§5.2 Environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment and the appropriate assessment

The EIA and SEA Directives require that projects, and plans and programmes, likely to have significant effects on the environment undergo environmental assessment prior to their approval or authorisation. The requirement to assess the significant effects of plans or projects may arise jointly under the SEA or EIA Directives and Article 6(3) of the Habitats Directive. In that case the assessment and permitting procedures can run jointly or in coordination, as provided for by the EIA and SEA Directives. However, assessments carried out pursuant to these Directives cannot replace the procedure and obligations provided for in Article 6(3) and (4) of the Habitats Directive, as neither procedure overrides the other. An appropriate assessment can be reported either within the EIA or SEA report or in a separate report. In either case, the information and conclusions relevant to the appropriate assessment must be distinguishable and differentiated from those of the EIA or SEA. This is necessary as there are a number of important distinctions between the EIA/SEA and appropriate assessment procedures (see (5.2.2 below). It is essential that the information relevant to the appropriate assessment and its conclusions remain clearly distinguishable and identifiable in the environmental impact assessment report so that they can be differentiated from those of the general EIA or SEA. This is necessary as there are a number of important distinctions between the EIA/SEA and the appropriate assessment procedures, which means that an SEA or an EIA cannot replace, or be a substitute for, an appropriate assessment as neither procedure overrides the other . See the Article 6 Guide – section 4.6.1.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07