Overview

• The environmental NGO BUND has filed a lawsuit against the A20 highway extension in Schleswig-Holstein, citing habitat and species protection violations and procedural errors.
• BUND has waived its right to an emergency injunction, allowing the plan for the 10 km Segeberg bypass to be immediately executable unless further legal challenges arise by the end of May.
• State authorities are optimistic that preparatory construction for the bypass near Bad Segeberg could commence later this year, pending no additional legal hurdles.
• The A20 project has been contested for over a decade, with a 2013 federal court ruling halting progress due to insufficient bat protection in Germany's largest bat overwintering site, the Segeberger Kalkberghöhlen.
• While NABU has opted not to sue, the organization emphasizes the project's significant environmental and climate impacts, highlighting divisions within the conservation community.