WRITTEN QUESTION P-2951/00

by Karl-Heinz Florenz (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(12 September 2000)

Subject: EU financing of the Odra 2006 Programme in Poland

The Polish Parliament will vote in September on the financing of the Programme for the Odra-2006, a river engineering project which would involve constructing two major new dams and major works for increased navigation in the Odra River. Concerns have been expressed by environmental groups in Poland and Germany that no Environmental Impact Assessment has been undertaken to compare alternative options, that there has been no public consultation on the options available and that vital technical studies still remain incomplete. There are further concerns that the Programme does not include any direct plans for nature conservation in the Odra valley, that several candidate Natura 2000 sites would be destroyed and that the proposals ignore ecologically sound options to reduce flood risk.

Since 30 % of the total financing is stated as coming from EU funds, mainly for water-quality improvements as an integral part of the Programme, can the Commission confirm that it has checked that the Odra 2006 Programme is compatible with existing Community environmental legislation and with international agreements such as the Ramsar and Helsinki Conventions to which the EU is a party?

What problems would arise if, after Polish accession to the EU, the Odra 2006 Programme was found to be in breach of Article 4 of the Framework Water Directive and of the provisions of the Habitats and Wild Birds Directives?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(13 October 2000)

The Commission is aware of the Programme for the Odra-2006 and the proposal to construct two dams on the river as well as a dam on the Vistula. It is also conscious of the high natural value of both the German and Polish side of the Odra valley. This is reflected in the numerous projects launched by the Community to protect valuable nature sites in this area.

The Commission Member responsible for the Environment has expressed her concern about these proposed dams and raised this issue with the Polish Minister of Environment. The Commission's view is that, on the basis of the Community common position on Poland, all new investments in the candidate countries should be in line with the Community's environmental acquis. This implies that protected sites should be respected and environmental impact assessments (EIAs) carried out for the projects that fall under the scope of the Community directives on EIAs.

Following the decision of the Polish Government to launch the construction of the dams, the Member responsible for the Environment wrote to the Polish Minister requesting information on technical details of these dams and their environmental impact assessment. On the basis of this information, the Commission will closely monitor the further progress of this issue.

The Community's pre-accession instruments will not provide any assistance to the building of dams as this does not constitute eligible expenditure. The Commission has not received from Poland any application for support from ISPA (Instrument for structural policies for pre-accession) for projects of this kind.