and on the other hand, the necessary promptness
in responding to the increased requirements of
the presidency.
●International Environmental Issues, Sustainable
Development and Environmental Information
●Climate Change and Atmospheric Management
●Biodiversity and Biosafety
●Waste and Chemicals
●Urban Development and Sustainable Mobility
●Forest Resources Management
●Water Resources Management
●Environmental Licensing
Railways and Clean Transport
Systems at the Epicentre of the
Presidency
Railways will be placed, among others, at the epi-
centre of the Greek presidency during the first
half of 2014, with a focus on the transport sector.
This is one of the three transport agendas for the
promotion of a highly competitive and modern
transport infrastructure network throughout the
entire EU.
Lots of attention is focused on the forthcoming
Commission statement regarding clean transport
systems, which will include a comprehensive
long-term strategy on the widespread substitution
of oil by alternative fuels throughout the entire
transport system and will assess the status and
opment and climate change, in anticipation of the
Greek presidency of the EU, a Steering Group
has been formed, under the supervision of the
secretary general for the Environment, Maria
Evangelidou, in order to coordinate issues related
to the environment and sustainable development
that fall under the responsibility of the Ministry
and are related to the Greek presidency.
The Group is responsible for:
●coordinating all issues pertaining to the environ-
ment and sustainable development that fall under
the mandate of the Ministry and are related to the
Greek presidency;
●facilitating cooperation among the MINENV and
the Greek presidency office of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Greek
Representation to the EU and the other
Permanent Greek Representations abroad;
●presenting the political leadership with propos-
als on organizational issues, in particular
regarding the conferences and other mandato-
ry meetings that will take place during the
Greek presidency.
The Steering Group will cooperate with the
Ministry’s thematic groups through the following
subgroups, which will be subsequently formed, in
order to ensure, on one hand, the connection of,
and the flow of information among, departments,
Trade with Greece
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