Call for support to develop guidance for streamlining environmental assessment procedures of energy infrastructure 'Projects of common interest'
The European Commission has published a call for support to develop guidance for streamlining environmental assessment procedures of energy infrastructure 'Projects of common interest' (PCI). The purpose of the call is to provide support to the Commission to identify and assess possible measures to streamline environmental assessment procedures and ensure their coherent application for PCIs as defined in the proposed Energy Infrastructure Regulation. Streamlining means coordinating the various procedures with a view to eliminating redundancies and overlapping and shortening the time needed to come to a decision, but also to allow for an overall assessment of environmental effects. It will be necessary to assess the national laws of the Member States and establish permitting practices for the relevant infrastructure projects. The measures should be targeted at Member States, competent authorities and project promoters. The findings of such work will be used by the Commission to develop guidance on the basis of which Member States can take action in order to streamline the environmental assessment procedures of the relevant EU environmental directives for PCIs. (This is without prejudice to obligations resulting from such legislation.)To see the official call announcement, please consult: OJ No S 9 of 14 January 2012(opens in new window)