Annex I projects under the EU EIA Directive are subject to a mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) because they are considered to have a significant impact on the environment by default. Here is a detailed breakdown of how these projects are handled under the Directive:
1. Scope of Annex I
Annex I includes large-scale and high-impact projects across sectors such as energy, infrastructure, industry, waste management, and water resources. Examples include:
- Crude-oil refineries, chemical plants, and installations for the production of iron and steel
- Nuclear power stations and other nuclear reactors including the dismantling or decommissioning of such power
stations or reactors - Thermal power stations and other combustion installations with a heat output of 300 megawatts or more
- Motorways, express roads, and long railway lines
- Airports with a basic runway length >2,100 meters
- Inland waterways and ports for inland-waterway traffic which permit the passage of vessels of over 1 350 tonnes
- Dams and reservoirs with a holding capacity >10 million m³
- Waste incinerators and hazardous waste disposal facilities
- Pipelines with a diameter of more than 800 mm and a length of more than 40 km
- Quarries and open-cast mining where the surface of the site exceeds 25 hectares
- Construction of overhead electrical power lines with a voltage of 220 kV or more and a length of more than 15 km
- Installations for the capture of CO2 streams for the purposes of geological storage.
These developments are listed because of their inherent scale, emissions, land use, or resource consumption. Exemptions exist for each of those project types, when considered of small scales and no significant impact to the environment.
2. Key Procedural Steps for Annex I Projects
Since EIA is mandatory, the procedure involves a full assessment with clearly defined stages under the Directive (especially post-amendments under Directive 2014/52/EU):
a. Scoping (optional but recommended)
The developer may request a scoping opinion from the competent authority to define the extent and level of detail required in the Environmental Impact Assessment Report. This improves efficiency and reduces unnecessary information.
b. Preparation of the EIA report
The developer is responsible for preparing the Report with assistance of competent third-party environmental consultants. It must include, among other things:
- Description of the project (location, design, size)
- Description of baseline environmental conditions
- Identification of significant effects (direct, indirect, cumulative, short- and long-term)
- Mitigation measures
- Reasonable alternatives considered (including the “do nothing” scenario)
- Non-technical summary
Find more details about the EIA process in this post.
c. Public consultation
The public and environmental authorities must be consulted, in alignment with the Aarhus Convention — which guarantees public rights regarding access to information, public participation, and access to justice in environmental matters.
This includes publishing the EIA Report and allowing sufficient time for public comments — usually at least 30 days. Comments must be taken into account before the decision is made.
d. Transboundary consultation (if applicable)
If a project is likely to have significant effects in another Member State, the affected country must be notified and consulted. This follows the Espoo Convention principles.
Examples of projects include industrial facilities near borders, infrastructure such as highways or energy lines that run close to or cross borders, and hydroelectric dams or water abstraction projects affecting shared rivers or groundwater.
In this case, the State of origin must notify the affected Member State(s providing details such as the project description, possible cross-border impacts, and the nature of the decision to be made.
If the affected State agrees to participate, it is provided with the EIA Report and any relevant documents, which it must then make available to its own public and environmental authorities to submit comments.
e. Reasoned conclusion and Development Consent
The authority reviews the EIA Report and feedback from public consultations, then issue a reasoned conclusion on the environmental effects and incorporate this into the development consent decision. The final decision must be publicly disclosed, including:
- The content of the decision
- The reasons and considerations on which it is based
- How environmental considerations and public participation were integrated
3. Quality and monitoring requirements
Under the EU EIA Directive, both quality and monitoring requirements are established to ensure that the EIA process is rigorous and effective. For quality, Member States are required to ensure that experts preparing the EIA Report are competent and qualified, and that competent authorities have the necessary expertise to thoroughly review the report.
The information within the report must be comprehensive, accurate, and clear, providing sufficient information about the likely environmental impacts of a project. This ensures that the decision-making process is based on high-quality assessments.
In terms of monitoring, the Directive mandates that, where relevant, monitoring measures should be included as part of the development consent. The monitoring should focus on significant environmental impacts and be proportional to the project’s nature and scale, ensuring that mitigation measures are properly implemented and that long-term effects are managed effectively.
4. Timing and integration
Under the EU EIA Directive, the EIA process must be integrated into the overall development consent procedure, meaning that it is not a separate approval process but a critical part of the planning or permitting process.
This integration ensures that environmental concerns are addressed early in the project development, before any significant commitment to the project is made.
Therefore, the EIA process must be completed before the final decision on whether the project is allowed to proceed, giving authorities enough time to assess its potential environmental impacts.
Additionally, the Directive encourages Member States to avoid duplication with other environmental assessments required by EU law, such as those related to habitats (Natura 2000) or water management, ensuring that multiple assessments are coordinated and streamlined to avoid unnecessary delays and overlap.
This approach guarantees that the project’s potential environmental impacts are thoroughly considered from the outset, reducing the risk of unforeseen consequences during implementation.
The Environment Consultant 