Czech NGOs suffer road rage

Date: 05/06/03

By Karen Carstens

SEVERAL Czech NGOs have filed an official complaint to the European Commission about the construction of a new motorway it is jointly funding with the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The D8 motorway, which connects Prague and Dresden, cuts through the 'Eastern Ore Mountains Nature Park' on the Czech-German border.

The groups, spearheaded by Prague-based Hnuti Duha, a member of Friends of the Earth Europe and CEE Bankwatch Network, said the motorway crosses an area populated by dozens of bird species requiring protection under an EU bird directive. Moreover, a proposed bird reservation site has now been remapped to avoid two segments of land that border the motorway route.

It will also destroy several sites which should be protected according to an EU habitats directive, the groups claim.

Because the motorway has been designated for support from the Commission's ISPA (Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession) fund and an EIB loan, the groups demand an investigation into alternatives, claiming none has been undertaken to date.