Contradictions regarding the Biscarrués (Aragón) plan

EN E-000494/2018 Answer given by Mr Vella on behalf of the Commission (19.3.2018) As referred in the reply to written question E-003750/2017, the Commission's infringement procedure is limited to the bad application by Spain of the obligations under the Water Framework Directive (WFD). However, the Commission recalls that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) under the EIA Directive and an Article 4(7) assessment under the WFD have coinciding elements such as data collection and public participation processes. In an integrated procedure, the competent authorities are given a possibility to reach a single decision based on the agreed pool of data and taking account of all environmental protection aspects (not only the achievement of objectives in terms of the WFD). The availability of complete information is extremely important particularly in the event of larger projects which have significant impacts and for which the justification required for the application of WFD Article 4(7) needs to be provided. Therefore the national ruling referred to by the Honourable Member is a very relevant in the context of the on-going Commission's infringement procedure. Nonetheless, it remains for the Spanish Courts to decide on the eventual appeal to that judgement or on its execution.