EU Commission Calls On France To Adopt Ecological Assessment For Projects Before Approval

The European Commission on Thursday voiced its decision to send Paris a repeat notice demanding that its legislation be shifted to be in line with the EU's, under which all public and private projects undergo an "environmental impact assessment" before being authorized

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th February, 2021) The European Commission on Thursday voiced its decision to send Paris a repeat notice demanding that its legislation be shifted to be in line with the EU's, under which all public and private projects undergo an "environmental impact assessment" before being authorized.

The EU directive in question was adopted by the bloc's member states in April 2014. The Commission had already sent a formal notice to Paris in 2019, but French legislation has so far failed to adopt certain aspects. In particular, it lacks "the transposition of the obligation on the competent authority," designed to determine whether a project must undergo environmental impact assessment before official approval.

"The Commission has decided to send an additional letter of formal notice to France, to which it has two months to respond. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to send a reasoned opinion," the authority said in a statement.

The Commission also noted that compliance with such a directive is vital to meeting the EU's common environmental objectives.