Editorial note

Council Directive 85/337/EEC on the Assessment of the Effects of Certain Public and Private Projects on the Environment (as amended by Directives 97/11 and 2003/35) is intended to establish an assessment process whereby a minimum amount of information is to be considered by decision-makers before granting development consents.

All projects, public or private, likely to have ‘significant effects on the environment’ are to be assessed (Article 1(1) and Article 2). Member States may decide, on a case-by-case basis, not to apply the Directive to projects serving national defence (Article 1(4)). The Directive does not apply to projects the details of which are approved by a specific act of legislation (Article 1(5)). In exceptional cases, Member States may exempt a specific project from the provisions of the Directive (Article 2(3)). The environmental impact assessment shall identify, describe and assess the direct and indirect effect of a project on: human beings, fauna and flora; soil, water, air, climate change and the landscape; material assets and the cultural heritage; and the interaction between the factors mentioned before (Article 3). The projects listed in Annex I to the Directive are to be subject to an assessment (Article 4(1)). For the projects listed under Annex II, Member States are to determine whether an assessment is required through a case-by-case examination or thresholds or criteria (Article 4(2)).

The environmental impact assessment must be carried out in accordance with Articles 5 to 10 of the Directive.