Representatives of the national water regulators of Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia met in Brussels on 4-5 May, in the framework of the official launch of the project “Assessing the effectiveness and affordability of tariff-setting methodologies in covering drinking water and wastewater services costs in the Western Balkans” financed by Italy under the CEI Know-how Exchange Programme.
The project, led by WAREG (the Association of European Water Regulators), is a capacity-building action involving senior officials of the national water regulators of the three target countries. It aims at supporting their respective national strategies in implementing the EU acquis on water, with specific regard to the implementation of European Directives on drinking water and urban wastewater treatment. The project will also focus on enhancing competencies concerning tariff-setting methodologies. Tariffs are, indeed, essential economic tools to recover the industrial costs of public utility services, and to ensure universal access to safe, affordable and environmentally-sustainable drinking water and sanitation services.
The long-term goals of the project are also: consolidating cooperation among water regulators in the Region, in order to disseminate best practices and promote the advantages of independent regulation for investments, customers and environmental sustainability as well as facilitating access to specific EU funding and programmes.
The project will be implemented through a series of workshops and study visits to drinking water and wastewater treatment plants.
On the occasion of the first workshop held in Brussels, the delegations paid a visit to AQUIRIS, which manages Belgium’s largest wastewater treatment plant.
For more info: dovier@cei.int
