HomeFor UkraineEU regulations on EIA procedures (2)

EU regulations on EIA procedures (2)

The EIA procedure was introduced into the EU legal system in 1985. Under this procedure, major building or development projects in EU, must be evaluated for the impact they may have on the environment, both natural and on human health and life, before implementation begins.

The first Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (85/337/EEC) came into force in 1985. The Directive has been updated four times to bring it in line with the EU’s international commitments and other legal developments. Subsequent amendments was codified into a single new act: Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, amended by Directive 214/52/EU of 16 April 2014 – farther EIA Directive. Click the link below for the full text of the EIA Directive that is currently in force.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02011L0092-20140515

 

a brief introduction to the EIA system in the European Union, along with the legal basis and guidelines, can be found here:

https://environment.ec.europa.eu/law-and-governance/environmental-assessments/environmental-impact-assessment_en#overviewW

 

While browsing the European Commission's website above, it is worth noting the "Publications" folder, including publications containing guides to selected aspects of EIA, as well as the interpretation of the provisions of the EIA Directive contained in the rulings of the European Court of Justice, collected in the 2022 publication titled: "Environmental impact assessment of projects. Rulings of the Court of Justice of the European union".

 

The EIA Directive defines the project very broadly (Article 1 (2a)), as:

  • “the execution of construction works or of other installations or schemes,
  • other interventions in the natural surroundings and landscape including those involving the extraction of mineral resources;”

while the annexes to the Directive list the types of activities and types of projects that are subject to a full (Annex 1) or partial (Annex 2) EIA procedure. Annex 1 and Annex 2 of the Directives are cited at the end of this article.

 

The full EIA procedure is required for the various projects such as:

  • nuclear power stations
  • long-distance railways
  • motorways
  • express roads
  • waste disposal installations for hazardous waste
  • dams of a certain capacity

For other projects, including urban or industrial development projects, roads, tourism development and canalisation and flood relief works, it is up to individual EU Member States to decide if there will be an EIA on a case-by-case basis or by setting specific criteria (such as the location, size or type of project). This procedure is commonly called screening scoping procedure.

 

In the process of assessing the impact of the planned project on the environment, it is also necessary to refer to regulations governing such aspects as water protection under the Water Framework Directive, nature protection, in accordance with the so-called Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive, and a number of others.

 

The basic catalog of EU regulations that are taken into account in the EIA process are:

 

  • Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament And Of The Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds (codified version) – Birds Directive;

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32009L0147

  • Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (OJ L 206 22.7.1992, p. 7) – Habitat Directive;

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:01992L0043-20130701

  • Communication From The Commission To The European Parliament, The Council, The European Economic And Social Committee And The Committee Of The Regions, EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, Brussels, 20.05.2020;

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0380

  • Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament And Of The Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy – Water Framework Directive.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02000L0060-20141120

 

Particularly relevant in the context of obtaining funds from the EU and from financing entities such as, the World Bank, the European Development Bank, etc., are the issues:

  • related to public access to information and involvement in the decision-making process, which is intended to minimize potential social conflicts;
  • relating to the broadly understood protection of nature and biodiversity, which requires adequate natural reconnaissance of the area at the stage of investment planning and demonstration that the planned project will not cause losses to protected species and habitats;
  • concerning the protection of waters against pollution and taking into account the philosophy of the Water Framework Directive, indicating that planned projects must not only not worsen the current state of waters, but also must not limit the possibility of improving the state of waters; hydromorphological changes and the baffling of watercourses play a special role here.
annex-1-and-annex-2-to-the-article-eu-law-concerning-eia.pdf

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