Planned gold mine at Ada Tepe near Krumovgrad, Bulgaria
21.1.2010
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0347/10
by Michail Tremopoulos (Verts/ALE)
to the Commission
The Bulgarian Government has granted a permit to Dundee Precious Metals, a Canadian-based company, and to its Bulgarian branch Balkan Minerals and Mining for extraction of gold using cyanide-leaching technology at Ada Tepe, near Krumovgrad.
Ada Tepe is located in the East Rodopi mountains, a region with very rich landscape and biological diversity. Gold extraction from an open-air mine will result in significant landscape deterioration and will seriously jeopardise commitments and obligations arising from the European Landscape Convention and the Habitats Directive (Directive 92/43/EC[1]), as ratified by the Bulgarian State.
This plan is not only opposed by local people and Bulgarian local authorities, but also by the citizens and authorities of neighbouring areas in northern Greece and Turkey, as any cyanide poisoning of the Maritza river will result in serious cross-border pollution affecting Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey.
There have been numerous mass demonstrations and protests. Public consultations carried out in the municipality of Krumovgrad show definitively that the local people are against the project, with 10 000 signatures collected. In spite of the opposition to the project by local people and the people and authorities living in neighbouring areas in northern Greece and Turkey, the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water continues to support it.
What measures is the European Commission considering taking in order to enforce compliance by the Bulgarian Government with Community legislation (notably Directive 2006/21/EC[2] on the management of waste from the extractive industries and the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC[3]), especially regarding the holding of an adequate and inclusive public consultation?
OJ C 138 E, 07/05/2011