Mag. Cvetka Poprask in Dr. Marko Bojinović Guest Lecturers at the International Protection of the Environment Course

On Friday, 24 May 2019, two guest lecturers addressed the students of the International Protection of the Environment course (Jean Monnet Module EU ENVI): mag. Cvetka Poprask and dr. Marko Bojinović. In her lecture, mag. Poprask discussed the maritime policy of the European Union and the protection of the environment in light of the main reasons for degradation of the marine environment. She addressed the development of international maritime law at the international and European levels and explained how The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Law of the Sea and the European maritime policy influence the states' responsibility for the protection of marine ecosystems. She specifically focused on the European fisheries policy and stressed the central issues arising from the incompatibility between the effort to protect the marine ecosystem and the fishing practices in the EU member states.

This lecture was then followed by an address by dr. Bojinović, a mechanical engineer, who presented the work of Esotech in the area of treated wastewater. Esotech d.d. operates not only in Slovenia, but also in other Balkan and Eastern European countries. Based on the experience from projects carried out in Serbia and Ukraine in support of the EU, he stressed the factors with the greatest impact on the success of these projects. In addition to the differences in legislation, factors such as the rule of law, corruption, and market conditions were deemed key for successfully resolving the issue of water restoration and waterway protection.

Author of the text: Martina Furlan