As the EU expands, the battle between developers and conservationists intensifies – and its victims look set to be the unspoilt wildernesses and ancient species of the 10 new member states. Ros Coward reports

In her 87 years living in the village of Pely in the heart of the Hungarian countryside, Widow Rab Laszlone has seen many changes, including the end of the Austro-Hungarian empire, two world wars and the rise and fall of communism. But one thing has remained constant: storks, which return every year to nest next to her house. For the past decade, they have adopted the electricity pole by the gate, rather than her roof, but they still cohabit like close neighbours. “Why do you keep dropping those frogs on to my path?” she chides the two storks, reorganising their nest overhead. But Widow Rab isn’t angry. “It’s fine,” she says. “I like them. We’ve always had storks here, since I was a child. Let them stay.”

Full article: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2004/jul/31/europeanunion.weekendmagazine