Authorisation of ship-breaking facility at the archaeological site of the Salamis sea battle

16.11.2020

Question for written answer  E-006208/2020
to the Commission
Rule 138
Dimitrios Papadimoulis (GUE/NGL), Petros Kokkalis (GUE/NGL), Alexis Georgoulis (GUE/NGL), Elena Kountoura (GUE/NGL), Konstantinos Arvanitis (GUE/NGL), Stelios Kouloglou (GUE/NGL)

Under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive[1], Member States are required to ensure that local residents and the authorities concerned are properly consulted sufficiently well in advance to enable them to participate in environmental decision-making processes[2].

However, the most recent Greek environmental legislation (Law 4685/2020[3]) in many cases restricts the provision of information to the public and the responsible authorities, treating this as an unnecessary step, while the environmental authority is required to approve or reject a given project within a set deadline.

The upshot of all this has been the authorisation of a ship-breaking facility in a Zone A (absolute protection) archaeological conservation area, the site of the Salamis sea battle, which took place 2 500 years ago. The terms of the decision designating the site as a Zone A archaeological area, requiring absolute protection effectively exclude any ship repair activities in the area[4]. Moreover, the Ministry of Culture had issued an unfavourable opinion[5] before Law 4685/2020 actually entered into force.

In view of this:

• 1.Is the Commission aware of the above changes introduced under Greek legislation and to what extent does it consider them compatible with EU law and in particular with the EIA directives?
• 2.Do EIA procedures encompass the direct and indirect significant effects of a project of projects on the cultural heritage[6]?
• 3.Are the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 1257/2013 regarding ship breaking being complied with, especially given that the situation regarding the waters of the Saronic Gulf is already giving cause for concern?

• [1] Directive 2011/92/EU, as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU
• [2] As indicated by the Commission in its reply to a previous question for written answer (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2020-002671_EL.html, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2020-002671-ASW_EL.html).
• [3] Greek Government Gazette A 92/07.05.2020.
• [4] Decision of the Ministry of Culture YPPO/ARCH/Α1/F43/47502/2913/18-9-2001, which expressly ‘prohibits construction activity or any change in land use, including the construction and operation of ship repair or port facilities and any other construction project requiring or not requiring the approval of the competent planning authority’.
• [5] Unfavourable opinion issued by the General Directorate of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture (ΥPPΟΤ/GDΑPΚ/Α1/F26/125027/5240/23-12-2011) during the shipyard licensing procedure ‘since the yard in question causes serious direct and indirect damage to the archaeological site in question and in particular to the nearby monument, the Tomb of the Salamina Warriors’.
• [6] Article 3 of Directive 2014/52/EU.