Environmental impact assessment: Commission decides to refer PORTUGAL to the Court of Justice for failing to correctly transpose EU rules

The Commission decided today to refer Portugal to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to correctly transpose the Directive on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (Directive 2011/92/EU). The Directive was amended in April 2014 (by Directive 2014/52/EU) to reduce the administrative burden and improve the level of environmental protection, while making business decisions on public and private investments more sound, predictable and sustainable.

Portugal has not correctly reflected certain provisions of the amended Directive into national law. For example, the wording of the national provisions exempts more projects from environmental assessment than what the Directive allows. In addition, Portugal does not fully take into account the criteria provided in the Directive when determining whether the projects listed in Annex II shall be made subject to an assessment.

The Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Portugal in October 2019, followed by a reasoned opinion in November 2021. The Portuguese authorities have not fully addressed the grievances. The Commission considers that efforts by the Portuguese authorities have to date been unsatisfactory and insufficient and has therefore decided to refer Portugal to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Background

Under the EIA Directive, major building or development projects in the EU must first be assessed for their impact on the environment. This is done before the project can start. The EIA procedure guarantees environmental protection and transparency with regard to the decision-making process for different types of public and private projects. With its wide scope and broad purpose, the EIA ensures that environmental concerns are considered from the very beginning of new building or development projects, and for their changes or extensions. It further allows the public to actively engage in the EIA procedure.

The EIA Directive regulates the EIA procedure in detail, as even small deviations in the process could make it ineffective. Member States had three years to transpose the amended Directive into national law and a detailed transposition checklist and several guidance documents were made available to facilitate their work. The Directive is particularly relevant for the internal market/business environment, because it is part of the level playing field for public and private investments. In this context, the Directive affects EU co-financed projects and the Commission needs to ensure that the national legislation is aligned to EU rules as quickly as possible.

For More Information

Environmental Impact Assessment webpage

Infringement decisions database

EU infringement procedure

Link to January 2023 infringements package