EU Commission urges CZECHIA and CYPRUS to correct their systems of environmental impact assessment

The Commission is urging Czechia and Cyprus to bring their national legislation into line with the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (Directive 2011/92/EU) as it was amended in April 2014 by Directive 2014/52/EU.

The Directive ensures that the impact on the environment of public and private projects is assessed before they are authorised.

Since 2014 the administrative burdens are further reduced and the level of environmental protection and public participation improved, while making business decisions on public and private investments more sound, predictable and sustainable.

In Czechia, shortcomings in the national law relate, among others, to the absence of the requirement that the competent authority takes into account preliminary verifications and assessments when issuing its screening decision. There is also currently no obligation to make publicly available the mitigating measures, which the developer proposed in order to avoid or prevent significant adverse effects on the environment.

In the case of Cyprus, the national legislation does not call for detailed arrangements for consultation with the public to be laid down as required by the Directive, nor does it oblige the competent national authorities to ensure that practical information is made available to the public on access to administrative and judicial review procedures.

Therefore, considering the environmental governance has a key role in enabling the proper functioning of different sectoral rules, the Commission has decided to send letters of formal notice to the two Member States, giving them four months to remedy the problems. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to send a reasoned opinion.

Vivian Loonela