EU Conditionality and Governance in Bosnia & Hercegovina: Environmental Regulation of the Trans-European Road Network

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Notes

These include: internal market; free movement of goods; movement of persons, services and right of establishment; free movement of capital; customs and taxation; competition; public procurement; intellectual property law; employment and social policies; education and research; WTO issues; sectoral policies; industry and SMEs; agriculture and fisheries; environment; transport policies; energy; information, society and media; financial control; statistics; justice, freedom and security; visa, border control, asylum and migration; money laundering; drugs; police; fighting organised crime and terrorism; and protection of personal data.

The Aarhus Convention is the name commonly given to the UN Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, which was signed on 25 June 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus. The Convention essentially grants citizens the right to information regarding environmental impact as well as participation in decision-making processes on matters concerning the local, national and transboundary environment.

The Espoo Convention is the name commonly given to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Trans-Boundary Context, signed in Espoo, Finland, in 1991. The Convention sets out the obligations of states to notify and consult each other on all major projects under consideration that are likely to have a significant adverse environmental impact across boundaries.

The research has been funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as a part of the ‘EU Compliance in Bosnia and Serbia’ (ECoBHAS) project.

One of the difficulties with the research for the essay is that the public consultation processes were completed in 2003, many of the individuals have moved to other organisations and many of the NGOs involved no longer operate; however, stakeholders for the two EIA studies were interviewed in 2008 and 2009, including project managers from the consultants that prepared the EIA study and EBRD.

Interview with an EBRD official, Sarajevo, 19 February 2009.

The Banja Luka–Gradiska project is divided into three sections: Section 1 —Croatian border (Gradiška) to Mahovljani (Banja Luka Airport) [29 km]; Section 2—Mahovljani to Glamočani [5.8km]; Section 3 —Glamočani to Banja Luka [9.5 km]. The upgrade for S3 has already been completed. The EBRD/EIB investment is only for Section 1, so the EIA and EAP documents were only produced for the 29 km stretch from Gradiška to Mahovljani.

Interview with an EBRD official, London, 31 January 2008.

Interview with an EBRD official, Sarajevo, 14 February 2008.

In the case of the Sarajevo bypass the consultant was Louis Berger (France) and BCEOM (France) for the Banja Luka–Gradiška road. For the Mostar bypass, the consultant was a local company, Eko-plan (Mostar).

Interviews with a project manager, ERM, 23 March 2009 and 23 September 2009, via electronic communication and telephone.

Personal communication with a project manager at Louis Berger, 15 April 2009, via electronic communication.

Personal communication with a former engineer at the RS Roads Directorate, 16 March 2009, via electronic communication.

The French company BCEOM was the primary consultant for the Banja Luka–Gradiska road EIA with the Road Center of Vojvodina (Serbia). Louis Berger (France) was the project manager for the Sarajevo bypass, while the German company ERM completed the EIA.

Personal communication with a project manager at Louis Berger, 15 April 2009, via electronic communication.

Personal communication with a project manager at Louis Berger, 15 April 2009, via electronic communication.

Interviews with a project manager, ERM, 23 March 2009 and 23 September 2009, via electronic communication and telephone.

Personal communication with a former engineer at the RS Roads Directorate, via electronic communication.

Interviews with a project manager, ERM, 23 March 2009 and 23 September 2009, via electronic communication and telephone.

Interviews with a project manager, ERM, 23 March 2009 and 23 September 2009, via electronic communication and telephone.

Interviews with a project manager, ERM, 23 March 2009 and 23 September 2009, via electronic communication and telephone.

Interview with a project manager at the FBiH Roads Directorate, 9 October 2009, Sarajevo.

Interview with a project manager at the FBiH Roads Directorate, 9 October 2009, Sarajevo.

Interview with a project manager at the FBiH Roads Directorate, 9 October 2009, Sarajevo.

Interview with the official responsible for issuing environmental permits in the Ministry for Spatial Planning and Environmental Protection, Sarajevo Canton, Sarajevo, 19 February 2009.

Personal communication with a former engineer at the RS Roads Directorate, 23 October, via email.

Interviews with a project manager, ERM, 23 March 2009 and 23 September 2009, via electronic communication and telephone.

For example, CESD provided opinions about the impacts of building a particular bridge along the Sarajevo bypass, while the Soil Science Institute commented on the procedure of land evaluation (interview with the president of CESD, Sarajevo, 4 November 2008; personal communication with a researcher at the Soil Science Institute, 6 March 2009).

Preliminary EIA for the Banja Luka–Gradiška road, provided by the Environmental Department, RS Roads Directorate, 18 February 2009.

The president of CZZS was not involved in the scoping stage of the Banja Luka–Gradiška road, but was invited to the Phase II meeting by virtue of writing to the relevant authorities and expressing interest in the process (interview with the president of CZZS, Banja Luka, 17 February 2009).

Personal communication with the director of Fondeko, 4 March 2009, telephone interview.

Interview with the president of Ekotim, Sarajevo, 6 November 2008.

Interview with the director of the REC Country Office, Sarajevo, 4 November 2008; interview with a project manager (1) at the REC Project Office, Banja Luka, 5 November 2008.

Interview with a second official (2) in the RS Ministry of Urban Planning, Civil Engineering and Ecology, 18 February 2009; interview with an official in the Environmental Department, RS Roads Directorate, 17 February 2009, Banja Luka.

Interview with an EBRD official, Sarajevo; interviews with a project manager, ERM, 23 March 2009 and 23 September 2009, via electronic communication and telephone; personal communication with a project manager at Louis Berger, 15 April 2009, via electronic communication.

Interviews with a project manager, ERM, 23 March 2009 and 23 September 2009, via electronic communication and telephone.

Interviews with a project manager, ERM, 23 March 2009 and 23 September 2009, via electronic communication and telephone.

Interview with a second project manager (2) at the REC Project Office, Banja Luka, 5 November 2008.

The research involved attending the EIA scoping meeting in Rodoc (Mostar), 2 September 2009.

Rodoč is a small village or suburb of Mostar. The proposed bypass will cut through the village. The public meeting was held in the local community centre.

Interview with an official from the Roads Directorate (Sarajevo), 23 October 2009.

During the public meeting in Rodoč there were no representatives present from C. Lotti.

He pointed out that a scoping meeting had not been carried out in Rodoč, and that aspects of the impacts on local houses had not been explored.

Eko-Jasenica, Eko-Most and Bura.

The focus group meeting was organised by the author and the research team.