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Structural Funds-Habitats Directive-Environment:
EU Suspends Structural Funds in Landmark Decision for Nature

December 18th, 1997

Forests Brussels, Belgium - A project in Scotland that is thought to breach EU nature conservation law has been suspended to wait for the outcome of an investigation by the European Commission. This decision is consistent with a legal opinion on the matter obtained by WWF-World Wide Fund for Nature and presented to the Commission earlier this week.

The Scottish Cairngorms mountain range is one of the most important sites for wildlife in the UK, including many rare birds and 13 natural habitats to be conserved under the EU Habitats Directive. Most of it has been nominated a canditate Natura 2000 area, and the UK Government is committed to seek World Heritage Site status for the Cairngorms.

WWF contends that the boundaries of the protected area have been drawn such as to exclude a part for the construction of a £14.8 million funicular railway and the re-development of an existing ski area. WWF and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds challenged these boundaries in a Scottish court earlier this year on the grounds that the excluded areas are an integral part of the Cairngorms.

The UK government has granted over £9 million financial support for constructing the railway, provided that a further £2.7 million would be made available from EU Structural Funds. Last Monday, WWF sent a legal opinion to the European Commission arguing that funding could not go ahead until the Commission was assured that EU law had not been violated. The Commission has now followed suit. A monitoring committee meeting in Scotland yesterday agreed to approve the funding, subject to the outcome of the European investigation.

"European funds should help to create long-term economic benefit and protect the environment," says Martin Mathers, from WWF Scotland. "The EU has stopped the money but it is still money in the bank. We should work together and secure a viable, environmentally sound option for the Cairngorms and the people living there."

The case could develop into a model example for the implementation of the EU Habitats Directive and its Natura 2000 network of protected areas. The Cairngorms case is the first time that the boundaries of an area designated under the Habitats Directive have been legally challenged.

Contacts:
George Baxter, WWF Scotland, +44 1887 820449
Martin Hiller, WWF European Policy Office, +32 2 743 8806