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* 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
Complaint
The case concerns (A) community health and safety; (B) involuntary resettlement; and (C) spatial planning issues. The issues relate to the Banja Luka – Doboj Motorway in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
EIB-CM Action
The EIB Complaints Mechanism Division (EIB-CM) carried out its initial assessment and issued its initial assessment report. The report recommended a dispute resolution process for this case.
The EIB-CM carried out a dispute resolution process and issued the corresponding report. The dispute resolution process resolved some of the issues. For those where no agreement was reached, the EIB-CM recommended a compliance review.
The EIB-CM completed its compliance review process based on the collected and analysed information and proceeded to issue its conclusions report. The EIB-CM decided to address cases SG/E/2019/06, SG/E/2021/05, SG/E/2021/06 and SG/E/2021/07 in one conclusions report because of the similarities of the allegations in the four cases and the overlaps between them.
Conclusions
The EIB-CM found that the project-applicable standards were complied with in relation to one allegation, concerning spatial planning (C), but not fully complied with in relation to the remaining two allegations, concerning involuntary resettlement (A) and community health and safety (B).
The EIB-CM also found that the EIB has carried out its role as required in relation to one allegation, concerning spatial planning (C), but has not fully carried out its role as required in relation to the remaining two allegations, concerning involuntary resettlement (A) and community health and safety (B). Although the EIB did not timely follow-up with the promoter on the preparation of the Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plan (LARP), the process seems to be intensifying lately. As of November 2022, the EIB intensified its monitoring in order to address the outstanding issues.
Outcome
The EIB-CM recommended to the EIB to:
1. Ask the promoter to prepare a LARP.
2. Agree on corrective actions with the promoter to improve the project’s impact on the local communities.
3. Monitor the implementation of the above two points until their completion.