Source: European Parliament
15.10.2025
Question for written answer E-004066/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Ignazio Roberto Marino (Verts/ALE)
Local citizens are very concerned about the plan to build a 132/20 kV transformer in the Municipality of Ferentillo in Umbria, and have set up a protest group called Noi amiamo Ferentillo [We Love Ferentillo].
The transformer would be located in a Natura 2000 Special Protection Area (SPA) – at a distance of only five metres from the Nera river park and the Quattrini main collector – and could cause significant harm to the area’s biodiversity and to two protected species in particular, the lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) and the greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) – which are classified respectively as endangered and at risk by Italy’s IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species.
This project also risks jeopardising the ERDF ROP funds that have already been allocated, and could also have repercussions for local landscapes. Other issues include the decision to build the transformer in an area with a high risk of hydrogeological and seismic activity, as well as the project’s failure to comply with the opinion issued by Central Apennines District Basin Authority, its potential violation of DNSH principles and its lack of public transparency, a breach of the Aarhus Convention.
In the light of the above:
- 1.Will the Commission check whether the Ferentillo project complies with European environmental and biodiversity rules?
- 2.Will it verify the project’s compliance with the Aarhus Convention?
- 3.Does the Commission think that an assessment is called for to verify whether the project complies with the DNSH principles and whether EU funds have been used properly?
Submitted: 15.10.2025