Plans to revise the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (EIA) ignore the additional financial and administrative burden it will create for Europe's local governments, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) has warned. The Committee also argues that the European Commission proposal, which seek to revise environmental assessment legislation for major projects, must remain far more flexible in its approach and does not give enough consideration to the differing planning procedures that exist across Member States.
The EIA Directive, which has been revised several times since it came into force 25 years ago, makes it mandatory for all large development projects to review the impact they may have on the environment during the planning process. The Commission proposals to revise the Directive was the focus of an opinion by Marek Sowa (PL/EPP), Marshal of the Małopolska Voivodship, adopted during the CoR's plenary yesterday. Sowa stresses that local and regional authorities play a central role in managing the planning consent process on the ground. He fears, however, that the new revisions will significantly increase costs and place further administrative burden on local and regional authorities.
See full Press Release: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_COR-13-47_en.htm?locale=en
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