Eco-activists Are Aiming to Block Struma Highway in Strasbourg

Bulgarian green activists will go Strasbourg at the meeting of the Bern convention in an attempt to stop building Struma highway through the Kresna gorge, ekonovini.bg states.

The meeting will take place from November 29 to December 3. Since 2014, green activists have been annually sending signals to the Bern Convention that the construction of Struma Highway, which was supposed to be ready in 2004, will destroy the flora and fauna in the Kresna gorge.

However, Strasbourg refuses to open a file on Struma because these claims have no scientific evidence and have not been confirmed by field studies.

The MEP from "Democratic Bulgaria" Radan Kanev joined the actions of the environmentalists. He tried to organize a vote on a petition to stop Struma highway in the European Parliament, but it was not allowed to be voted.

Until now, ecologists have not managed to finally stop the construction of Struma highway through the Kresna gorge. The forecast is that most of the 47 member countries of the Berne Convention will support the Bulgarian state, because the highway is a project of importance for Bulgaria and Europe.

If the highway is not completed by 2027, Bulgaria will have to return almost 1 billion euros to Brussels for what has been built so far.

Convention for the Conservation of Wild European Flora and Fauna and Natural Habitats, known as the Berne Convention, was adopted in Bern on 19 September 1979 and aims to promote cooperation between signatory countries with a view to the conservation of wild European flora and fauna and their natural habitats habitats, and to protect endangered migratory species. The Convention has annual meetings held in Strasbourg, France, which address various topics related to the environment in Europe.