Alburnus Maior, Greenpeace CEE and The Centre for Legal Resources (CRJ) are pleased to announce that following the suspension of the Urbanistic Certificate the Romanian minister for the Environment yesterday officially confirmed that the EIA procedure for the Rosia Montana EIA is suspended.
In june 2005 Alburnus Maior secured the suspension of the Urbanistic Certificate in a court case and the EIA procedure is suspended until Gabriel Resources submits a new and vaild Urbanistic Certificate.
The Rosia Montana mining project is suspended
– Environmental Minister surprises NGO’s with her decision –
Bucharest, 11 April 2006 – During an NGO meeting with Stravros Dimas the EU Commissioner for the Environment, Sulfina Barbu, Romania’s Minister for the Environment today officially confirmed that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure for the Rosia Montana cyanide-leach gold mining project has been suspended. This means that for now Gabriel Resources, the sponsor of the project, cannot submit the EIA report to Romania’s Ministry of Environment.
Alburnus Maior, Greenpeace (Central and Eastern Europe) and The Center for Legal Resources welcomed the ministry’s surprising move. “Since summer 2005 we have tried to ensure that Romania’s ministry for the Environment suspends the EIA procedure but until Mr Dimas’ presence today our Minister refused to enforce the court sentences we secured”, said Anamaria Bogdan of Greenpeace.
“In summer 2005 the Court at Alba Iulia suspended the so-called Urbanistic Certificate as well as an important archeological discharge certificate; both being administrative documents mandatory for carrying out the EIA procedure”, stated Catalina Radulescu, lawyer at the Center for Legal Resources.
“The sudden decision of Sulfina Barbu occurred today in the presence of the EU Environment Commissioner, Stavros Dimas; this after NGO’s haven been repeatedly asking why the Romanian authorities refuse to enforce court sentences. I think this tells us something about the incompatibility of the Rosia Montana mining project with European environmental law,” concluded Eugen David, president of Alburnus Maior.
It is expected that the Romanian ministry for the Environment will now inform the project sponsor Gabriel Resources about the suspension of the EIA procedure.
For further information please contact:
Anamaria Bogdan, Press Officer, Greenpeace, Mobile: 0721 632 396,
E-mail: anamaria.bogdan@greenpeace.ro, www.greenpeace.ro
Catalina Radulescu, Lawyer, Center for Legal Resources, mobile: 0745 138 165,
E-mail: cradulescu@crj.ro, www.crj.ro
Eugen David, President, Alburnus Maior, Mobile: 0740 280 309, E-mail: alburnusmaior@ngo.ro, www.rosiamontana.org
