WRITTEN QUESTION E-1718/02

by Elisabeth Schroedter (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(13 June 2002)

Subject: Danger posed to European nature reserves in the Lower Oder Valley (Brandenburg)

The Hohensaaten-Friedrichsthaler waterway is part of a waterway linking Berlin and Stettin. The point where the waterway joins the Western Oder river is the site of the total reserve area of the Lower Oder Valley (Unteres Odertal) national park. It is protected under national and EU law (special protection area under Directive 79/409/EEC(1) and conservation area under Article 4(1) of Directive 92/43/EEC(2)). The banks of the river provide a habitat for species such as otter, beaver and the small copper butterfly and as a breeding ground and habitat for the black stork, the white-tailed eagle, the lesser spotted eagle and the osprey. The breeding grounds of the aquatic warbler, the corncrake, the black tern and the little grebe are also affected. These habitats are to be destroyed as a result of the straightening and widening from 26 m to 55 m of a 12 km section of the Hohensaaten-Friedrichsthaler waterway. The assessment of the project's impact on the environment and on natural habitats and wild flora and fauna was found to be inadequate and faulty in its analysis. No survey of compensatory measures could be drawn up. The only alternatives considered related to the form of the widening, and did not include alternative freight transport routes.

1. Is the Commission aware of the planned destruction of the above-mentioned natural habitats of rare species and species which are protected in Europe? If so, what measures is it taking to prevent this destruction? If not, does it believe that, in a case such as this, preservation of the European nature reserve takes precedence over the widening of the waterway, particularly given that the overall economic benefit of the project is questionable, as an equivalent widening of the river, both upstream and downstream, is neither possible nor planned?

2. Is the Commission aware of plans to finance the widening of the waterway from EU structural funds? If so, does it agree with these plans, and for what reasons?

3. In general, how important does the Commission believe it is to preserve the European nature reserve Lower Oder Valley under Natura 2000, the development of which the Commission funded with 3 380 500 under the LIFE programme? Does the Commission believe that lifting or downgrading the conservation status of this area to allow for the widening of the river is compatible with the goals of Natura 2000?

(1) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(25 July 2002)

1. In September and October 2001 and in January 2002 correspondents informed the Commission about the project. The information included inter alia an explanatory report of 30 March 2001 produced for the public authorisation procedure (Erläuterungsbericht zum Planfeststellungsbeschluss). According to this report the impact assessment under Article 6 of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora only indicated significant effects with respect to the butterfly species Large Copper (Lycaena dispar). It concluded that for this species additional investigations had been initiated.

The correspondents were informed about the requirements of the protection regime under Article 6 of Directive 92/43/EEC with regard to the project and about the possibility of submitting a complaint to the Commission.

At the beginning of June 2002 the Commission received a complaint regarding this project and subsequently a submission by local industry on the positive effects of this project. The Commission is expecting the submission of additional information concerning the impacts on the protected areas to allow for an in-depth assessment whether Community environmental law is being infringed.

2. According to the information received from the authorities of Brandenburg, the Hohensaaten Friedrichstaler Wasserstrasse is a federal waterway and therefore no European Regional Development Fund co-financing is involved in this project.

3. The lowlands along the lower part of the river Oder are part of a Polish/German transboundary nature reserve and represent one of the most extensive riverine wetlands of central Europe of outstanding importance for the Natura 2000 network. The lower Oder valley has been proposed as a site of Community importance under Directive 92/43/EEC and is subject to the protection regime as laid down in Article 6 of that Directive. This protection regime includes a clear procedure for dealing with projects that are likely to have a significant impact on the site's conservation objectives. The Commission has not received information indicating a repeal or reduction of the site's conservation objectives.