The new Industrial Emissions Directive

The EIA Directive followed the example of the U.S. policies on environmental impact assessment at European level in 1985, with the aim of assessing the environmental effects of certain decisions in advance, which is required for certain projects. The directive was amended three times. The amendments concerned the following issues and show the development of environmental impact assessment in Europe during the last few years:

• Directive 97/11/EC brought the directive into line with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE) Espoo Convention on EIA in a transboundary context. The 1997 Directive widened the scope of the EIA Directive by increasing the types of projects covered, and the number of projects requiring mandatory environmental impact assessment (Annex I). It also provided for new screening arrangements, including new screening criteria (in Annex III) for Annex II projects, and established minimum information requirements.
• Directive 2003/35/EC sought to align the provisions on public participation with the Aarhus Convention on public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters.
• Directive 2009/31/EC amended Annexes I and II of the EIA Directive by adding projects related to the transport, capture and storage of carbon dioxide (CO2).

On 26 October 2012 the Commission adopted the proposal for a new directive that would amend the previous directive. The proposal is intended to lighten unnecessary administrative burdens and make it easier to assess potential impacts, without weakening existing environmental safeguards. The quality of the decision-making process will be reinforced, current levels of environmental protection will be improved, and businesses should enjoy a more harmonised regulatory framework. The changes are also forward-looking and emerging challenges that are important to the European Union as a whole in areas such as resource efficiency, climate change, biodiversity and disaster prevention will now be reflected in the assessment process.