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European Legislation Used to Mask Doing Favour to Investors
Zelena akcija (Green Actions) and Zelena Istra (Green Istria) demand from the Ministry of Environmental Protection to ensure public participation in the process of review of projects presented by potential investors, in view of the recent process to adopt the Decree on Public Information and Participation in Environmental Protection matters, the Decree on Environmental Effects Assessment and the Decree on Strategic Assessment of Environmental Effects.
The two associations analyzed the decrees under the auspices of the EU supported `Good Governance and Rule of Law in Croatian Environmental Protection Policies, that Zelena Akcija and Zelena Istra implement in cooperation with Sunce environmental association from Split.
Željka Leljak Gracin, member of Zelena akcija legal team warns that the Ministry failed to observe the minimal period of 30 days reserved for public participation in legislative process, adding that the three Decrees were, in fact presented to a group of associations in Zagreb, on May 26.
The associations demand for the public to be timely informed about planned investments projects through the media, web-sites and announcement boards in local municipalities, and from the Government to secure public debate on planned projects and participation in decision making processes, and to ensure there will all conflicts of interests will be avoided.
-These requests will lead to improved public information, but the public participation will, alas, remain at the current levels, says Dušica Radojčić, President of Zelena Istra.
Zelena akcija and Zelena Istra also point out that the Decree on Environmental Effects assesment process does lower the standards and criteria, which favours investors in a number of industrial sectors, under the excuse that the national legislation is adapted to EU’s environmental assessment directives.
The new Decree eliminates the obligation to prepared Environmental Assessment Study for a number of investment projects, and is replaced with the obligation to prepare a study on the necessity of environmental study for each individual case. The new solution opens the possibility for pressure on the competent bodies, creates conflicts of interests, opportunities for corruption and higher costs of implementation, without public participation.
-Therefore, we demand for the existing criteria for obligatory environmental assessment study to remain, says Jagoda Munić from Zelena akcija.
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