In an infringement procedure, Austria and Hungary were informed with reasoned opinions. According to the revised EIA Directive, large construction or development projects in the EU must be assessed for their environmental impacts before the project begins.

EU Commission: Austrian law does not guarantee adequate EIA for large projects

Brussels/Vienna. According to the EU Commission, Austrian law does not ensure an adequate assessment. This particularly concerns the assessment of cumulative impacts, the criteria for the type, size, or location of a project, as well as the project thresholds. According to the Commission, projects could be approved without sufficiently considering their environmental impacts. This could lead to potential harm to the environment and human health, warns Brussels. In Hungary, national law provides general exemptions from conducting EIAs, instead of restricting them to exceptional cases.

The Commission sent letters of formal notice to Austria in April 2024 and to Hungary in July 2019 for full implementation of the EU Directive. However, both countries have not yet fully addressed the deficiencies. As the next step in the infringement procedure, the Brussels authority has now sent reasoned opinions to Hungary and Austria. Vienna and Budapest now have two months to respond and take the necessary measures. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to bring the cases before the Court of Justice of the European Union.

(APA/Red)

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