Strategie issues - European union

There are several strategic issues that the European Union (EU) is facing. Such as floodplain management, EU plan against wildlife trafficking, indicator assessment on use of freshwater resources, and many more. In January, the EEA published a report on flood risks exploring the synergies between floodplain restoration, water policies and thematic policies. The report concludes that ecosystem based adaptation, nature-based solutions and green infrastructure are essential to ensure cost-effective approaches since they may delay or avoid lock-ins to classic infrastructure-building water management. The European Parliament has adopted a resolution in respect of the mid-term review of the Biodiversity Strategy to 2020. Existing EU measures will be improved through enhanced cooperation between agencies, training, and target priority setting at EU level with Europol support. The EEA has published a detailed analysis specifically focused on the state of Europe's forest ecosystem. It identifies the top four challenges facing the ecosystem as habitat loss and degradation, invasive alien species, pollution and climate change. The Commission has published two new voluntary construction related criteria sets on office building procurement and road building design, construction and maintenance management. Meanwhile, Estonia has been issued with a reasoned opinion for failing fully to implement Directive 91/676/EEC in respect of establishing an action program for zones where water is vulnerable to nitrates pollution.