WRITTEN QUESTION E-4010/00

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(21 December 2000)

Subject: Routing of Prague-Dresden motorway via nature reserve and Czech eligibility for joint financing

1. Is the Commission aware of the Czech government's intention to route the D8 motorway, which will connect Prague with the German city of Dresden, through the Elbe (Labe) river valley, with the result that the protected landscape and nature reserve of Ceské Stredohorí in the unique Bohemian low mountain range of volcanic origin close to the German border will be cut in two?

2. Is the Commission further aware that the above nature reserve had previously been protected by the Czech Environment Ministry, but that the Ministry subsequently issued a licence in accordance with which the public interest of the proposed motorway was deemed to be so important that it justified derogation from that protected status in favour of the proposed route?

3. Has it come to the Commission's attention that the Czech government has systematically failed hitherto at subsequent planning stages to give any consideration whatsoever to an alternative route farther to the west through the brown coal-mining region near the town of Most, designated as route R7, which can probably be constructed without a significant increase in costs?

4. Can the Commission confirm that, as required by the Espoo Convention, there will be an environmental impact assessment, on which the nearby German border region can be expected to have its say, but that the Czech government considers the construction of this motorway as a purely internal matter, any interference in which from abroad should be resisted?

5. Can the Commission confirm that implementation of the Czech plans to build the D8 is dependent on joint financing to the extent of 130 million by (Institutions of) the European Union?

6. Is the Commission prepared, in consideration of good-neighbourly relations, the Czech Republic's application for European Union accession, the provisions applicable within the Union on the protection of nature and the environment, and responsible investment of Union financing, to promote efforts, at subsequent stages in developing and implementing road-building projects, to have alternatives to the D8 taken seriously into consideration?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(21 March 2001)

The D8 motorway is part of the trans-European multimodal corridor IV and is identified as part of the backbone road network for the Czech Republic in the transport infrastructure needs assessment (TINA) report of October 1999 for the candidate countries. The Commission has been made aware informally by Czech non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that depending on the routing of the motorway the nature reserve Ceske Stredohori might be affected. The same NGO representatives addressed the fact that the Czech Environment Ministry has issued a derogation from the Czech Nature Protection Act to allow the construction and put forward their criticism of the procedure in terms of planning and decision making.

If Community pre-accession funding is involved in such infrastructure projects the candidate countries are obliged to comply with requirements similar to those contained in the acquis. In this particular case it would mean that to obtain Instrument for Structural policies for pre-accession (ISPA) co-funding the Czech government would have to ensure that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) using similar standards as those required by the Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 amending Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment(1) is carried out. The Community has already implemented its obligations under the Espoo Convention via this Directive, which ensures that affected countries would be consulted.

According to information obtained by the Commission, the Czech Republic intends to implement its obligations under the Espoo Convention through the new EIA Act, which was approved by the Czech Parliament in February 2001, and is scheduled to enter into force in January 2002. Until then the existing EIA Act will stay in force.

Before any Community funding is granted, the applicant country will also have to investigate whether environmentally sensitive areas are affected which might fall in future under the protection of the Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora(2) or the Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds(3). The provisions of Article 6 of the Habitats Directive ensures that negative environmental impacts on sensitive areas are taken into consideration in case plans or projects are likely

to have effect on those areas. By definition environmentally sensitive areas in the field of nature should be sites which have been identified by the national authorities as sites to be designated or proposed for the Natura 2000 network as laid down in the Habitats and the Birds Directives. As long as no lists of such sites have been identified by the competent authorities, which is the case in the Czech Republic, the following types of sites shall be regarded as environmentally sensitive areas in the field of nature protection: (a) sites listed in the latest inventory on important bird areas for candidate countries (IBA 2000, prepared by Birdlife International) and (if available) equivalent more detailed scientific inventories endorsed by national authorities; (b) wetlands of international importance designated under Ramsar Convention or qualifying for such protection, (c) areas to which the Bern Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats (Article 4) applies, in particular sites meeting the criteria of the Emerald network, (d) areas protected under national nature conservation legislation.

As already mentioned, the D8 motorway is included as a transport link in the TINA network. As such, projects included in the TINA network, and therefore, related to stretches of this motorway are potentially eligible for ISPA co-financing. So far the Commission adopted a decision the 29 December 2000 on co-financing project preparation for a number of Czech transport projects, including four schemes related to the D8 motorway located between Usti nad Labem and the German border at Petrovice. The objective of this project preparation facility is to assist the Czech Republic in preparing projects which are in line with the acquis, including all the information required by the ISPA Regulation.

After having finalized the project preparation for the Prague-Dresden motorway, the Czech Republic might submit an application form for ISPA funding to the Commission. The Commission will then perform a detailed examination of the application, including the environmental impact assessment of the schemes, consideration of environmental sensitive areas, and the proper consideration of alternatives, prior to reaching any decision on whether to submit a proposal to the ISPA Management Committee for co-financing the construction works.

In conclusion, the Commission will give proper consideration to the issue of the nature reserve Ceske Stredohori in the event of it being affected by any scheme for which ISPA infrastructure co-financing will be requested.

(1) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(2) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.

(3) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979.