Brussels, 23/06/2003 (Agence Europe) - Four years after the deadline for transposition of directive 97/11/EC on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the Member States have a long way to go correctly to implement this vital legislation, which brings in environmental concerns at the planning level of programmes and projects.
The report which the European Commission has just published on the implementation of this directive over the past five years bears witness to this, as do numerous complaints from citizens and the infringement proceedings underway against defaulting Member States (258 cases, 65% of which point to incorrect application of the directive). Denmark is top of the class with no infringement, Spain bottom with 15.
According to this report, the main problems with implementation stem from the following factors: - the way Member States determine need for impact assessment (the directive allows them discretionary powers for projects which may have a considerable impact on the environment, the ceilings for evaluation vary from one State to another, and are often too high); - the practice of "salami-slicing" large projects, such as motorway construction, in order to escape the obligation to carry out an evaluation; - insufficient or too-short public consultation.
Presenting this report to the Press, Margot Wallström, Environment Commissioner, stressed the benefits that can be drawn from a correctly carried out impact assessment with the participation of the citizens. "The EIA directive forces developers and the authorities to look for less environmentally harmful alternatives to a project. If it is applied correctly, it guarantees that economic growth does not come at too high a price for the environment. However, it is not being applied as it should. It offers an excellent way of including environmental concerns at planning stage. My hope is that the environmental impact assessment gradually forms a new generation of decision-makers". She quoted the exemplary case of the extension of Denmark's second airport at Billund, which got the green light following an EIA and has not received a single complaint, because the objective of noise reduction was achieved using the most ecological and economical solution. "Due to good co-operation and constant dialogue between the environmental authority of Ribe County and the public, alternatives were discussed. The EIA concluded that the same reduction of noise levels could be achieved by changing the take-off procedure (...) which also saved 40.4 million EUR, and reduced the number of homes exposed to noise from 1,290 to 328", she stated.
Although the Commission has not ruled out modifying the directive at some stage, Margot Wallström believes it will not be any time soon, as the report on implementation sees no need for it. "In the short term, Member States must develop their capability for a more harmonised implementation". The Commission will help them by preparing a guide to the most problematic provisions. This, however, will not prevent it from pursuing the infringement procedures underway to force all Member States to conform to their obligations.