Czech Republic unnecessarily spends 100 billion according to ecologists, mainly on roads

Brno - Czech Republic plans to unnecessarily spend around 100 billion crowns according to ecologists, primarily on road construction. A large portion of this is requested from the European Union. Nine construction projects have been listed by non-governmental organizations CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth among the 50 harmful projects in Central and Eastern Europe. While other countries struggle primarily with waste disposal, in the Czech Republic, problematic highways include the D8, the Prague ring road, and expressways R35, R52, and R55. Other problematic projects are waste incinerators in Opatovice and Ostrava, a weir on the lower Elbe, and the relocation of the railway station in Brno. Ecologists report this on the website www.bankwatch.org.
    The organizations compiled a ranking of 50 projects that could have been prepared better and more environmentally friendly or are completely unnecessary. They cost around 550 billion crowns in total, and part of that, according to investors' plans, should be financed by the European Union. Among them are also 14 roads, with more than a third of them located in the Czech Republic.
    The Czech Republic has a total of nine projects in the ranking valued at around one hundred billion crowns, placing it second among the countries, behind Poland. According to ecologists, these projects are not a good use of public funds. Therefore, the state should look for more suitable solutions and explore possible alternatives, states CEE Bankwatch Network.
    For some Czech constructions, financing has not yet been resolved. The European Union has not yet promised support for the majority of them. If the European funds ultimately do not arrive, some plans would likely be halted, warn ecologists. "The Elbe weir is a typical example of an unnecessary project that will not be created without EU support. Changes in the river's water level would wipe out dozens of rare animal and plant species," said Martin Skalský from the association Arnika.
    Ecologists have also discovered problematic projects in the Baltic states, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Croatia, and Slovenia. However, the most red flags are found on the map of Poland. This includes the construction of nine incinerators or the Via Baltica highway, which is intended to cross ecologically valuable areas.