Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001803/2024/rev.1
to the Commission
Rule 144
Michalis Hadjipantela (PPE)
In July 2024, five years after an initial proposal was put forward, a private company submitted the complete project file to the town planning department for the construction and operation of a 180 MW solar farm. The plan is to build the proposed solar farm in an area between the villages of Lythrodontas, Kataliontas and Mathiatis in Cyprus’ Nicosia District. However, the proper procedure has not been followed as this proposal has not yet been put to public consultation, even though the inhabitants and local authorities of the three villages strongly oppose the project because of its environmental impact.
Specifically, the development project will have an overly negative impact on local flora and fauna and will destroy hundreds of hectares of forested land on an island that has limited forest cover. This runs counter to EU policy on protecting biodiversity and the new EU law on restoring degraded ecosystems.
In the absence of public consultation and given that this development project must comply with European environmental directives and take into account local biodiversity, what is the Commission’s position on this issue?
Submitted: 24.9.2024