European Money for Controversial Projects? Again?

The European Investment Bank has (EIB) approved a loan of EUR 60 million for an environmentally unsustainable project for reconstruction of the airport in Sofia, Bulgaria. This was followed by EUR 7.6 million from Phare for technical assistance in project planning and EUR 50 million from the European Union's ISPA program. Because Sofia lies at a strategic transportation location on the Balkan Peninsula the Bulgarian government and European Union are pushing ahead with this project.

Implementation of the project has been more than controversial. The EIA procedure is in full contradiction with the EU acquis. No NGOs were designated as an interested party and they have been denied access to information. Promises to local inhabitants remain unfulfilled. Bulgarian aviation rules forbid night flights and flights over Sofia, but these rules are violated everyday. There was no real study of the health risk to affected citizens, nor are any there any concrete plans for mitigating health problems. There are shortcomings in the airport's water purification system and anti-freeze products will drain into the ground, surface water and subsoil. The new runway crosses an important bird migration route, a detail not taken into account.

Sadly, European loans for environmentally unsustainable projects have become one of the bad practices found in Central and Eastern Europe.