Letter to the European Commission regarding the shift of Kresna Gorge motorway's financing to past 2013

EU financing of the motorway corridor through Kresna Gorge, the most controversial and difficult section of the Struma motorway, has been shifted to the next financial period 2014-2020. While an agreement between NGOs and the Bulgarian government states that the route will be implemented via tunnel(s) in order to preserve the area's great biodiversity, environmentalists now fear that once other parts of the motorway are completed, the tunnel route might be scrapped by the Bulgarian authorities.

As the letter points out, this may lead to the destruction of the gorge and the harming of unique biodiversity and intact habitats, while at the same time violating Bulgarian and European environment legislation and the Bern Convention on protecting biodiversity.

The European Commission's response (October 8, 2009) can be downloaded in pdf.