After years of delays, environmental groups have made a major step forward in court against Albania’s Vlora Airport. The organization Euronatur announced that the Administrative Court of Appeal has finally returned the Vlora Airport case to the first instance, meaning the court can finally move on to the merits of the case.
The lawsuit by EuroNatur partners @ppnea and @aos_alb, aims to protect the Narta Lagoon - an internationally protected wetland of exceptional importance for bird migration and part of the Vjosa Delta.
"The three-year delay has had devastating consequences for the area that the lawsuit actually seeks to protect. Despite the lawsuit and various appeals from the Bern Convention and the EU Commission to stop the construction, works continued on the Narta Lagoon - causing massive destruction of one of Albania's and Europe's most valuable ecosystems," says Annette Spangenberg, Director of EuroNatur's Freshwater Program.
According to Euronatur, recent footage of the flooded airport confirms how dangerous it is to build in wetlands.
The opening of the path to trial on the merits is another problem for the Vlora airport project, which is also being investigated by the Tirana prosecutor's office after the mutual criminal lawsuits that the two shareholders have filed against each other.
Editorial
