* 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
In March 2023, the Complaints Mechanism received a complaint from an individual in Tunisia alleging a lack of (i) adequate compensation, (ii) informed participation and (iii) reduction of adverse impacts of the project. The complainant claimed to have been expropriated of approximately 1.5 hectares of agricultural land with about 140 olive trees due to the project. In addition to the compensation to be paid, the complainant requested the promoter to save as many olive trees as possible from being uprooted and to provide access to the remaining part of the land not affected by the project.
Following its initial assessment, the Complaints Mechanism recommended to proceed with a dispute resolution process. The complainant and the promoter have reached an amicable agreement through a joint dialogue, with the support of the Complaints Mechanism and the EIB project team. The promoter paid the compensation for the trees and provided guarantees that the complainant will retain access to the remaining land. Based on this agreement, the Complaints Mechanism closed the case in March 2024. The project’s grievance redress mechanism will have to monitor the agreed-upon actions that have not yet been implemented, particularly regarding access to the remaining land and the replanting of olive trees. This will be followed up by the EIB project team as part of its regular project monitoring.