Controversial plans by Poland to build a motorway through a protected valley are causing growing concern within the EU. The bloc’s environment chief has been meeting his Polish counterpart in Brussels for talks on the project, which would be part of a wider motorway linking Warsaw to Helsinki in Finland via the Baltic states.

The Commission is threatening to take the matter to the European Court of Justice, which means Poland could face a hefty fine or even lose further EU funding if it does not drop the project. It has been the cause of ongoing protests by environmentalists backed by Greenpeace who have set up camp in the Rospuda Valley to prevent construction from going ahead. However, the project also has its supporters, including the residents of Augustow on the border with Lithuania. They believe the highway would alleviate traffic through their town, which they say kills some 20 people every year.

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