Filenews 22 October 2022 - by Angelos Nicolaou
The tight time limits given through the bill to facilitate conditional strategic developments and the reactions from opposition parties and organized groups, led to a change of attitude of the ministry in charge of examining environmental studies. In essence, the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment (YGAAP) underlines that "it will not object to the maintenance of the existing procedure, which, however, will lead to an increase in the examination time of a study". In any case, he notes, the aim of YGAAP is "to ensure the conservation of nature and the implementation of the relevant EU directives and remains committed to this goal".
Therefore, priority will be given to the examination of these projects, but there will be no exception to their examination and there will be no environmental discounts once the procedures provided for under the Law of Environmental Impact Assessment are followed by certain Projects.
That is, major projects, as they are characterized through the proposed legislation and regulations, will go through the Environmental Impact Assessment process which means the process consisting of the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or the provision of Information by the developer, the conduct of consultations and / or updates and / or notifications, the evaluation of the Study or the Information by the Environmental Authority, the issuance of an Opinion or a Reasoned Finding of the Environmental Authority and the incorporation of the Opinion in the decisions of the Planning Authority or the Council of Ministers or the competent state service.
Based on the existing procedure and provided that the environmental study to be submitted is complete, the time required for the examination of the MEEP until the opinion is about six months. However, based on the proposed bill and under the chapter on the Environmental Impact Assessment Study, it is noted that the head of the Strategic Investments Division, in the context of the examination of the application for planning permission, asks the investor to conduct and submit an MEEP, as well as a Special Ecological Assessment Study (MEOA), if the proposed development may affect a Natura 2000 site. If the EDA demonstrates irreversible effects on the Natura 2000 site, the project is rejected.
The Department of Environment, if it deems that the Study is not sufficient, within 10 days, may ask the investor to submit any additional information. All information is also posted on the website of the Department of Environment and within 30 days anyone interested can submit opinions or performances.
If the information is sufficient, the Director of the Department of Environment may request electronically, by letter or in a meeting, that the views of the specialized knowledge and opinions of the competent services, local authorities, organized groups, or government organizations or specialized individuals be submitted within 15 days.
Immediately afterwards, based on the provisions of the bill, the Director of the Department of Environment proceeds to an evaluation and prepares a fully reasoned opinion, which he forwards to the head of the Strategic Development Division within one month from the date of completion of the process. If the project affects a Natura 2000 site, the opinion shall be prepared within two months.
It is noted that for years the Association of Major Developments has been asking to simplify the licensing process of strategic investments by reducing bureaucracy, in order to proceed with 25 projects beyond €50 million each with the total value of the developments exceeding €8 billion.
The new licensing policy with the proposed bill concerning the facilitation of Strategic Developments, is currently being discussed in the Interior Committee of the Parliament, with the Ministry of Interior expecting soon to become a law of the State. The aim of the bill is for large investments, at a cost of more than €20 million, to secure all the required permits within 12 months.
In order for the investment to be classified as a strategy, it must meet specific conditions relating to productive economic activity and contribute to the development of the economy, as well as meet one or more objective criteria set out in the regulations accompanying the legislation. These are: a) Minimum investment of €20 million, of which at least 75% comes from primary capital (new, liquid, available funds directly linked to the project, from the company's retained earnings, from borrowed capital or from the issuance of shares of the project) and / or external funds (funds that come to Cyprus from abroad as an inflow into the capital account).
b) Creation of at least 80 new permanent jobs, of any type or 50 new permanent positions with an annual salary in the Republic of Cyprus of more than €1.5 million.
c) Capital investments and creation of new jobs as follows: minimum investment of €15 million. capital investment, of which at least 75% comes from primary capital and the creation of 30 new permanent jobs.
d) Investment of a landmark company (Anchor Company) i.e. the company is a well-known multinational of international reputation which will develop business activity in Cyprus and is registered in relevant international lists, FORBES 2000, NASDAQ 500, FTSE 350.
Fast track and evaluation of environmental studies
The proposed bill aims to institutionalize the framework for investment licensing, through the creation of a Fast Track mechanism, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment (YGAAP). The operation of the proposed mechanism is expected to attract and facilitate large and important investments for the country, which will contribute to growth and job creation.
According to the YGAAP, the proposed legislation concerns only the reduction of the timeframes for the issuance of environmental permits and not the content of the legislation that governs them.
To this end, the Department of Environment participated in the preparation phase of the bill, introducing provisions for the environmental impact assessment procedure in accordance with Law 127(I)/2018, as well as for the special ecological assessment procedure in the case of proposed developments that may affect a Natura 2000 network area in accordance with Law 153(I)/2003.
Specifically, for each strategic investment, an Environmental Impact Assessment Study will be submitted and evaluated by the Environmental Authority after mandatory consultation with competent Departments that apply environmental acquis, as well as local Authorities, organized groups, non-governmental organizations or specialized individuals. The deletion of the provisions for the operation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Committee with physical meeting and presence from this bill, which respectively is provided for in Law 127(I)/2018, aims to accelerate the evaluation process and reduce administrative complexity, but does not negate the need for consultation with special scientists and experts. At the same time, the provisions for public consultation and presentation are maintained, in accordance with the provisions of the Aarhus Convention.
Respectively, in the event that a strategic investment is likely to affect a Natura 2000 site, a Special Ecological Assessment Study will be submitted and the relevant provisions of Law 153(I)/2003 will be applied, in order for the potential impacts on the protected species and habitats to be avoided, prevented and reduced or the project not to proceed otherwise.
According to the Department of Environment, under no circumstances is there any intention to downgrade the quality assessment of environmental studies.
INTERVENTION
The right action of the Ministry of Agriculture
For years, those who promote large developments in environmentally sensitive areas have been trying to circumvent procedures in order to obtain environmental approvals at the expense of the site. This is also provided for in this bill to facilitate strategic developments, which is currently being considered by the parliamentary Home Affairs Committee. We cannot know how it arrived in its final form as it was submitted to Parliament, but what we do know is that it is impossible within a month to complete the consultation, evaluate the project and give environmental approval. Therefore, we welcome yesterday's intervention by the Ministry of Agriculture, which has understood the problem that exists in this bill and has no qualms about changing its position, so that all proposed developments, regardless of size and interests, go through the proper permitting process.
