Decisions on the routings of sensitive Czech road projects potentially in line for European funding are being guided by lobby power rather than on the required financial and environmental assessments, according to Friends of the Earth Czech Republic, member group of CEE Bankwatch Network.

Presenting the claim today to Commission officials at a TEN-T conference in Brussels, the environmental group referred to comments made in the Czech parliament by Prime Minister Miroslav Topolanek [1] that acknowledge the role of land speculation lobbies in the decision-making on two proposed routes that would connect Brno to Vienna as part of the Katowice-Vienna TEN-T priority project no. 25.

The preparatory process for these routes has raised serious concerns from the outset as one of the routes via the town of Mikulov was regarded as the only possibility for several years. Only after sustained pressure was the Czech Directorate of Motorway Construction moved to consider a second, less impacting route via Breclav. As of now the Czech government has surprisingly decided to build both, though no earth has yet been turned on either project.

Martin Kryl, of Friends of the Earth Czech Republic and Bankwatch, said: "The Commission needs to start taking a greater role in the preparation of TEN-T projects as the evidence is growing that environmental, social and financial considerations are coming second best in the Czech Republic and in other new member states behind the interests of land speculation lobbies."

Czech Friends of the Earth is calling for a serious comparative analysis to be carried out for the two routes. To date no such analysis exists, even as the indications are growing that the South Moravia region is pushing through the Mikulov route, despite the fact that it would be more damaging, more expensive, and would also bring heavy transit traffic to the edge of the city of Brno via other connected road infrastructure. TEN-T projects are not supposed to cross urban areas.

"It's astonishing that these kind of reckless spending plans are being tolerated by Mirek Topolanek and being pushed forward by the Czech Ministry of Transport. The Commission needs to start asking some tough questions about the logic behind motorway construction in the Czech Republic. We need a multi-criteria analysis to tell us which connections are the most important and what are the best routes for them, especially when it comes to TEN-T projects of wider European importance."

For more information

Martin Kryl (in Brussels)
Friends of the Earth Czech Republic/CEE Bankwatch Network
Tel: 00420 606 336 859
Email: martin.kryl AT hnutiduha.cz

Notes for editors

[1] Replying to a parliamentary question on the Mikulov motorway variant on September 25, 2008, Miroslav Topolanek replied:

"A decision on the motorway you are asking about was taken by the government on the 9th of June this year after very complicated negotiations. At the end, both lobby groups will be satisfied. First, the one which has bought land under Mikulov as well as the second that bought land under Breclav"

Cited here.

Short background info on the R52 expressway via Mikulov (in the Czech Republic) is available by clicking on the icon at the Bankwatch Billions map.

A background article on the sharp practices blighting Czech road construction is available at the Bankwatch website.