WRITTEN QUESTION E-1642/00

by Heidi Hautala (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(29 May 2000)

Subject: Environmental impact of motorway between Thessaloniki and Kavalla

The existing motorway between Thessaloniki and Kavalla in Northern Greece follows the route of the ancient Via Egnatia close to the coast, some 4 km to the south of the village of Vrasna. However, the

Greek State is building a new motorway with EU funding, whose route lies further north, passing from the southern edge of Vrasna into a valley to the west of the village and then through a tunnel.

In 1997 the people of Vrasna complained to the EU about the new route, but it seems that no action was taken (document 473/97).

Vrasna's village community will be destroyed by the construction of the motorway. Communications with the regional administration in Asprovalta and with the rest of the coastal region will become more difficult. Many people who live in Vrasna go to work, and children go to school, in places along the coast.

The project will also destroy a unique cave to the west of the village, whose structure and wildlife were for example studied by researchers from the University of Thessaloniki last summer. A rare species of bat lives in the cave, as do other rare species of small animal. If the road is built, it will pass very close to the cave, and the construction work alone will cause serious damage to it, to say nothing of the harm which will in the future be occasioned by the multilane motorway. There are also various ancient remains and sites of former settlements in the mountains to the south of the village, ranging in date from prehistory to the Byzantine era.

Did the Commission require an environmental impact assessment to be performed for the project? Has the Commission discussed the implementation of the project with the local authorities since receiving the villagers' request for clarification? What is the Commission's opinion of alternative routes for the road?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(4 July 2000)

As the Commission indicated to the petitioners in February 1998, the information at its disposal, which has recently been confirmed, shows that an environmental impact study was carried out in 1993 on the stretch of the Via Egnatia in question, which includes the cave in the municipality of Vrasna.

All the procedures required under Greek law were observed, including public consultation. The Greek authorities also maintain that the environmental impact study included an examination of alternatives to the new route.

Work has not yet commenced on the Egnatia stretch referred to by the Honourable Member.

Regarding the cave, the Ministerial Decision concluding the impact study procedure contains no special measures or conditions to be taken into account. The anthropogeology and speleology departments of the Ministry of Culture do not consider the cave to be important. Nor is it linked to a special protection area under Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds(1) or to a site of Community importance proposed in accordance with Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora(2).

Nonetheless, the Ministry of the Environment and Public Works conducted a geophysical study to analyse the route of the motorway in relation to the cave. The study did not indicate any direct relation between the two, as the cave is located some 200 m from the route of the Via Egnatia. The Ministry concluded that, if necessary, specific measures could be taken during the construction work, once it starts, to ensure that the cave remains in its present condition.

(1) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979.

(2) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.