European Commission looks into Roads Plan

THE European Commission will ask the Spanish authorities for information on the Roads Plan for Majorca, to determine whether or not it infringes European directives on the preservation of natural habitats or if it fails to comply with evaluations of the impact on the environment. This was announced yesterday by the Majorcan Socialist Party (PSM), which said in a communique that the commission had opened an investigation into the Roads Plan in answer to a series of questions asked by Eurodeputy Joan Vallvé. According to the PSM, the Inca-Sa Pobla motorway, which is included in the plan, invades the protected area of the Tramuntana mountain range, considered part of the heritage. The party pointed out that European regulations on conservation mean that it is obligatory to make an evaluation on the impact on the environment, specifying the repercussions of the plans on the countryside. The party alleges that this directive has not been followed in drawing up the roads plan.
There is widespread opposition to plans for not only the motorway but also the second ring road for Palma.
The government claims that the new roads are essential to cut down carnage on the roads, which so far this year is more than 50 percent higher than last year.