Physical & Cultural Environment

Environmental Protection and Industrial Development. What is the attitude of the Greek State?

The Greek Constitution considers the need to actively protect the environment and planning in a sustainable manner to be an obligation of the State (article 24). In this way environmental protection is placed within the constitutionally protected human rights. This principle guides all legal approaches to the matter (legislative and case law). At the same time, as also set in the Greek Constitution, the State must secure social peace and must plan with the aim to ensure economic and regional development and take all necessary measures to utilize all sources of national wealth (article 106). Both, environmental protection and economic development, being in need for protection, they must co-exist as envisioned by the principle of sustainable development.

What are the rules for the harmonious co-existence of Environmental Protection and Industrial Development in Greece?

The basic way to achieve industrial development along with environmental protection is to ensure that all stages of the life cycle of a project are carried out through responsible planning, environmental protection and the application, to the degree possible, of Best Available Techniques. The actual site selection of an industrial facility has to be conducted in compliance with the prevailing planning rules. The environmental permitting will ensure the application of the prevention principle through the process of a thorough, methodical and scientifically documented Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) subject to public consultation

The legislative framework for waste management in Greece follows closely the development of European waste management and the corresponding Directives (e.g 2008/98, 99/31 etc.). Over the last decade all relevant EU Directives have been transposed into Greek law and compliance has been ensured with the directives and the judgments of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The main framework law is the Law 4042/2012 on Waste Management (GG A’ 24/2012) art. 10 – 46. Greece lacks waste prevention practise on separate collection, re-use, recycling and recovery.

What is the definition of waste in Greek law?

According to the 4042/2012 on Waste Management, ‘waste’ means any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard (art. 11 par. 1). The above quoted definition of “waste” has fully adopted the definition given by the EU Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC (art. 3 par. 1).

Which is the legal framework on Waste Management?

Waste Management in Greece is basically regulated by the above mentioned Framework Law 4042/2012, as amended. The basic concepts and the management framework set by the Law 4042/2012, as the scope, the definitions, the waste hierarchy, the permits, the responsibility etc (art. 10 – 48 of the Law) are in full compliance with the system adopted by the Directive 2008/98/EC. Furthermore, the Law 2939/2001 (GG A’ 179/2001), as amended, provides for the management and reuse of packaging waste and other specific types of waste.

What is the importance of spatial and other land plans? How do they affect investments in Greece?

Thorough and timely land planning is of interest both to regulators / policy makers and investors:

To Regulators/Policy Makers because sustainable development is secured through comprehensive planning policies setting regulations and restrictions on land uses. In this way economic development goals are set along with planning and environmental protection criteria aiming to avoid unregulated development (which may cause environmental degradation or even destruction), while also with the aim to promote the comparative advantages of a country, preserving regional characteristics and social cohesion and at the bottom line, enabling development and financial progress. Besides, planning in a sustainable manner is both a constitutionally protected human right (article 24) and an obligation of the State. For this reason land plans catering for the above goals are necessary and land uses must be defined prior to the establishment of projects and activities. Plans not meeting this requirement will be annulled.

To Investors because a significant number of projects has been annulled on planning grounds and thus projects must be planned in a way compatible with the land plans of the country. Investors aim at the completion and the fruition of their planned project. If a project is planned without prior detailed land and spatial planning provisions or if permitted contrary to the allowed land uses in the respective area or despite restrictions created from other laws, the project will not be allowed to go forward and the permits will entail considerable legal risk at the Conseil d’ Etat (CdE – the Greek Supreme Administrative Court) after undergoing lengthy procedures. At the same time, if terms guiding the environmental assessment process for planned investments are not included from the very first stage of planning an investment, investors may find themselves having spent time and money combatting complicated legal provisions and environmental parameters, when many things could have been avoided if they had been properly assessed from the beginning (below on the importance of outline planning consent). Correct legal and land planning is the first step of the design of a project and a significant part of the overall environmental permitting process.

The current legal framework, as revised in the last years, provides the tools and the (valuable) flexibility to be adjusted to the updated development targets of the country, including the national investments plan, and this paper aims to illustrate how it can be used to the benefit of the realization of investments in Greece with greater legal certainty for (international or national) investors.