The EU's SEA Directive: status and links to integration and sustainable development

Abstract

Strategic Environmental Assessment has been discussed, and its principles successfully tested over a long period within the EU and beyond. Whereas a legal framework exists, which obliges the 15 EU Member States to carry out environmental impact assessments for a number of economic activities since 1985, the resistance to adopt another piece of environmental legislation covering the planning and programming level was quite high. The reasons for this are manyfold and include national fears of being overregulated and an ever-increasing influence of economic power where environmental concerns are often regarded as obstacles. Nevertheless, the Member States acknowledged the need and urge to strive for a balanced recognition of environmental matters at early stages of decision making in order to achieve a meaningful preventive approach. The principles of early environmental assessment are clearly very convincing since other pieces of environmental legislation started including key elements of SEA. The future SEA Directive will ensure that important gaps are closed and useful linkages established to allow for efficient results. The SEA Directive will significantly help to make environmental integration happen in reality with a view to contributing to sustainable development since it is a valuable tool among the different approaches that are being tried out and developed for this purpose.