By: Sara Bertoncelj (Nova24tv)
After visiting the C0 sewage canal construction site last week, the Co-President of the European Green Party, Thomas Waitz, proposed to the European Commission that the C0 sewage canal project should be audited to check whether the project, which is being built with EU funding, has all the necessary permits, including an environmental impact assessment.
Last week, Thomas Waitz, MEP and Co-President of the European Green Party (EGP), visited Slovenia. He was here to visit Vesna – the Green Party, which is currently in the process of joining the European Green party. During his visit, Waitz was also informed about the issue of interference with the principles of environmental democracy in the construction of the C0 canal and the dangerous environmental interference in the area of the Ljubljana water catchment area, which could threaten the drinking water supply of all the inhabitants of the area.
Surprised by the practices related to the project, he decided to petition the European Commission to carry out additional checks and an on-site audit to ensure that EU funds were not invested in a project that lacked essential documentation and permits, including an environmental impact assessment. He expects the Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, to check whether there are any irregularities in the management and implementation of this project. In his letter to the European Commissioner, Waitz referred to a number of concerns he has received from Slovenia in the period since the 2022 local elections regarding the conduct of the Municipality of Ljubljana, the main beneficiary of EU funding for the project “Wastewater Disposal and Wastewater Treatment in the Ljubljansko Polje Water Catchment Area” (C0).
“Today I asked the European Commission to carry out additional checks and an on-the-spot audit on the sewage canal C0 to make sure that EU funds are not invested in a project lacking essential permits, including an Environmental Impact Assessment,” Waitz tweeted on Friday. The Co-President of the European Green Party also visited several locations near the construction site last week, where he and the Vesna party representatives were also openly threatened with physical violence by the Mayor’s “security guards,” the Vesna – Green Party representatives pointed out in a press release.