Parliamentary question

Written question to the European Commission

On 8 February 2022, more than 1 800 scientists and over 160 NGOs from all over the world addressed a letter to the Commission urging it to stop the construction of a wall on the Polish-Belarusian border.

Construction of the wall will impact protected and valuable natural areas, including Natura 2000 sites. Already during its construction phase, the wall is having a detrimental impact on the conservation status of species and habitats. Populations of large animals such as European bison, Eurasian lynx, moose, deer and wolves are being negatively affected. Also, during the investment planning process, no environmental impact assessment was carried out for any of the Natura 2000 sites, including the Białowieża Forest, which is a clear violation of Article 6(3) of the Habitats Directive.

1. Has the Commission received a reply from the Polish authorities concerning compliance of the investment with EU environmental law? If so, what was the answer and how and when does the Commission intend to reply?

2. Does the Commission intend to take any action to halt the construction, at least until the environmental impact assessment has been carried out, as required by EU law? If so, please indicate specifically what these actions will be and when they will be carried out.

Answer given by Commissioner Sinkevičius on behalf of the European Commission

The Commission follows the construction of the fence on the Polish-Belarusian border as an element of the wider efforts to secure the Polish eastern border, which is a priority in view of the current security situation, as well as to monitor the application of EU legislation, including on the environment.

In this regard, on 29 April 2022, the Commission sent a letter to the Polish authorities recalling the obligations imposed by the Habitats Directive, especially its Article 6(3) and (4), and inviting the authorities to provide explanation on how these obligations were fulfilled in case of this project.

As of 8 June 2022, the Commission services have not yet received a reply to the letter. Once the Commission has received and assessed the reply of the Polish authorities, it will decide on the next steps.

As regards halting the construction of the project, the Commission has no competence to impose such a measure on the Member States. Only the Court of Justice of the EU can order that a project be put on halt by prescribing an interim measure if a Member State has been referred to the Court for breach of EU legislation.

Yet, this is not the case in relation to this project as there is currently no pending infringement procedure with regard to the fence on the Polish border.