SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
RESOLUTION
ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF LARGE-SCALE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN THE BALTIC SEA POSING A RISK TO ALL THE BALTIC SEA STATES – MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
27 March 2007
Vilnius
having regard to the fact that:
the Baltic Sea is a continental sea and one of the most polluted seas in the world; water in the Baltic Sea is renewed only every 25-40 years by reason of a slow water exchange with the North Sea; this sea is highly sensitive to pollution due to its enclosed nature and other natural conditions, its biological resources may be quite rapidly depleted and other consequences may be caused by human economic activities; on 22 July 2005, the International Maritime Organisation declared the Baltic Sea as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area;
approximately 85 million people live in the Baltic Sea basin, a variety of economic activities (agriculture, industry, land and sea transport, trade, energy, tourism and recreation) is being developed in the basin, which has a continuous impact on the state of the sea environment;
approximately 15% of the world sea transport is involved in navigation in the Baltic Sea; approximately 2000 ships are usually present in the Baltic Sea on a continuous basis; approximately 100 million tons of oil are annually shipped across the Baltic Sea, and it is planned to substantially increase this quantity;
on the basis of different data, from 40000 up to 80000 tons of chemical munitions were dumped in the Baltic Sea during World War II; moreover, the map of their burial areas is not definitive and accurate;
the planned large-scale infrastructure projects in the Baltic Sea are especially dangerous for the fragile environment of the Baltic Sea and may have irremediable consequences for the environment;
invites the Baltic Sea States – Member States of the European Union, the European Commission and the EU Presidency to ensure that, when planning large-scale infrastructure projects in the Baltic Sea, the implementation of which may have a considerable impact on all the Baltic Sea States – Member States of the European Union, possible alternative projects would be thoroughly analysed to prevent invasion into the Baltic Sea;
states that large-scale infrastructure projects in the Baltic Sea shall not be commenced, and those that have already commenced must be suspended, until the comparison with possible alternative projects is made, and a comprehensive environmental impact assessment of the project is carried out independently of the companies implementing the project in compliance with the spirit of international law, providing convincing and objective answers to all the questions concerning the risk posed to the environment by the project.