Filenews 19 February 2021 - by Angelos Nikolaou
One step ahead of the European Court of Justice is Cyprus after the Commission sent a reasoned opinion on the delay in strengthening national rules on the environmental impact of public and private projects. The Republic of Cyprus hopes to finally avoid being referred for poor harmonisation of the directive, since what is now expected to be fully aligned with the acquis is the adoption of the relevant bill which has been before the House since last November.
The Commission called on Cyprus to fully transpose the Directive on the assessment of the impact of certain projects, public and private, on the environment (Directive 2011/92/EU), as amended in April 2014 (Directive 2014/52/EU).
According to the Commission, Cyprus has not correctly transposed certain parts of the directive, which means that in our country it is possible to approve projects for which an environmental impact assessment must be carried out even though they do not fully comply with the directive. For example, it notes, Cyprus has not transposed its obligation to ensure that practical information on access to administrative and judicial review procedures is made available to the public. It has also not transposed its obligation to adopt detailed arrangements for consultations.
As Cyprus has not yet complied with its obligations, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion yesterday. Cyprus has two months to respond and take the necessary measures. Otherwise, the Commission may refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Through the Directive, citizens and environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) gain access to justice in cases where they are concerned about the legality of decisions concerning projects undergoing an environmental impact assessment. Access to justice before national courts is now improving and NGOs will have wider opportunities to challenge acts and omissions by institutions and organisations.
The Commission sent a letter of formal notice to the Cypriot authorities on 14/5/2020 on the directive by which the Republic of Cyprus should be fully harmonised by 16/5/2017.
The Environment Department has therefore incorporated the relevant provisions of the Directive and prepared an amending bill amending specific articles and the Second Annex in order to fully harmonise it with the Directive. This bill was submitted to the Attorney General on 27/7/2020 for legislative review, which was completed on 15/9/2020. On the day the legislative audit was completed, the Foreign Ministry informed the Commissioner for the Environment, Virginias Sinkevicius, of the procedure followed by the Authorities of the Republic.
Subsequently, the Council of Ministers at its meeting on 4/11/2020 approved the bill entitled "Law amending the Environmental Impact Assessment of Certain Projects" and was tabled by the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment in the House for its passage into law.
