• EU shows its teeth over controversial by-pass

    The Commission is set to take rare legal action against Poland to force it to stop the highly controversial Augustow by-pass being built through the protected Rospuda Valley in north-eastern Poland.

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    In a case that might have serious implications for the credibility of EU environmental policy in the 12 new member states, the Commission has given Poland just seven days to respond to its call for construction work to be stopped. If Poland does not respond, the Commission says it will take the matter to the European Court of Justice, which could insist that construction stops and impose a heavy fine on Poland.

    The announcement that work on the bypass was to start immediately came late on 20 February, despite a letter from the Commission and warnings by NGOs that the damage to vital wetland sites and the failure to adequately consider alternatives could make Poland liable for the costs of environmental damage under the EU’s environmental liability directive.

    The EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas said: “I urge the Polish government once more to consider ways of building these by-passes without causing such serious environmental damage. I believe Poland has everything to gain by building new infrastructure without sacrificing its most precious natural heritage.”

    The Commission began legal proceedings in December by sending a letter to Warsaw, expressing concern at the fact that the by-pass – part of the Via Baltica motorway connecting Helsinki to Warsaw – would go through a valley designated as a European Natura 2000 site for its outstanding biodiversity values. It said insufficient consideration had been given to alternative routes.

    With construction workers already on site, the Commission sent its second warning letter on 28 February, a so-called “Reasoned Opinion”, but with the unusually short deadline of just seven days. As T&E Bulletin went to press, Poland had yet to respond.

    The issue has split opinion in Poland, including the Kacynski brothers who are president and prime minister. The president, Lech Kaczynski, has expressed his dissatisfaction with the route of the Augustow by-pass, while the prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, supported by his environment minister Jan Szyszko, are strongly in favour.

    Marta Wisniewska of WWF Poland said: “We recognise the need for improved infrastructure in Poland, but any development must follow the EU legal framework.”

    This news story is taken from the March 2007 edition of T&E Bulletin.