The EU refused to reimburse the Czech Republic for infrastructure projects amounting to 11 billion CZK

Prague - The European Union has refused to reimburse the Czech Republic for transport constructions worth 11 billion crowns. This was primarily caused by problems during the procurement process for the D8 highway through the Czech Central Mountains, the construction of the Nymburk bypass, and three water projects, the Aktuálně.cz server reported today. The constructions that the EU refused to reimburse retroactively will have to be funded from national sources.
    "At this moment, it is not possible to say what all the EU will not finance for us, especially regarding additional work," said Martin Novák from the press department of the Ministry of Transport to ČTK. The ministry estimated the value of the additional work to be 4.4 billion crowns. The Minister of Transport, Pavel Dobeš, holds officials and politicians who decided on the constructions responsible for the unutilized subsidies. However, according to Aktuálně.cz, he will not seek their punishment.
    The largest D8 construction does not qualify for EU funding according to the European Commission, as it ignored the requirement that every construction funded by the EU must discuss environmental risks. Reportedly, discussions were not held about the possibility of choosing an alternative route that could avoid locations in a protected landscape area.
    The financial resources that would replace the shortfall of funding from the Operational Program for Transport are not available in the ministry's budget. According to Novák, the office would address this situation by requesting a renewed increase in the budget of the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure, or by saving at the expense of other constructions that are not a priority for the ministry. The ministry did not specify a specific construction but hinted that it would primarily involve city bypasses. Within the operational program, the Czech Republic can draw almost 170 billion crowns for transport infrastructure from 2007 to 2013. By the end of last year, about 17 percent of this amount had been drawn.
    The possibility that the D8 construction could lose financing from the European Operational Program for Transport was acknowledged by the Ministry of Transport in August. At that time, it also began considering reallocating funds originally designated for the D8 to the planned modernization of the D1 highway in Brno. According to the ministry's press department, the main reason for resigning on European funding for the D8 was the inability to complete the construction on time.
    The road bypass around Nymburk will not reach funding due to ambiguities in the procurement process, Aktuálně.cz reported. The originally contracted price of 1.032 billion increased by 131 million crowns during construction, and the Directorate of Roads and Highways did not issue a public tender for this additional work.
    Among the water constructions that the EU refused to reimburse is primarily the lifting bridge in Kolín, which had previously caused the removal of the former director of the Directorate of Waterways, Miroslav Šefara. The contract worth more than 1.2 billion crowns was set up in such a way that only a consortium of companies Viamont DSP, Eurovia, and EDS Holding could compete for it, according to the media.
    The navigation of the Vltava River on two sections between České Budějovice and Týn nad Vltavou reportedly failed due to a simple regulation. The projects were promoted as a so-called water transport route, but on the narrow upper stretch of the national river, only excursion boats can navigate. Thus, the construction did not meet the European standard, unlike, for example, the Elbe between Kolín and Děčín.