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Position: 09/22/2020 18:51 Uhr – NDR 1 Welle Nord
The plans for the Fehmarnbelt tunnel are now of concern to the Federal Administrative Court.
The gigantic procedure for the Fehmarnbelt fixed link began on Tuesday. The Ninth Senate of the Federal Administrative Court is the first and last instance in the legal review of the plans for the Fehmarnbelt tunnel. The day in Leipzig was an exciting one, for both supporters and opponents of the planned billion-dollar project. In the morning, before the negotiations began, environmentalists demonstrated against the controversial construction of the tunnel. The Beltretter alliance called for banners to stop the project. Oral negotiations began at nine o’clock. At the beginning of the lawsuits of two environmental associations and several ferry companies, the main focus was on negotiation issues.
VIDEO: The Fehmarnbelt tunnel is on the legal test bed (3 min)
Secretary of State Rohlfs expects a positive signal from Leipzig
Secretary of State for Transport Thilo Rohlfs said on the sidelines of the NDR Schleswig-Holstein negotiations: “With such a complex project, it can never be ruled out that one or the other will have to be reworked in detail on individual issues.” But overall, Rohlfs is sure: “I assume that we will receive a positive signal from Leipzig in general for the realization of the project.”
Opponent Neumann expects improvements
Beltrettern’s Katrin Neumann is happy that the negotiation is finally starting: “Some have waited 25 years; that’s how long the resistance against the Fehmarnbelt tunnel takes.” She hopes the court will closely re-examine the planning approval decision. Neumann does not expect the decision to be reversed in the end, but that it will have to be improved. “If planning is postponed and delayed even further, that may spell the end of the tunnel,” says Neumann.
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Scandlines: construction violates competition law
The Federal Administrative Court has moved to the congress hall for the large-scale hearing because the courtroom is too small.
300 page complaint with a 3,600 page appendix against the planning approval decision, that alone has been brought to court by the ferry company Scandlines. According to a Scandlines spokeswoman, the planned construction of the Danish-German tunnel violates competition law. From the company’s point of view, unauthorized government subsidies are being paid for the project.
Planners want to build tunnels by 2029
Danish constructor Femern A / S is confident that, despite complaints, the tunnel will probably be completed by 2029. The planning company refers to the German-Danish state treaty of 2008.
In Leipzig, it is examined whether the construction of the tunnel affects the interests of the plaintiffs or their “customers” so much that the tunnel cannot be built or only under certain conditions (keyword: compensation areas). But it’s also about dormouse habitat and the costs of fire protection in the tunnel. The complaint is a state authority, the Transportation Planning Approval Office.
Who are the plaintiffs, what do they want?
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The plaintiffs are conservationists like Nabu and ferry companies like Scandlines and Stena Line. Conservationists fear a destruction of the flora and fauna of the Baltic Sea. They complain that construction site noise endangers porpoises. Environmentalists also criticize that Reefs are not taken into account in the final planning approval decision for the planned tunnel. The Scandlines ferry company, which currently travels between Rödby and Puttgarden, fears financial losses due to the tunnel and worries about jobs. But questions about ship safety have not been clarified either. Nature conservationists and ferry companies also deny that a fixed connection is necessary for traffic.
As long as the negotiations continue, the construction of the tunnel cannot begin on the German side. According to experts, the project is unlikely to be avoidable due to the lawsuits.
Billion euro project of immense importance
The planned tunnel is one of the largest infrastructure projects in Europe. Meanwhile, there are nearly eight billion euros in costs that the Danes want to bear alone. However, the German side has to expand its road and rail network by around two billion euros. First there was a decision to approve the plan in Denmark, the few claims (46) were dismissed. In Germany there was a plan approval procedure with 12,600 trials for the tunnel. There is also a regional planning procedure for the rail connection on the German side.
Federal court continues hearing
The court has scheduled up to seven days for this important case. Negotiations will continue on Wednesday. Then, among other things, issues of tunnel safety will be addressed, announced Chief Justice Wolfgang Bier.
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