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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 project concerns the construction of a motorway between Banja Luka and Doboj in Republika Srpska (RS), an entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In March 2019, the EIB Complaints Mechanism Division (EIB-CM) received a complaint from lawyers representing four individuals and families during the expropriation process in RS. The complainant alleges that the promoter does not have a plan to resettle the project-affected people and does not want to (fully) expropriate their property.
EIB-CM Action
In October 2019, the EIB-CM conducted a site visit during which it met with the complainant, promoter and relevant national authorities. In January 2020, the EIB-CM published the Initial Assessment Report containing relevant information about the complaint and the way forward. Based on the collected and analysed information, the EIB-CM prepared the Conclusions Report.
Conclusions
The reviewed evidence shows that the project applicable standards are not fully complied with. The expropriation processes for cases 1-3 are still ongoing, five years after their initiation, although the RS’s legislation considers the expropriation procedure urgent. Also, EIB standards require a resettlement action plan which: (i) provides a system for the eventual restoration of the complainants’ livelihoods; and (ii) ensures their consultation during the process. This action plan has not been prepared. Expropriation for case 4 is not needed as there are suitable access roads to the Okolica settlement.
The reviewed evidence shows that the EIB has not carried out its role as required. There is no evidence that the EIB had performed a gap analysis between its standards and the legal framework for land acquisition in RS or the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD’s) standard on Land Acquisition, Involuntary Resettlement and Economic Displacement. Also, the EIB’s operational services never followed up on whether a land acquisition and resettlement plan was needed after the adoption of the 2016 subdivision programme. However, this land acquisition and resettlement plan was set as a possible condition for disbursement and the EIB services were aware of the ongoing issues with the expropriation process.