Single point of contact
1. By 24 February 2025, Member States shall establish or designate one or more authorities as single points of contact. Where a Member State establishes or designates more than one such point of contact, it shall ensure that there is only one such point of contact per relevant administrative level and stage of the critical raw materials value chain.
2. Where a Member State establishes or designates more than one point of contact pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, it shall provide a simple, accessible website on which all points of contact, including their address and electronic means of communication, are clearly listed and categorised according to the relevant administrative level and the stage of the critical raw materials value chain. The website may also contain content provided pursuant to Article 18.
3. The single points of contact established or designated pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article (single points of contact) shall be responsible for facilitating and coordinating the permit-granting process for critical raw material projects and providing information on the elements referred to in Article 18, including information on when an application is considered to be complete in accordance with Article 11(6). They shall coordinate and facilitate the submission of any relevant documents and information.
4. The single point of contact concerned shall be the sole point of contact for the project promoter and shall assist the project promoter in understanding any administrative matter relevant to the permit-granting process.
5. Project promoters of critical raw materials projects shall have the possibility to contact the relevant administrative unit, within the single point of contact, responsible for the tasks provided for in this Article. If the relevant administrative unit changes, it shall continue to fulfil its responsibilities set out in this paragraph until the project promoter has been notified of such a change.
6. Project promoters shall be allowed to submit all documents relevant to the permit-granting process in electronic form.
7. The Member States shall ensure that any valid studies carried out, or permits or authorisations issued, for a given critical raw material project are taken into account and that no duplicate studies, permits or authorisations are required, unless otherwise required under Union or national law.
8. Member States shall ensure that applicants have easy access to information on and procedures for the settlement of disputes concerning the permit-granting process for critical raw materials projects, including, where applicable, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
9. Member States shall ensure that the single points of contact have a sufficient number of qualified staff and sufficient financial, technical and technological resources necessary for the effective performance of their tasks under this Regulation.
Priority status of Strategic Projects
1. Strategic Projects shall be considered to contribute to the security of supply of strategic raw materials in the Union.
2. With regard to the environmental impacts or obligations addressed in Article 6(4) and Article 16(1), point (c), of Directive 92/43/EEC, Article 4(7) of Directive 2000/60/EC and Article 9(1), point (a), of Directive 2009/147/EC or in Union legislative provisions regarding the restoration of terrestrial, coastal and freshwater ecosystems, Strategic Projects in the Union shall be considered to be of public interest or serving public health and safety, and may be considered to have an overriding public interest provided that all the conditions set out in those Union legislative acts are fulfilled.
3. For the purpose of ensuring the efficient administration of the permit-granting process related to Strategic Projects in the Union, project promoters and all authorities concerned shall ensure that that process is carried out in the most rapid way possible in accordance with Union and national law.
4. Without prejudice to obligations provided for in Union law, Strategic Projects in the Union shall be granted the status of the highest national significance possible, where such a status exists in national law, and be treated accordingly in the permit-granting processes.
5. All dispute resolution procedures, litigation, appeals and judicial remedies related to the permit-granting process and the issuance of permits for Strategic Projects in the Union before any national courts, tribunals or panels, including with regard to mediation or arbitration, where they exist in national law, shall be treated as urgent if and to the extent to which national law provides for such urgency procedures and provided that the usually applicable rights of defence of individuals or of local communities are respected. Project promoters of Strategic Projects shall participate in such urgency procedures, where applicable.
Duration of the permit-granting process
1. For Strategic Projects in the Union, the permit-granting process shall not exceed:
(a)
27 months for Strategic Projects involving extraction;
(b)
15 months for Strategic Projects involving only processing or recycling.
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, for Strategic Projects in the Union that were subject to the permit-granting process before being recognised as Strategic Projects and for extensions of existing Strategic Projects that have already been granted a permit, the duration of the permit-granting process after the project is recognised as a Strategic Project shall not exceed:
(a)
24 months for Strategic Projects involving extraction;
(b)
12 months for Strategic Projects involving only processing or recycling.
3. Where an environmental impact assessment is required pursuant to Directive 2011/92/EU, the step of the assessment referred to in Article 1(2), point (g)(i), of that Directive shall not be included in the duration for permit-granting process referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.
4. In exceptional cases, where the nature, complexity, location or size of the Strategic Project so require, Member States may extend, before their expiry and on a case-by-case basis, the time limits referred to in:
(a)
paragraph 1, point (a), and paragraph 2, point (a), by a maximum of six months;
(b)
paragraph 1, point (b), and paragraph 2, point (b), by a maximum of three months.
In the event of such an extension, the single point of contact concerned shall inform the project promoter in writing of the reasons justifying the extension and of the deadline for the comprehensive decision.
5. By way of derogation from Article 4(6) of Directive 2011/92/EU, the determination of whether the Strategic Project is to be made subject to an assessment in accordance with Articles 5 to 10 of that Directive shall be made within 30 days from the date on which the developer has submitted all the information required pursuant to Article 4(4) of that Directive.
6. No later than 45 days following the receipt of a permit-granting application related to a Strategic Project, the single point of contact concerned shall acknowledge that the application is complete or, if the project promoter has not sent all the information required to process an application, request the project promoter to submit a complete application without undue delay, specifying which information is missing. Where the application submitted is deemed to be incomplete a second time, the single point of contact concerned shall not request information in areas not covered in the first request for additional information and shall be entitled only to request further evidence to complete the identified missing information.
The date of the acknowledgement referred to in the first subparagraph shall serve as the start of the permit-granting process.
7. No later than one month from the date of acknowledgement referred to in paragraph 6 of this Article, the single point of contact concerned shall draw up, in close cooperation with the project promoter and other competent authorities concerned, a detailed schedule for the permit-granting process. The schedule shall be published by the project promoter on the website referred to in Article 8(5). The single point of contact concerned shall update the schedule in the event that there are significant changes that potentially affect the timing of the comprehensive decision.
8. The single point of contact concerned shall notify the project promoter when the environmental impact assessment report referred in Article 5(1) of Directive 2011/92/EU is due, taking into account the organisation of the permit-granting process in the Member State concerned and the need to allow sufficient time to assess the report. The period between the deadline for the submission of the environmental impact assessment report and the actual submission of that report shall not be counted towards the duration of the permit-granting process referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.
9. Where the consultation pursuant to Article 1(2), point (g)(ii), of Directive 2011/92/EU results in the need to supplement the environmental impact assessment report with additional information, the single point of contact concerned may give the project promoter the opportunity to provide additional information. In such a case, that single point of contact shall notify the project promoter when the additional information is due, which shall be in no less than 30 days after the notification. The period between the deadline for providing the additional information and the submission of that information shall not be counted towards the duration of the permit-granting process referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.
10. The time limits set in this Article shall be without prejudice to obligations arising from Union and international law, and without prejudice to administrative appeal procedures and judicial remedies before a court or tribunal.
The time limits set in this Article for any of the permit-granting procedures shall be without prejudice to any shorter time limits set by Member States.
Environmental assessments and authorisations
1. Where an environmental impact assessment is required for a Strategic Project in accordance with Articles 5 to 9 of Directive 2011/92/EU, the relevant project promoter shall request, no later than 30 days after the notification of the recognition as a Strategic Project and before submitting the application, an opinion from the single point of contact concerned on the scope and level of detail of the information to be included in the environmental impact assessment report under Article 5(1) of that Directive.
The single point of contact concerned shall ensure that the opinion referred to in the first subparagraph is issued as soon as possible and within a period of time not exceeding 45 days from the date on which the project promoter submitted its request for an opinion.
2. In the case of Strategic Projects for which the obligation to carry out assessments of the effects on the environment arises simultaneously from Directives 92/43/EEC, 2000/60/EC, 2008/98/EC, 2009/147/EC, 2010/75/EU, 2011/92/EU or Directive 2012/18/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 39 ) , Member States shall ensure that a coordinated or a joint procedure fulfilling all the requirements of those Union legislative acts is applied.
Under the coordinated procedure referred to in the first subparagraph, the competent authority shall coordinate the various individual assessments of the environmental impact of a particular project required by the relevant Union legislative acts.
Under the joint procedure referred to in the first subparagraph, the competent authority shall provide for a single assessment of the environmental impact of a particular project required by the relevant Union legislative acts.
3. Member States shall ensure that the competent authorities issue the reasoned conclusion referred to in Article 1(2), point (g)(iv), of Directive 2011/92/EU on the environmental impact assessment of a Strategic Project within 90 days of receiving all necessary information pursuant to Articles 5, 6 and 7 of that Directive and after completing the consultations referred to in Articles 6 and 7 of that Directive.
4. In exceptional cases, where the nature, complexity, location or size of the proposed project so require, Member States may extend the time limit referred to in paragraph 3 by a maximum of 20 days, before its expiry and on a case-by-case basis. In that event, the single point of contact concerned shall inform the project promoter in writing of the reasons justifying the extension and of the deadline for its reasoned conclusion.
5. In the case of Strategic Projects, the timeframe for consulting the public concerned as referred to in Article 1(2), point (e), of Directive 2011/92/EU and authorities referred to in Article 6(1) of that Directive on the environmental impact assessment report referred to in Article 5(1) of that Directive shall not be longer than 85 days and, in accordance with Article 6(7) of that Directive, not shorter than 30 days. In exceptional cases, where the nature, complexity, location or size of the proposed project so require, the Member State concerned may extend the timeframe by up to 40 days. The single point of contact concerned shall inform the project promoter of the reasons justifying such an extension.
6. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to the permit-granting process for Strategic Projects that had entered in the permit-granting process before being recognised as a Strategic Project.
Paragraphs 2 to 5 shall apply to the permit-granting process for Strategic Projects that had entered in the permit-granting process before being recognised as a Strategic Project only to the extent that the steps addressed in those paragraphs have not yet been completed.
Planning
1. National, regional and local authorities responsible for preparing plans, including zoning, spatial plans and land use plans, shall consider including in such plans, where appropriate, provisions for the development of critical raw materials projects. Where considering to include such provisions, priority shall be given to artificial and built surfaces, industrial sites, brownfield sites, and active or abandoned mines, including, where appropriate, identified mineral occurrences.
2. Where plans including provisions for the development of critical raw material projects are subject to an assessment pursuant to Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 40 ) and pursuant to Article 6 of Directive 92/43/EEC, those assessments shall be combined. Where applicable, the combined assessment shall also address the impact on potentially affected water bodies referred to in Directive 2000/60/EC. Where relevant Member States are required to assess the impacts of existing and future activities on the marine environment, including land-sea interactions, as referred to in Article 4 of Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 41 ) , those impacts shall also be covered in the combined assessment.
Applicability of UNECE conventions
1. This Regulation is without prejudice to the obligations under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, signed at Aarhus on 25 June 1998, and under the UNECE Convention on environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context, signed at Espoo on 25 February 1991 and its Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment, signed in Kyiv on 21 May 2003.
2. All decisions adopted pursuant to this Section shall be made publicly available in an easily understandable manner and all decisions concerning one project shall be available on the same website.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
