue can have any official role in the formulation of EU water law and policy.
Finally, mention also must be made of the coordination between EU institutions
and member states. Here, the relationship is based on Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union and secondary EU legislation. In terms of formal decision-making
member states—through the Council of the European Union—strongly influence
the adoption of legal and policy instruments relevant for transboundary cooperation.
At the level of implementation the network of EU water directors also play an
important role besides the European Commission, even though their activity is not
based on EU law, but on an autonomous initiative of the European Commission (see
Sect. 8.3.1). Equally powerful is the impact of the Commission on national water
policies. Through the systematic supervision of the implementation of EU law, the
Commission can enforce the legal requirements of transboundary cooperation and,
to a lesser extent, is empowered to mediate co-riparian disputes (see Sect. 8.3.5). In
summary, vertical interaction between EU institutions and member states is robust,
lively and reciprocal in nature.
5 http://www.unece.org/env/water/workshop_joint_bodies_2013.html, http://www.unece.org/env/
water/joint_bodies_workshop_2014.html (accessed 12 February 2019).
6 https://www.icpdr.org/main/activities-projects/dablas (accessed 12 February 2019).
7 https://www.icpdr.org/main/activities-projects/icpdr-eu-strategy-danube-region (accessed 12
February 2019).
173
various Convention meetings and events, etc.
5 In turn, the various basin commissions take an active part in the practical implementation of the Convention (Jekel
2015). Naturally, the UNECE and the state parties to the Convention also actively
coordinate in the various decision-making bodies and channels that underpin the
operation and the development of the Convention (see Sect. 8.2.2).
As regards basin treaties and organisations, the EU itself seems to be more engaging as well. The EU is party to the Rhine and the Danube Conventions. Therefore, the
European Commission follows the activity of the two relevant basin commissions
closely. In turn, as shown above, all basin organisations within the EU actively participate in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (see Sect. 8.2.3),
providing a direct link between the EU and basin-wide activities. Occasionally, the
EU also relies on the support of basin organisation with regards to specific governance
projects. For instance, the European Commission, has, over the past two decades,
launched a number of initiatives—such as the Danube-Black Sea Task Force (2001)
6
or the EU’s Danube Region Strategy (2011)
7 —in whose implementation the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube has played an important part.
Yet, given the rigid structure of EU decision-making none of the basin organisations
at issue can have any official role in the formulation of EU water law and policy.
Finally, mention also must be made of the coordination between EU institutions
and member states. Here, the relationship is based on Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union and secondary EU legislation. In terms of formal decision-making
member states—through the Council of the European Union—strongly influence
the adoption of legal and policy instruments relevant for transboundary cooperation.
At the level of implementation the network of EU water directors also play an
important role besides the European Commission, even though their activity is not
based on EU law, but on an autonomous initiative of the European Commission (see
Sect. 8.3.1). Equally powerful is the impact of the Commission on national water
policies. Through the systematic supervision of the implementation of EU law, the
Commission can enforce the legal requirements of transboundary cooperation and,
to a lesser extent, is empowered to mediate co-riparian disputes (see Sect. 8.3.5). In
summary, vertical interaction between EU institutions and member states is robust,
lively and reciprocal in nature.
5 http://www.unece.org/env/water/workshop_joint_bodies_2013.html, http://www.unece.org/env/
water/joint_bodies_workshop_2014.html (accessed 12 February 2019).
6 https://www.icpdr.org/main/activities-projects/dablas (accessed 12 February 2019).
7 https://www.icpdr.org/main/activities-projects/icpdr-eu-strategy-danube-region (accessed 12
February 2019).