Abstract
The recently voted environmental law in Greece (Law 4685/2020) aims to modernize and simplify the existing provisions and administrative procedures on various topics of national environmental regulation. The draft provisions underwent extensive public consultations with all interested stakeholders on the basis of transparency. The objective of this paper is to present Environmental Law 4685/2020; for methodological reasons, an analysis of each Chapter of the Law is being analyzed. Specifically, the Law comprises of eleven Chapters, each attempting to approach different issues, with 136 articles in total and two annexes, being one of the most ambitious revision proposals in the field of environmental legislation in Europe for the time being. The examination of the Chapters shows that the majority of its provisions stem from European Union legislation, with which Greece -as a member state- needs to comply. In this context, national provisions based on older Directives have been updated, while recent European Union Directives have been transposed, on the basis of new societal needs. The paper concludes that the new Environmental Law is an ambitious legislative framework, which sets more efficient regulatory models and faster procedures in Greece for the preservation of the ecosystems and the promotion of economic development at the same time.
Highlights
On 6 May 2020 a new environmental law (Law 4685/2020) was voted by the Hellenic Parliament and the following day it was published in the Government Gazette (A 92/2020) [1]
The goal of this new legislation is to modernize and simplify the existing legislative framework on various topics of national environmental regulation, such as environmental licensing, forest maps, waste management, renewable energy resources and management of protected areas. These specific areas were chosen for regulation, since they were the most problematic with regards to unnecessary administrative burden, long time frameworks for the completion of the procedures and heavy bureaucracy for the citizens
The intention of drafting and passing a new environmental law was announced in October 2019 by the Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy and the draft provisions underwent extensive public consultations with all interested stakeholders, including co-competent authorities, the business sector, the civil society and non-governmental organizations
Summary
Email address: To cite this article: Vasiliki-Maria Tzatzaki. Recent Developments in Environmental Law in Greece: A Commentary. International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy.
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