Ministerial decree signed

The new institutional framework for environmental licensing promoted by the environment ministry eases the public services by 7,000 files for environmental permits. The ministry signed the decision to classify the projects and activities into categories and subcategories.

The activation of the new law will lead to the immediate abolition of the existing B3 sub-category that corresponded to 4,200 files per year and the abolition of the obligatory study on environmental impact for about 2,800 cases a year.

The aim is for our country to get closer to the European average time required for an environmental permit, which does not exceed 10 months, when the average time in Greece today is more than 20. So far 21,500 files are submitted each year, ie 1,902 studies per one million inhabitants whereas in France, which has the highest
average of European countries, there are ​only 60 cases per 1 million inhabitants.

According to the ministry, the standard environmental commitments for a number of projects and activities will be issued in the first quarter of 2012, including base stations for mobile telephony antennas, tourism facilities, RES and projects in urban development, the building sector, sports and recreation.

After the full development of law No 4014/2011, it is expected that the issuing time for environmental conditions will be four to six months for projects and activities of the A2 and A1 sub-categories respectively, and that it will achieve a major decrease of the administrative burdens afflicting administration, citizens and businesses alike.