The European Union is forcing the Czech Republic to amend its construction law to give citizens more of a say in which projects are given permission to be built. Ihned.cz reports that as early as next year, it could become possible for courts to stop construction projects until they reach a verdict on the validity of the project’s construction permit. It’s one of a series of amendments proposals for current legislation governing EIA procedures and construction that the EU insists the Czech government must implement.
Failure to do so could lead to EU subsidies being suspended, just as the country was trying to make up for time lost. A series of corruption scandals involving projects that used EU funding led to funds being cut off temporarily. “It would be an enormous complication and loss,” said Petra Roubičková, spokeswoman of the environmental ministry, commenting on the risk of losing EU funding.
