Sport due to the lookout tower on Králický Sněžník may end up with the European Commission

Králíky – The Ministry of the Environment (MŽP) does not rule out contacting the European Commission regarding the construction of the observation tower on the Polish side of the Králický Sněžník peak. According to environmental organizations, the Polish side is violating the conditions of the building permit and the subsidy agreement, resulting in serious damage to the exceptional nature. The MŽP formally urged Poland on May 14 to immediately prevent further damage to this ecologically significant area and halt work on the observation tower. This was communicated by Dominika Pospíšilová from the ministry's press department to ČTK.

The Czech Republic is also in dispute with Poland over the Turów lignite mine. The EU Court ordered Poland last week at the request of the Czech Republic to immediately suspend operations at the mine near the Czech border.

"We will likely repeat the Polish negotiation scenario in the case of the observation tower on Králický Sněžník. If we find that valid EU laws have been violated, we will once again ask for help from the European Commission. If the changes made result in the construction again fulfilling the characteristics defined by the EIA directive, we will demand that the Polish side initiate a new inter-state EIA process," stated Environment Minister Richard Brabec (ANO).

The MŽP stated that it is acting in accordance with the law and in the interest of protecting valuable nature. "In 2013, the Polish side informed the MŽP about the completion of the inter-state process for evaluating the environmental impact of the project (EIA). The reduced plan proposed the construction of a simple observation tower and infrastructure. MŽP accepted the end of the process, yet still required that the Polish side consider three conditions set by the Administration of the Protected Landscape Area of Jeseníky during the construction," Pospíšilová noted.

According to the permit, for example, construction materials and structural components of the tower are to be transported by helicopter from Sněžnické saddle to the peak of Sněžník, and the construction site must be on plot No. 370. However, according to Czech environmental organizations, this is not happening. Photodocumentation shows heavy machinery traveling along the green tourist trail from Chata Pod Sněžníkem along the border on the Polish side. Contrary to the permit and the project, a temporary road has been created to the peak of the mountain for repeated use of heavy machinery and likely for transporting some materials. The machines are also damaging the arctic-alpine tundra even in the surrounding area outside the fenced construction site.

In June 2020, the MŽP asked the Polish side whether the plan had changed from the last version. "We were assured that no such change had occurred and that the plan still does not fulfill the characteristics of a plan according to the EIA directive, nor according to Czech and Polish legislation. As a precaution, the MŽP immediately urged environmental organizations to inform the Administration of the CHKO Jeseníky and the MŽP if they discovered evidence that the investor was not adhering to the established conditions and, for example, significantly changing the nature of the project," Pospíšilová stated.

In November 2020, after signals that the construction was exceeding the original plan, the ministry informed the Ministry of Regional Development and since then the MŽP has been addressing the case with the Poles. Environmental organizations wrote a letter to the MŽP and the Minister of Regional Development Klára Dostálová (ANO) urging them to stop funding the construction of the observation tower. Part of the funding also came from the Ministry of Regional Development. The total costs of approximately 77 million crowns were covered from both national and European sources. The investor is the Polish municipality of Stronie Śląskie.

Dostálová rejected today on Twitter the claim that the construction work is disrupting environmental protection. "I consider it necessary to refute alarmist reports that the Kladsko-Orlicko-Sněžník project violates the established conditions for environmental protection. This is not true. It is not possible to implement a project that could have a negative impact on the environment," stated the minister. Her ministry's press release indicated that it had obtained assurances from the environmental ministries of both countries that the work is being carried out under scientific oversight, specimens of protected plant species have been relocated to safe areas, and the construction site has been fenced.

According to the Ministry of Regional Development (MMR), the transport of materials by helicopter will be monitored by the Polish nature protection authority. The supplier, according to the MMR, is working with mini-excavators and small carts, which have a working width of 2.2 meters and operate exclusively along the trail. The delivery of concrete, steel structures, and glass will be by air. "Natural and construction oversight has also warned the supplier that construction machines must be stationed in areas that are protected by mats," the MMR stated.