Workshop on The Espoo Convention and the Russian Federation: opportunities and challenges

1. Workshop on The Espoo Convention and the Russian Federation: opportunities and challenges The importance of crossborder EIAs: an EU’s standpoint Claude Rouam, Enlargement and Neighbouring Countries, DG Environment, European Commission Friday, 21 September 2007, Moscow

2. Environmental Impact Assessment: Chronology in UNECE and EU

3. EIA according to EU legislation: What assessment? • EIA must identify, describe, assess likely direct and indirect environmental effects of activities on • human beings, • fauna, flora, soil, water, air, climate, landscape, • material assets, cultural heritage, • the interaction between those factors.

4. Annex I projects Annex IIprojects EIA according to EU legislation: What projects? Mandatory EIA Screening by Competent authorities to decide if EIA needed or not

5. EIA according to EU legislation: 5 main steps

6. Transboundary EIA examples in EU countries

7. Status of ratification of ESPOO Convention in the EU

8. "European Principles for the Environment" • Signatories: EIB, EBRD, Nordic Investment Bank, NEFC, Council of Europe, Deutsch Bank • Extract:“In the EU, the EEA countries, the EU Acceding, Candidate and potential Candidate Countries, the Signatories hereby agree to provide financing to public or private sponsors of projects only where the projects comply with the above principles and the relevant secondary EU legislation. Of the EU secondary legislation particular emphasis is given to: • The EU acquis related to environmental assessment; • (…) • We also agree that projects in this region should comply with any obligations and standards enshrined in relevant Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), according to applicable EU law (…). • In all other countries, projects financed by the Signatories are expected to comply with the appropriate EU environmental principles, practices and standards - and with regard to EU financing, due respect for the European Neighbourhood Policy and the EU policy towards Russia -, subject to local conditions. In such financing, we will apply the EPE, with reference to such factors as the costs of application, the local conditions that prevail and the time frame for the phased application for implementing the EPE”.

9. The World Bank: Operational Policy 4.01 (extract) • 1. The Bank requires environmental assessment (EA) of projects proposed for Bank financing to help ensure that they are environmentally sound and sustainable, and thus to improve decision making(…) • 3. EA takes into account the natural environment (air, water and land); human health and safety; social aspects (involuntary resettlement, indigenous peoples, and physical cultural resources; and transboundary and global environmental aspects*. * Global environmental issues include climate change, ozone-depleting substances, pollution of international waters, and adverse impacts on biodiversity.

10. Concluding remarks: some reasons to promote transboundary EIAs • EIA remains a tool to reduce projects costs (taking into account externalities) • Globalisation of the economy: globalisation of environmental challenges • Convergence of requirements of International Financial Institutions • International investors prefer to comply with one set of rules such as ESPOO rather than ad hoc requirements • Multiplication of cases in the recent years confirming that EIAs cannot be done on an exclusive national basis: Temelin, Rosia Montana, Ilisu Dam, Bystroe Canal, Baku/Tbilisi/Ceyhan, Ignalina NPP, Nordstream and many others!

11. Thank you very much for your attention.