The programming phase – the process of consultation between the EU and individual governments through which the utilisation of the money for a given period is planned - is crucial for environmental integration because key decisions on the overall co-operation process are made then. The main tools for environmental integration in programming are the Country and the Regional Environmental Profiles (CEPs/REPs), which provide the Country and Regional Strategy Papers (CSPs/RSPs) with information on the environmental situation and key challenges.

The 2006 Commission’s updated “Common framework for drafting Country Strategy Papers” - document that forms the basis for defining the n CSPs/RSPs – includes for the first time the obligation to develop Country and Regional Environmental Profiles and to include an analysis of the environmental situation in the country or region .

The purpose of a Country or Regional Environmental Profile is to identify and assess environmental issues to be considered during the preparation of a Country or Regional Strategy Paper, which will directly or indirectly influence EU co-operation activities. Consequently, the profile includes information on the environment (of a country or common to a group of neighbouring countries), current policies, institutional framework, and past and ongoing co-operation in the environmental sector, and proposes recommendations for the integration of the environment during CSP/RSP preparation. Country and regional environmental profiles should contribute to a better integration of the value of natural resources for the poor in EU co-operation activities, and to the overall coherence of external assistance policy with other EU policies.

The CEPs/REPs should be ideally finalised before the preparation of the CSP/RSP starts, so they can effectively contribute to the policy dialogue. A summary of the CEP/REP must be annexed to the CSP.

Public participation - The involvement of civil society in the development of a CEP/REP is a key success factor. Environmental impacts cannot be dissociated from their relationship to social, economic and cultural factors. Engaging civil society, and particularly local communities and indigenous peoples, in a CEP is important in order to adequately integrate their knowledge and concerns in making an adequate evaluation of the environmental situation of a country or region.

Issues to be assessed in a CEP/REP: The state of the environment (including the driving forces influencing environmental pressures and the social and economic impacts of the state of the environment), environmental policy, legislation and institutions, integration of environmental concerns into the main policies and sectors, EU co-operation with the Country from an environmental perspective, and co-operation funded by other donors from an environmental perspective.

CEP/REP Report format

1. Summary
2. State of the environment
3. Environmental policy, legislative and institutional framework
4. EU and other donor co-operation with the Country from an environmental perspective
5. Conclusions and recommendations
6. Annex: Summary
7. Technical appendices - Environmental maps of the Country, environmental policy documents, statements and action plans, and other relevant technical information.
8. Administrative appendices

Background documents

• Terms of reference CEP/REP
• CEP/REP guidance
• List of existing environmental profiles