Priority Question for Written Answer P-003538/2021

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Priority question for written answer P-003538/2021 to the Commission Rule 138 Alexis Georgoulis (The Left), Dimitrios Papadimoulis (The Left), Konstantinos Arvanitis (The Left), Petros Kokkalis (The Left), Stelios Kouloglou (The Left), Elena Kountoura (The Left) Subject: Protecting heritage and promoting infrastructure in Thessaloniki’s Venizelos metro station The archaeological site revealed during the construction of Thessaloniki’s Venizelos metro station, dating from 4th to 9th century AD and connected to the city’s 15 UNESCO world heritage monuments, is of exceptional importance1. Nevertheless, the Greek Government plans to dismantle this monumental complex (1 500m2), put its pieces into storage and, after the completion of the station, transfer them back and reconstruct it. This choice will destroy the integrity and authenticity of the antiquities (basic principles of the UNESCO 1972 World Heritage Convention2), and is opposed globally by the scientific community3. There is, however, the more time- and cost-efficient technical option, strongly supported by civil and scientific society4, of excavating and constructing the station under the archaeological layers, keeping this important archaeological complex intact in situ5. 1. Is the Commission aware of the appeals of experts and civil society? 2. How will it promote the in situ preservation of this outstanding archaeological site, while ensuring the necessary development of transport infrastructure? 3. Can it confirm that the EU deadline for the completion and functioning of the project is February 2025, and given the fact that the project has been virtually stagnant for the last two years, would it consider extending the deadline? 1 https://www.icomos.org/en/get-involved/inform-us/heritage-alert/current-alerts/86769-heritage-alert-in-situ- preservation-of-antiquities-at-the-venizelos-metro-station-in-thessaloniki-greece 2 https://whc.unesco.org/archive/opguide12-en.pdf 3 https://www.europanostra.org/europa-nostra-board-call-for-thessaloniki-antiquities-to-be-preserved-in-situ/ 4 https://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/l-exceptionnelle-ville-byzantine-decouverte-sous-le-sol-de-thessalonique-est- menacee-de-destruction-20210623 5 http://www.sea.org.gr/details.php?id=1190 PE695.948v01-00.

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