CHAPTER III

The adoption of the Union list shall establish, for the purposes of any decisions issued in the permit granting process, the necessity of these projects from an energy policy perspective, without prejudice to the exact location, routing or technology of the project. For the purpose of ensuring efficient administrative processing of the application files related to projects of common interest, project promoters and all authorities concerned shall ensure that the most rapid treatment legally possible is given to these files. Where such status exists in national law, projects of common interest shall be allocated the status of the highest national significance possible and be treated as such in permit granting processes — and if national law so provides, in spatial planning — including those relating to environmental assessments, in the manner such treatment is provided for in national law applicable to the corresponding type of energy infrastructure. By 16 August 2013, the Commission shall issue non-binding guidance to support Member States in defining adequate legislative and non-legislative measures to streamline the environmental assessment procedures and to ensure the coherent application of environmental assessment procedures required under Union law for projects of common interest. Member States shall assess, taking due account of the guidance referred to in paragraph 4, which measures to streamline the environmental assessment procedures and to ensure their coherent application are possible, and shall inform the Commission of the result. By nine months from the date of issue of the guidance referred to in paragraph 4, Member States shall take the non-legislative measures that they have identified under paragraph 5. By 24 months from the date of issue of the guidance referred to in paragraph 4, Member States shall take the legislative measures that they have identified under paragraph 5. These measures shall be without prejudice to obligations resulting from Union law. With regard to the environmental impacts addressed in Article 6(4) of Directive 92/43/EEC and Article 4(7) of Directive 2000/60/EC, projects of common interest shall be considered as being of public interest from an energy policy perspective, and may be considered as being of overriding public interest, provided that all the conditions set out in these Directives are fulfilled. Should the opinion of the Commission be required in accordance with Directive 92/43/EEC, the Commission and the competent authority referred to in Article 9 of this Regulation shall ensure that the decision with regard to the overriding public interest of a project is taken within the time limit pursuant to Article 10(1) of this Regulation. By 16 November 2013, each Member State shall designate one national competent authority which shall be responsible for facilitating and coordinating the permit granting process for projects of common interest. The responsibility of the competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 and/or the tasks related to it may be delegated to, or carried out by, another authority, per project of common interest or per particular category of projects of common interest, provided that: the competent authority notifies the Commission of that delegation and the information therein is published by either the competent authority or the project promoter on the website referred to in Article 9(7); only one authority is responsible per project of common interest, is the sole point of contact for the project promoter in the process leading to the comprehensive decision for a given project of common interest, and coordinates the submission of all relevant documents and information. The competent authority may retain the responsibility to establish time limits, without prejudice to the time limits set in accordance with Article 10. Without prejudice to relevant requirements under international and Union law, the competent authority shall take actions to facilitate the issuing of the comprehensive decision. The comprehensive decision shall be issued within the time limit referred to in Article 10(1) and (2) and according to one of the following schemes: integrated scheme: the comprehensive decision shall be issued by the competent authority and shall be the sole legally binding decision resulting from the statutory permit granting procedure. Where other authorities are concerned by the project, they may, in accordance with national law, give their opinion as input to the procedure, which shall be taken into account by the competent authority; coordinated scheme: the comprehensive decision comprises multiple individual legally binding decisions issued by several authorities concerned, which shall be coordinated by the competent authority. The competent authority may establish a working group where all concerned authorities are represented in order to draw up a permit granting schedule in accordance with Article 10(4)(b), and to monitor and coordinate its implementation. The competent authority shall, in consultation with the other authorities concerned, where applicable in accordance with national law, and without prejudice to time limits set in accordance with Article 10, establish on a case-by-case basis a reasonable time limit within which the individual decisions shall be issued. The competent authority may take an individual decision on behalf of another national authority concerned, if the decision by that authority is not delivered within the time limit and if the delay cannot be adequately justified; or, where provided under national law, and to the extent that this is compatible with Union law, the competent authority may consider that another national authority concerned has either given its approval or refusal for the project if the decision by that authority is not delivered within the time limit. Where provided under national law, the competent authority may disregard an individual decision of another national authority concerned if it considers that the decision is not sufficiently substantiated with regard to the underlying evidence presented by the national authority concerned; when doing so, the competent authority shall ensure that the relevant requirements under international and Union law are respected and shall duly justify its decision; collaborative scheme: the comprehensive decision shall be coordinated by the competent authority. The competent authority shall, in consultation with the other authorities concerned, where applicable in accordance with national law, and without prejudice to time limits set in accordance with Article 10, establish on a case-by-case basis a reasonable time limit within which the individual decisions shall be issued. It shall monitor compliance with the time limits by the authorities concerned. If an individual decision by an authority concerned is not expected to be delivered within the time limit, that authority shall inform the competent authority without delay and include a justification for the delay. Subsequently, the competent authority shall reset the time limit within which that individual decision shall be issued, whilst still complying with the overall time limits set in accordance with Article 10. Acknowledging the national specificities in planning and permit granting processes, Member States may choose among the three schemes referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph to facilitate and coordinate their procedures and shall opt to implement the most effective scheme. Where a Member State chooses the collaborative scheme, it shall inform the Commission of its reasons therefor. The Commission shall undertake an evaluation of the effectiveness of the schemes in the report referred to in Article 17. Member States may apply different schemes as set out in paragraph 3 to onshore and offshore projects of common interest. If a project of common interest requires decisions to be taken in two or more Member States, the respective competent authorities shall take all necessary steps for efficient and effective cooperation and coordination among themselves, including as regards the provisions referred to in Article 10(4). Member States shall endeavour to provide for joint procedures, particularly with regard to the assessment of environmental impacts. By 16 May 2014, the Member State or competent authority shall, where applicable in collaboration with other authorities concerned, publish a manual of procedures for the permit granting process applicable to projects of common interest. The manual shall be updated as necessary and made available to the public. The manual shall at least include the information specified in Annex VI.1. The manual shall not be legally binding, but it may refer to or quote relevant legal provisions. Without prejudice to any requirements under the Aarhus and Espoo Conventions and relevant Union law, all parties involved in the permit granting process shall follow the principles for public participation set out in of Annex VI.3. The project promoter shall, within an indicative period of three months of the start of the permit granting process pursuant to Article 10(1)(a), draw up and submit a concept for public participation to the competent authority, following the process outlined in the manual referred to in paragraph 1 and in line with the guidelines set out in Annex VI. The competent authority shall request modifications or approve the concept for public participation within three months; in so doing, the competent authority shall take into consideration any form of public participation and consultation that took place before the start of the permit granting process, to the extent that such public participation and consultation has fulfilled the requirements of this Article. Where the project promoter intends to make significant changes to an approved concept, it shall inform the competent authority thereof. In that case the competent authority may request modifications. At least one public consultation shall be carried out by the project promoter, or, where required by national law, by the competent authority, before submission of the final and complete application file to the competent authority pursuant to Article 10(1)(a). This shall be without prejudice to any public consultation to be carried out after submission of the request for development consent according to Article 6(2) of Directive 2011/92/EU. The public consultation shall inform stakeholders referred to in Annex VI.3(a) about the project at an early stage and shall help to identify the most suitable location or trajectory and the relevant issues to be addressed in the application file. The minimum requirements applicable to this public consultation are specified in Annex VI.5. The project promoter shall prepare a report summarising the results of activities related to the participation of the public prior to the submission of the application file, including those activities that took place before the start of the permit granting process. The project promoter shall submit that report together with the application file to the competent authority. Due account shall be taken of these results in the comprehensive decision. For projects crossing the border of two or more Member States, the public consultations pursuant to paragraph 4 in each of the Member States concerned shall take place within a period of no more than two months from the date on which the first public consultation started. For projects likely to have significant adverse cross-border impacts in one or more neighbouring Member States, where Article 7 of Directive 2011/92/EU and the Espoo Convention are applicable, the relevant information shall be made available to the competent authority of the neighbouring Member States. The competent authority of the neighbouring Member States shall indicate, in the notification process where appropriate, whether it, or any other authority concerned, wishes to participate in the relevant public consultation procedures. The project promoter, or, where national law so provides, the competent authority, shall establish and regularly update a website with relevant information about the project of common interest, which shall be linked to the Commission website and which shall meet the requirements specified in Annex VI.6. Commercially sensitive information shall be kept confidential. Project promoters shall also publish relevant information by other appropriate information means to which the public has open access. The permit granting process shall consist of two procedures: The pre-application procedure, covering the period between the start of the permit granting process and the acceptance of the submitted application file by the competent authority, shall take place within an indicative period of two years. This procedure shall include the preparation of any environmental reports to be prepared by the project promoters. For the purpose of establishing the start of the permit granting process, the project promoters shall notify the project to the competent authority of the Member States concerned in written form, and shall include a reasonably detailed outline of the project. No later than three months following the receipt of the notification, the competent authority shall, including on behalf of other authorities concerned, acknowledge or, if it considers the project as not mature enough to enter the permit granting process, reject the notification in written form. In the event of a rejection, the competent authority shall justify its decision, including on behalf of other authorities concerned. The date of signature of the acknowledgement of the notification by the competent authority shall serve as the start of the permit granting process. Where two or more Member States are concerned, the date of the acceptance of the last notification by the competent authority concerned shall serve as the date of the start of the permit granting process. The statutory permit granting procedure, covering the period from the date of acceptance of the submitted application file until the comprehensive decision is taken, shall not exceed one year and six months. Member States may set an earlier date for the time-limit, if considered appropriate. The combined duration of the two procedures referred to in paragraph 1 shall not exceed a period of three years and six months. However, where the competent authority considers that one or both of the two procedures of the permit granting process will not be completed before the time limits as set out in paragraph 1, it may decide, before their expiry and on a case by case basis, to extend one or both of those time limits by a maximum of nine months for both procedures combined. In that case, the competent authority shall inform the Group concerned and present to the Group concerned the measures taken or to be taken to conclude the permit granting process with the least possible delay. The Group may request the competent authority to report regularly on progress achieved in this regard. In Member States where the determination of a route or location undertaken solely for the specific purpose of a planned project, including the planning of specific corridors for grid infrastructures, cannot be included in the process leading to the comprehensive decision, the corresponding decision shall be taken within a separate period of six months, starting on the date of submission of the final and complete application documents by the promoter. In that case, the extension period referred to in paragraph 2 shall be reduced to six months, including for the procedure referred to in this paragraph. The pre-application procedure shall comprise the following steps: upon the acknowledgement of the notification pursuant to paragraph 1(a), the competent authority shall identify, in close cooperation with the other authorities concerned, and where appropriate on the basis of a proposal by the project promoter, the scope of material and level of detail of information to be submitted by the project promoter, as part of the application file, to apply for the comprehensive decision. The checklist referred to in Annex VI.1(e) shall serve as a basis for this identification; the competent authority shall draw up, in close cooperation with the project promoter and other authorities concerned and taking into account the results of the activities carried out under point (a), a detailed schedule for the permit granting process in line with the guidelines set out in Annex VI.(2); For projects crossing the border between two or more Member States, the competent authorities of the Member States concerned shall prepare a joint schedule, in which they endeavour to align their timetables; upon receipt of the draft application file, the competent authority shall, if necessary, and including on behalf of other authorities concerned, make further requests regarding missing information to be submitted by the project promoter, which may only address subjects identified under point (a). Within three months of the submission of the missing information, the competent authority shall accept for examination the application in written form. Requests for additional information may only be made if they are justified by new circumstances. The project promoter shall ensure the completeness and adequate quality of the application file and seek the competent authority’s opinion on this as early as possible during the pre-application procedure. The project promoter shall cooperate fully with the competent authority to meet deadlines and comply with the detailed schedule as defined in paragraph 4(b). The time limits laid down in this Article shall be without prejudice to obligations arising from international and Union law, and without prejudice to administrative appeal procedures and judicial remedies before a court or tribunal.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-30 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.