On Friday, Parliament adopted measures to ensure basic road and air connections in case no agreement is reached on EU-UK future relations.
Basic air connectivity: the temporary rules ensuring certain air services between the UK and the EU continue for a maximum of six months were adopted with 680 votes in favour (3 against, 4 abstentions). This includes rights for UK and EU air carriers to continue to fly over and make technical stops on EU territory, as well as serve direct routes to the EU. Also a limited number of specific pandemic-related cargo flights will be allowed.
Aviation safety: the regulation ensuring various certificates for products, parts, appliances and companies remain valid was adopted with 680 votes in favour (3 against, 4 abstentions). This will avoid UK and EU aircraft that use these products and services being grounded.
Basic road connectivity: the temporary rules ensuring road freight and road passenger transport for a maximum of six months were adopted with 680 votes in favour (4 against, 3 abstentions). This will allow carriage of goods as well as coach and bus services coming to Europe and going to the UK to continue.
Background
EU rules will no longer apply to and in the UK after the end of the transition period. The targeted contingency measures aim to avoid serious traffic disruptions and considerable delays in case there is no agreement on EU-UK future relations in place by 1 January 2021. The contingency measures will cease to apply, if an agreement is reached.
MEPs also approved the Commission’s proposal to extend reciprocal access by EU and UK vessels to each other’s waters until 31 December 2021 by 677 votes in favour, 4 against and 6 abstentions. Read more here.
Next steps
All temporary rules have to be adopted by the Council. They will enter into force after publication in the EU Official Journal and become applicable if a similar set of measures is adopted by the UK.
Bihar CM says, Buddha museum, stupa to be ready by 2021
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Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar
By — Shyamal Sinha
C M Nitish Kumar inspected construction works at the Buddha Samyak Darshan museum and the Buddha Memorial Stupa near Vaishali, about 60km north of Patna.
There are many claims of Gautama Buddha relic but none of them are authentic. The relic which was found in Vaishali is apparently the only authentic one. It was mentioned by Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang in his book which is preserved in China. Dr. Anant Sadashiv Altekar the archeologist and historian who discovered it in an archeological excavation between 1958–60. It was found in mud stupa in a casket. Later that mud stupa was declared as archeological site and casket was kept in Patna Museum.
The CM asked the officials concerned to expedite the construction works which were delayed because of the Covid-induced lockdown. After the inspection, Nitish said the officials assured him that the construction works would be completed by the end of 2021.
The museum and memorial stupa are being built with an expenditure of Rs 315 crore over an area of 72 acres. The state government has already acquired 72 acres of land in Vaishali for the purpose.
“The construction work was badly hampered due to Covid-19 pandemic. It has resumed now. I have come here to take stock of the ongoing work. After the availability of the COVID vaccine, tourists will once again start visiting tourist places. Vaishali has its own historical and religious importance. The place is directly related to Lord Buddha and Lord Mahavira. Vaishali has its own history,” Nitish told reporters in Vaishali.
Nitish said once the museum is ready by the end of 2021, a large number of tourists and followers of Budhha would start visiting the place. “Followers of Buddhism from other countries visit Bodh Gaya and Rajgir. Once the museum in Vaishali is ready, they all will prefer to visit the place after Bodh Gaya and Rajgir,” Nitish said.
He said the state government was getting the necessary support from the Centre for linking Vaishali with the Budhha circuit. “Once the memorial stupa is ready, the foreign visitors will come to Vaishali after their Bodh Gaya trip,” the CM said. Earlier in February last year, the CM had launched the construction work for Rs 315 crore Buddha Samyak Darshan Museum and the memorial stupa. The memorial stupa will house one of the authentic mortal remains of Lord Buddha.
Ramabhar Stupa, the place where Lord Buddha was said to have attained Mahaparinirvana or the Final Enlightenment. The 15 meters high stupa is one of the most important pilgrim spots for Buddhists; and its location amidst gorgeous lush surrounds only make it more appealing.
“After ‘Mahaparinirvana’ of Lord Buddha, his mortal remains were distributed into eight parts. One of the eighth parts was kept at a mud stupa in Vaishali by the then Lichchhavi king of the Vaishali republic. The mortal remains were later recovered during an archaeological excavation between 1958 and 1960. They are now kept safely at Patna Museum, while the mud stupa has now been protected as an archaeological site,” a state government official said.
BRUSSELS – The European Union and the United Kingdom are heading into the weekend on a “last attempt“ to clinch a post-Brexit trade deal, with EU fishing rights in British waters the most notable remaining obstacle to avoid a chaotic and costly changeover in the new year.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that the only way to get a deal is for the 27-nation bloc to compromise since “the U.K. has done a lot to try and help, and we hope that our EU friends will see sense and come to the table with something themselves.“
“That’s really where we are,” Johnson said, adding “no sensible government“ could agree to the EU demands as they stand.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier told the EU parliament both sides were in the “home straight of the negotiations,“ which have already come a long way in nine months of talks but are still short of a final compromise.
Barnier called it “a very serious and sombre situation“ if a deal falls through, with the jobs of hundreds of thousands of people at stake.
The European Parliament has set a Sunday night deadline for the talks since it still will have to approve any deal before Dec. 31, when a transition period following Britain’s Jan. 31 withdrawal from the EU will expire.
“It’s the moment of truth,“ Barnier said. “We have very little time remaining — just a few hours.”
A failure to reach a post-Brexit deal would lead to more chaos on the borders at the start of 2021 as new tariffs would add to other impediments to trade enacted by both sides. The talks have bogged down on two main issues over the past days — the EU’s access to U.K. fishing waters and assurances of fair competition between businesses.
“We have reached the hard nuts to crack,” Barnier said.
Johnson has made fisheries and U.K. control over its waters a key demand in the long saga of Britain’s departure from the EU.
Barmier said the EU understood and respected the U.K’s. desire to rule its own waves, but said that “a credible period of adjustment” had to be given, if EU boats are to be kicked out of British waters despite centuries of tradition of sharing them.
On top of that, the more London denies access to its waters, the more the EU can impose duties and tariffs.
“The European Union also has to maintain its sovereign right to react or to compensate,” Barnier said, highlighting that the U.K. seafood industry is extremely dependent on exports to the 27-nation bloc.
The European Parliament issued a three-day ultimatum to negotiators to strike a trade deal if it’s to be in a position to ratify an agreement this year. European lawmakers said they will need to have the terms of any deal in front of them by late Sunday if they are to organize a special gathering before the end of the year.
If a deal comes later, it could only be ratified in 2021, as the parliament wouldn’t have enough time to debate a proposed agreement before that.
A trade deal would ensure there are no tariffs and quotas on trade in goods between the two sides, but there would still be technical costs, partly associated with customs checks and non-tariff barriers on services.
Britain’s Parliament must also approve any Brexit deal, and the Christmas break adds to the timing complications. Lawmakers are due to be on vacation from Friday until Jan. 5, but the government has said they could be called back on 48 hours’ notice to approve an agreement if one is struck.
While both sides would suffer economically from a failure to secure a trade deal, most economists think the British economy would take a greater hit, at least in the near-term, as it is relatively more reliant on trade with the EU than vice versa.
Both sides have said they would try to mitigate the impact of a no-deal scenario, but most experts think that whatever short-term measures are put in place, the disruptions to trade will be immense.
Opponents often erect a straw man of secularism to justify demands for religious privilege. But freedom of religion must come with freedom from religion, says Stephen Evans.
There was little sign of Christmas spirit in my inbox the other day when a Christian gentleman got in touch to accuse me of being a “Devil’s advocate who wants to turn off the light of God’s Son Christ message”. What had I done to provoke his wrath? I suggested in a letter to the Telegraph that Christians shouldn’t have a right to refuse to provide services to gay people.
The email arrived just as I was listening to the government’s ‘faith engagement adviser’ talking about an “evangelical secularism” that wants to “close down faith”.
And all this got me thinking about the gulf between what secularists say, and what many religious advocates hear, or claim to hear.
Another recent example of this phenomenon came when I suggested that places of worship shouldn’t be privileged when it comes to public safety measures to suppress COVID-19. Anglican priest Giles Fraser translated this as me “gloating about churches being closed”. When I explained that I actually want churches to remain open, so long as it is safe for those attending them, he simply responded with “I don’t believe you”. Nevertheless, I chucked some money in the pot to help rebuild his church hall which recently collapsed. It is Christmas, after all.
Like many others, Giles has created a fictitious bogeyman secularism, to help defend religious privilege. The essence of secularism is fairness, so a straw man secularism needs to be erected to effectively challenge it. So, in Giles Fraser’s worldview, secularism becomes a “thin camouflage for anti-religious bigotry”.
Many people who support the idea of a secular state may have an unfavourable view of religion – but that doesn’t make them bigots. And many sincere religious believers are also persuaded by the advantages of a secular state. Whatever their personal views on religion, National Secular Society members unite around the principle that everyone should be free to believe whatever they like, and to live out those beliefs, as long as it doesn’t inflict harm or impinge on the rights and freedoms of others.
But this live and let live philosophy isn’t always shared by some of the loudest advocates for religious freedom. They loudly declare their support for freedom of religion, but they’re less keen on its necessary corollary – freedom from religion.
Freedom from religion is the ultimate litmus test for a true commitment to freedom of religion or belief. Unless you equally support individuals’ rights to manifest their atheism or live their lives free from religion, then it’s likely to be religious privilege you support, not religious freedom.
And religious privilege is deeply ingrained in the UK, undermining freedom from religion.
Our head of state is the defender of the Christian faith. The Church of England is established by law. The Westminster parliament begins its sittings with Anglican prayers – as do some local authorities. Anglican bishops have an automatic right to seats in the legislature. National events have a distinctly religious feel.
Public money funds faith schools. A third of all schools have a religious ethos. The majority are Christian, and equality law exceptions mean many can prioritise children from Christian families in admissions. The children from non-Christian families who do attend these schools routinely have someone else’s religion imposed on them. We even have laws requiring daily school worship.
And some Christians still claim ‘marginalisation’.
Decades of declining adherence has made Anglican supremacy harder to justify. So, a multifaithism has emerged with minority faith and belief groups competing for crumbs from the establishment table.
Church schools have morphed into state-funded faith schools. Anglican chaplaincy in hospitals, schools, prisons and the armed forces has become multifaith. There are even calls for other faith leaders to join Anglican clerics on the ‘bishops’ bench’ in the Lords. The Church of England is willing to see its privileges extended to other faiths – but can’t accept them being removed.
Multifaithism may make Christian privilege seem less egregious, but it completely neglects those who aren’t so assertive about their beliefs – the majority – who eschew religious labels. The religiously indifferent are simply expected to put up with other people’s beliefs being foisted upon them.
Secularism’s proposition is to level the playing field. It’s not about closing down faith, but making it a personal matter for individuals, and not the business of the state.
So, whenever you hear a straw man secularism being erected, you can be sure that someone, somewhere, wants to impose their religion – either on a person or public policy – where it doesn’t belong.
Religious diversity, like all other forms of diversity, should be a welcome component of society. But we don’t have to – and nor should we – organise public policy, services and state occasions around it. Fuelling identarian politics is divisive and unlikely to end well.
Focusing instead on our common humanity and what we share as citizens is a more cohesive approach. Secularism is the best recipe for living together well.
At Christmas, now a largely secular affair, Christian anxieties about declining influence often come to the fore. For some, Christmas is a sacred religious holiday that marks the birth of Jesus Christ. For others it’s family time – or something closer to its origins, a period of merriment, feasting and gift giving to mark the winter solstice. For some, Christmas just isn’t a thing.
Secularists have often been accused of trying to take the Christ out of Christmas. But no sensible person wants to stop people choosing to mark religious festivals if they wish to. And the truth is, people vote with their feet. Secularism simply gives people the freedom to decide for themselves. And that really is something to celebrate.
So, however you decide to spend the upcoming holidays, take care of yourself and others. And may next year be better than the last.
Austria, Denmark, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain have issued a joint letter calling on the European Union to clearly prioritise renewable energies under an EU-led project aiming to accelerate hydrogen deployment, research and infrastructure.
The European Union launched on Thursday (17 December) a hydrogen “project of common European interest”, or IPCEI, with 23 European countries signing a manifesto paving the way for a cleaner hydrogen value chain.
German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier chaired Thursday’s launch event, which saw Norway and 22 other European countries signing a declaration of intent, or manifesto, in support of the initiative.
However, the five EU countries see the move with scepticism, warning the initiative must not be used as a backdoor to finance fossil gas infrastructure.
“Spain bets exclusively on renewable hydrogen, and considers that EU funds and regulatory support to renewable hydrogen should be prioritised before low-carbon hydrogen, produced with natural gas (blue hydrogen) or nuclear,” an EU source told EURACTIV.
The European Commission sees hydrogen as “a vital missing piece of the puzzle” to achieve deeper decarbonisation in industries like steelmaking and chemicals, which cannot be electrified entirely.
“Clean hydrogen will help our European industries decarbonise, be resilient and stay globally competitive,” said Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market Commissioner, who was present at the launch event.
Hydrogen: “renewable” or “low-carbon”?
EU member states have squabbled over the past weeks about which type of hydrogen to support, with two opposing camps facing off: those backing green hydrogen produced exclusively from renewable electricity, and those in favour of a broader “low-carbon” definition, which also includes nuclear power and decarbonised gases.
Supporters of “blue” hydrogen say natural gas will be needed in the short term to ramp up production volumes and grow the EU’s hydrogen market, which is currently tiny.
Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition chief, sought to clarify the Commission’s approach, saying regulatory support will be targeted only for projects that can make a significant contribution to the EU’s long-term climate goals.
“Developing technologies for low-carbon and, in particular, green hydrogen, and building the necessary infrastructure for its deployment, will take us one step closer to making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050,” she said in a speech at the launch event.
IPCEIs were set up in 2014 and allow EU member states to subsidise high-risk cross-border research and innovation, as well as infrastructure projects, without having to observe the EU’s normally strict state aid rules.
“No member state or business can do this alone,” Vestager stressed. “That’s why it makes sense for European governments to come together to support such important projects of common European interest, if the market alone would not take the risk. And it is why we have put special state aid rules in place to smooth the way.”
But the five EU countries are worried that the new hydrogen IPCEI will be used to support “low-carbon” hydrogen made from natural gas or nuclear power.
They say they signed up to the manifesto – but only “with the understanding that this initiative should exclusively refer to hydrogen from renewable energy sources since we consider this technology as the only long-term sustainable solution to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.”
“Projects within an IPCEI must respect the principle of the phasing out of environmental harmful subsidies,” the signatories of the letter wrote. “Therefore, an IPCEI on hydrogen must only be eligible when produced from renewable sources, where a clear market gap is identified,” the letter said.
The European Commission has a clear long-term objective of supporting green hydrogen produced 100% from renewables, but the EU will also rely on fossil-based hydrogen with carbon storage as a stepping stone in order to grow the market in the early stages, a senior EU official has said.
The letter was signed by the environment ministers of Austria (Leonore Gewessler), Denmark (Dan Jørgensen), Luxembourg (Claude Turmes), Portugal (João Pedro Matos Fernandes) and Spain (Teresa Ribera Rodríguez).
They were supported in their move by environmental groups, which have expressed doubts about the EU’s hydrogen manifesto.
“This initiative must not become a cover to throw public money into fossil fuels,” said Rita Tedesco from ECOS, a pressure group specialised in green standards.
“Any public support must only be directed to hydrogen produced 100% from renewable sources. The Commission needs to watch this closely, making sure that the renewable origin of publicly-backed hydrogen is certified through a credible certification system.”
“All other types of hydrogen must be excluded from public support, including so-called ‘low-carbon hydrogen’, which increases the risk of greenwashing and would only bring fossil fuels through the backdoor’,” Tedesco said.
EU member states are fighting over which type of hydrogen to support, with two opposing camps facing off: those backing green hydrogen produced exclusively from renewable electricity, and those in favour of a broader “low-carbon” definition, which also includes nuclear power and decarbonised gases.
President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen have sent congratulations to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyễn Phú Trọng and Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on the 30th fou…
Trung Nguyên coffee company is one among many to be benefitting from the newly ratified EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement. — VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam
HÀ NỘI — President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen have sent congratulations to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyễn Phú Trọng and Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on the 30th founding anniversary of Việt Nam-EU diplomatic ties.
In their letters, the two EU leaders applauded Việt Nam’s swift and decisive actions to contain the spread of COVID-19, successfully curbing the outbreak and minimising deaths. They also offered condolences to the families of victims in floods in central Việt Nam in October.
They said that over the last 30 years, Việt Nam had witnessed many developments, from the implementation of the đổi mới (renewal) policy; the normalisation of relations with the EU, the US, and China; and its joining ASEAN to extensive structural reforms and the strategy for socio-economic development via global integration.
These factors had helped Việt Nam become one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, according to them.
Given the settlement of important global challenges requiring the participation of both Europe and Asia, the officials congratulated Việt Nam on its constructive role as Chair of ASEAN in 2020.
The EU pledges to intensify EU-ASEAN co-operation and welcomes the official establishment of the EU-ASEAN strategic partnership at the ministerial meeting on December 1.
Việt Nam was now an active member in the world, ready to assume growing international obligations, and share the EU’s strong commitment to multilateralism, they said, adding that the pandemic was a global crisis that needed international solidarity and co-operation.
In their letters, the Presidents of the European Council and Commission said over the last three decades, the EU-Việt Nam partnership had developed unceasingly, supported by agreements covering different domains, from politics, trade, and defence to anti-illegal logging.
By building a stronger partnership, the EU and Việt Nam could handle global challenges, and as a long-standing friend of Việt Nam, the EU would welcome the two sides discussing difficult issues in an open, straightforward and constructive manner, they affirmed.
The officials noted the EU-Việt Nam partnership was first and foremost for the sake of the Vietnamese and European people, and development co-operation would remain an important element in the EU’s commitment to Việt Nam.
They expressed the willingness to enhance ties with Việt Nam in dealing with major global challenges, contributing to peace and development in the world.
Michel and Leyen also hope to visit Việt Nam at an appropriate time.
Thriving relations
Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said in a message on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two sides that Việt Nam had experienced fruitful co-operation in various sectors in the past 30 years.
Việt Nam is among countries in ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific to have developed comprehensive relations with the EU. He described the signing of the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) as an extraordinary step in bilateral ties.
The trade pact was the first comprehensive and ambitious trade and investment agreement the EU has concluded with a developing country in Asia, said Borrell, who is Vice President of the European Commission.
The EU is Việt Nam’s second-largest export market, accounting for 17 per cent of its total exports. Since Việt Nam’s exports to the EU make up just 2 per cent of the bloc’s total imports, there is huge space for the country to boost shipments. Two-way trade has shot up over recent years, with Vietnamese exports primarily being furniture, telephones, machinery, and footwear, while the EU’s exports are mainly aircraft, machinery, pharmaceuticals, and electrical equipment.
The EVFTA came into force at a time with the global economy battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and has created motivation for trade in goods between the two and boosted the confidence of EU and other investors seeking to develop Việt Nam-EU trade links.
Despite the pandemic, the implementation of the deal has already shown robust signs, with Việt Nam’s exports to the EU in August and September topping US$3.25 billion and $3.1 billion, respectively, year-on-year increases of 4 per cent and 9.5 per cent.
The EVFTA is expected to bring more practical benefits to businesses and people of both sides in the medium and long terms. It is projected to help Việt Nam increase its GDP by 4.6 per cent and exports to the EU by 42.7 per cent by 2025. Meanwhile, the EU’s GDP will rise by an additional $29.5 billion and shipments will increase by 29 per cent by 2035.
Borrell also hailed Việt Nam as an attractive partner of the EU, saying the forums the country had engaged in are vivid illustrations of its strong commitment to multilateralism and a rules-based international order.
At the 53rd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on September 12, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh affirmed that in its role as ASEAN Chair 2020, Việt Nam supported efforts to deepen ASEAN-EU relations towards upgrading ties to a strategic partnership, and eventually, Việt Nam’s efforts paid off, with ASEAN and the EU announcing the official upgrade of ties to the strategic partnership level on December 1.
The EVFTA could be used as a model if the EU was to decide to sign free trade deals with ASEAN or other member states.
Regarding peace and security, Việt Nam and the EU have signed a Framework Participation Agreement (FPA), paving the way for Việt Nam to join the crisis management activities of the EU. The first of its kind the EU has inked with an ASEAN country, the agreement will help contribute to the EU’s activities in global peace and security.— VNS
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s chief negotiator said Friday that the bloc and the United Kingdom are starting a “last attempt” to clinch a post-Brexit trade deal, with EU fishing rights in British waters the most notable remaining obstacle to avoid a chaotic and costly changeover on New Year.
Michel Barnier told the EU parliament he “can’t say what will come out during this home straight of the negotiations,” which have already come a long way in nine months of talks. He called it “a very serious and sombre situation” with the jobs of hundreds of thousands of people at stake.
The EU parliament has set a Sunday night deadline on the talks since it still will have to approve any deal ahead of Jan. 1, when a transition period following the Jan. 31 departure of Britain from the bloc will expire.
“It’s the moment of truth,” said Barnier. “We have very little time remaining — just a few hours.”
EIB lends EUR 100 million to Dutch public water company PWN in support of its climate adaptation strategy, to safeguard and futureproof Noord-Holland’s drinking water supply.
Project will see more intensive source and nature protection, investments in purification and partial replacement of distribution networks to make them more climate resilient.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a EUR 100 million, 20-year loan agreement with PWN, the company that manages the drinking water supply in most of the province of Noord-Holland in The Netherlands. The loan supports the necessary investments to maintain the high quality of drinking water that PWN provides, from source to tap. The investments are needed to anticipate the effects of climate change on PWN’s business model. The more frequent and prolonged drought periods that are expected in the near future, will impact drinking water production and distribution. Apart from this, the population of the province of Noord-Holland is growing, and drinking water demand with it.
Sustainable drinking water supply
PWN aims to produce CO2-neutral drinking water by 2050, meaning it wants to be a completely emission-free and circular organisation by that time, already halving its carbon footprint by 2030. The highest priority remains the sustainable supply of drinking water, for which the protection of its main freshwater sources and nature reserves is very important. The EIB’s financing will support PWN in implementing more climate-friendly ways to filter drinking water, substituting part of its distribution network with more heat- and draught-resistant pipes, as well as measures to better manage supply among different water sources and storage areas.
“The EIB has been supporting drinking water production companies in The Netherlands for quite some time now.” said EIB Vice-President Christian Thomsen. “People in the country are becoming more and more aware of the risks The Netherlands are running in the face of climate change. Apart from changing our ways when it comes to emissions, we need to adapt to the changing situation as well, and the EIB is very glad to support PWN in doing that.”
“The world around us is changing. PWN has to anticipate to this, so that our client will always – now, and in the future – dispose of reliable drinking water. That is why we welcome the willingness of the EIB to lend to PWN. This way, we jointly work for the future of drinking water for our citizens.” added Ria Doedel, General Director of PWN.
Technically speaking, PWN’s investments focus on the rehabilitation and upgrade of production installations, replacement of distribution piping, water storage facilities, reservoirs, pumping stations and sustainable management of coastal dunes in a region expected to be affected by climate change. This is the fourth operation with PWN funded by the EIB since 1998, with the last one signed in 2016.
PWN Waterleidingbedrijf Noord-Holland N.V. is a publicly owned company whose sole shareholder is the Province of Noord-Holland. PWN supplies drinking water to 1.7m customers through a pipeline network of 10,342km with 811,770 connections, which represents about 10% of the Dutch market, making it the fourth largest drinking water company in The Netherlands by number of connections. It supplies drinking water and manages the dunes in the province of North Holland. The water is treated at plants in Andijk, Bergen, Heemskerk and Wijk aan Zee. PWN is appointed by the province to manage more than 7,500 hectares of nature reserves between Zandvoort and Bergen. The dunes in the Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the North Holland Dune Reserve are protected as Natura 2000 sites. These areas are managed in accordance with the Barometer Duurzaam Terreinbeheer certification system for sustainable landscape management (Gold standard) and attract approximately six million visitors a year. See also www.pwn.nl.
