Open
* Admissibility date reflects the date the case was officially registered. All other dates pertain to the date in which a stage was completed.
Case Description
A resident of Sfax, Tunisia, complained about alleged negative impacts of an EIB-financed roads programme on the building where he resides with his elderly mother as well as on two commercial shops on the ground floor of the same building. The EIB-CM identified three allegations: (i) damage to private property and potential risks to the structure of the complainant’s building; (ii) negative health impacts due to high levels of noise, vibrations and unpleasant odours; (iii) loss of income due to loss of rent from two rented commercial shops and failure to provide compensation in this respect.
The EIB-CM assessed the complainant’s concerns. Following the complaint with the local grievance redress mechanism, the promoter and the complainant engaged directly to address the concerns. On 21 September 2020, the complainant and the promoter agreed on the resolution of the main allegations. Regarding the alleged damages to the building, two inspections were agreed and repairs performed once and are potentially to be performed again depending on the outcome of the second inspection. Regarding the impact on health, the promoter offered to provide a rental allowance to relocate to another apartment for the remaining duration of the works. Lastly, regarding the compensation for loss of income, the complainant agreed to initiate the respective legal procedures.
Based on the reached agreement, the EIB-CM closed the complaint on 16 November 2020 with the issuance of a completion report. At the same time, the EIB-CM acknowledged that important actions resulting from the agreement are still pending, in particular (i) the second inspection report of alleged damages and potential consequent repairs, (ii) the actual provision of the rental allowance, and (iii) the outcome of the judicial expert proceedings for the loss of income.
The EIB services undertake to follow up with the promoter that these actions agreed between the promoter and the complainant are being implemented in a timely and complete manner. The EIB-CM will submit to the complainant a follow-up report regarding the implementation of the agreed actions eight months after submitting the conclusions report.