The committee recommended approving the amendment to the EIA with adjustments

Prague - The Parliamentary Committee for Public Administration today recommended that MPs approve the government’s amendment to the law on assessing the impacts of construction projects on the environment, the so-called EIA process. Some MPs argue that the regulation will complicate and prolong the approval of constructions. Government representatives, on the other hand, point out that without the amendment, the drawing of funds from European funds will be jeopardized.
    The amendment aims, among other things, to establish the binding nature of the results of the environmental impact assessment process for subsequent territorial or construction proceedings. The public will be able to legally challenge the decision that a specific project does not need an assessment. The deadline for this so-called screening process is set to be extended from one month to two, according to the government’s version of the bill. The court should have five months to make a decision on the lawsuit.
    The committee recommended that authorities must issue decisions in the screening process within 45 days. It also proposes changes regarding the suspensive effect of lawsuits – it should not be automatic, and the court should always decide on it. However, until a final verdict on the lawsuit, authorities will not be able to issue decisions in further subsequent proceedings. In the case of planned construction of parking lots or garages, the committee wants the screening process to be necessary for projects over 500 spaces. The government proposes a threshold of 100 spaces.
    Reporter Jiří Petrů (CSSD) told ČTK that the amendment raises concerns that the process of territorial and construction proceedings will be unreasonably prolonged. Petr Bendl (ODS) commented in the debate that the regulation will allow almost anyone to complicate construction plans in a "blackmailing manner." "Buildings that we are already constructing for a relatively long time today will take three or four times longer to build," he said.
    Environment Minister Richard Brabec (ANO) previously described the bill as key to drawing about 100 billion crowns from European funds for transportation projects from the current operational program and to start drawing all programs in the new programming period, which amounts to approximately 600 billion crowns. Today he stated that the European Commission "has already clearly shown its teeth" and halted financing for transportation projects worth billions of crowns merely because the Czech Republic is not assessing the impact of constructions in accordance with European directives.
    In the initial round, MPs also forwarded the bill for consideration to the Economic Committee, the Environmental Committee, and the European Committee.