On 22 January 2013 Roberto Giurastante present in Brussels his two petitions against the construction of Gas Natural’s LNG terminal in Trieste.
- Petition 483/2007, regarding the breach of EU environmental measures for the E.I.A. (Environmental Impact Assessment) and on dangerous industrial plants (Seveso directive);
- Petition 1147/2008, regarding the LNG terminal envisioned in Zaule (near Muggia).
In August 2011 Mr. Giurastante implemented both of his petitions addressing the legal status of both the Free Territory of Trieste and its international Free Port.
In 2012 the EU provided a first, positive answer about it. Follow the most recent ones.
BRUSSELES, August 2012:
Commissioner Šemeta confirmed the status of Trieste’s international Free Port. The European Commissions Directorate-General for Justice declared that it cannot take action because Trieste’s legal status falls outside Community law.
BRUSSELES, 22 January 2013:
Mr. Victor Boştinaru: “[…] Under international law, also Trieste’s special status must be taken into account. Therefore the Commission, when it comes to E.I.A.s, obviously cannot initiate them before settling said legal questions. Indeed, how is it possible initiating an E.I.A. or a S.E.A. (Strategic Environmental Assessment) for a body that has a particular international legal status […] ?”
Mr. Ion Codescu: “Thanks, President. At the moment the European Commission is investigating the matter, we are doing this since a couple of years. The Trieste area is the subject of many assessment and many investigations, I’d like to talk about them, because they range on different matters. First and foremost, a new pilot survey regarding changes in the port and in the use of the surrounding area; this is not directly about LNG terminals, but it is about the general plans for the use of the territory and of the port. […]”
The European Commission confirms Free Trieste’s legal studies.
The European Commission has the authority to order compliance with the laws in force. This is also true for the local Italian authorities who illegally simulate Italian sovereignty over the Free Territory of Trieste.
It is worth repeating that the Italian legal order enforces and implements the 1947 Treaty of Peace (Legislative Decree n. 1430 of 28 November 1947) and this includes art. 21.2:
Italian sovereignty over the area constituting the Free Territory of Trieste, as above defined, shall be terminated upon the coming into force of the present Treaty.
The same Decree is ratified under Italian Law No. 3054 of 25 November 1952, providing that:
The present Decree, bearing the State Seal, shall be inserted among the official collection of legislative acts of the Italian Republic. It is the duty of all to observe it and ensure that it is observed.
Law No. 3054/1952 came into force upon its publication on the Italian Official Gazzette (HERE), and it is in force as a domestic Italian Law.
Update: watch Roberto Giurastante’s discussion before the Committee on Petitions HERE. (This video is the source of Mr. Boştinaru and Mr. Codescu’s statements translated above).
Read Mr. Giurastante’s statement in English HERE.