Source: European Parliament
In its reply to question Ε-001877/2025 , the Commission explained that national authorities are primarily responsible for ensuring that all obligations under EU law are met (including cross-border consultation, assessment of geological conditions, the impact of the proximity to the Anatolian fault line, etc.), as well as compliance with the Do No Significant Harm Technical Guidance[1].
However, Directive 2009/31/EC[2] requires Member States to make available to the Commission the permit applications and any other material taken into consideration when deciding on the award of a CO2 storage permit.
The Commission examines these, including any environmental impact assessment, against the requirements of the directive and issues a non-binding opinion on the draft permit within four months of receipt of the documentation. The Greek competent authority is still preparing the documentation.
Once the full documentation is submitted, the Commission will complete its review and issue its opinion. The competent authority shall notify the final decision to the Commission, and where it departs from the Commission opinion it shall state its reasons.
Beneficiaries of all Connecting Europe Facility (CEF)[3] grants must implement the action in compliance with all applicable EU, international and national legal obligations. In the specific case, according to the information submitted, the project is subject to compliance with Environmental Impact Assessment Directive[4].
Furthermore, the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)[5] for the activities covered by the CEF Grant Agreement[6] is one of the deliverables, to be completed before the start of the related works. This will be monitored as part of the relevant reporting and monitoring obligations.
- [1] Commission Notice Technical guidance on the application of ‘do no significant harm’ under the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation 2021/C 58/01, C/2021/1054, OJ C 58, 18.2.2021, p. 1pp. 11-30.
- [2] Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the geological storage of carbon dioxide and amending Council Directive 85/337/EEC, European Parliament and Council Directives 2000/60/EC, 2001/80/EC, 2004/35/EC, 2006/12/EC, 2008/1/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006,
OJ L 140, 5.6.2009, p. 114pp. 114114-135. - [3] https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/connecting-europe-facility_en.
- [4] Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, OJ L 26, 28.1.2012, p. 11-21, as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014, OJ L 124, 25.4.2014, p. 11-18.
- [5] Under Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment, OJ L 197, 21.7.2001, p. 3030-37.
- [6] Project Phase 2.