EU urged to align impact assessment Directives

A new consultancy report produced for DG Environment has argued that the EU should consider aligning its two environmental assessment Directives; the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (EIAⁱ) 85/33EEC and the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive (SEA) 2001/42/EC in order to improve clarity, ensure consistency and harmonise the key stages and elements of the two pieces of legislation.

While the majority of Member States do not regard a simple consolidation of the two Directives as either necessary or desirable, the report argues that there may be benefits to consolidation which would outweigh any drawbacks. It concedes, however, that Member States’ experiences in applying the SEA Directive are limited and admits that, despite possible benefits, it may be premature to consider aligning now these two pieces of legislation. The report nonetheless argues that consolidation should be seriously considered and assessed by the Commission.