Brussels confirms Manoel Island project falls under EIA Directive

European Commissioner for the Environment Karmenu Vella this week confirmed that the Manoel Island development “appears” to be subject to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive 2011/92/EU even though the contract for the project had been signed with the government before Malta’s accession to the EU.

Labour Party MEP Miriam Dalli had recently asked the European Commission if and how the Manoel Island deal that had been brokered back in 2000 can still benefit from EU Directives that would allow the project to be reviewed by a court of law to challenge the legality of the decision.

Dr Dalli cited Article 11 of the EU’s Environmental Impact Assessment directive, which states that member states are obliged to ensure that entities with sufficient interest in such projects should have access to a review procedure before a court of law or an independent and impartial body established by law to challenge the legality of such decisions.

She also cited Article 6 of the Directive, which obliges member states to ensure that both the public and the authorities likely to be concerned by a project are given the opportunity to express their opinion about it.

In a European Parliamentary Question, Dr Dalli noted that although the deal had been negotiated in 2000, before Malta’s EU accession, “the company has now released its development plans for the area, which include a hotel, shopping complex and casino”.

In her question to the European Commission, which has been answered by her father-inlaw Karmenu Vella in his capacity as the EU’s Environment Commissioner, Dr Dalli noted, “The island [Manoel Island] includes the 18th century Fort Manoel – an attraction that has been on the Maltese government’s tentative list of UNESCO world heritage sites since 1998.”

She also asked, “Given that the sale of land occurred prior to Malta’s accession to the EU, can EU citizens, and Maltese cit- izens in particular, still benefit from the rights enshrined in Articles 6 and 11 of EIA Directive 2011/92/EU? If so, how?”

In a reply this week, Commissioner Vella confirmed that, “Based on the information made available to the Commission, it appears that the development project in question is indeed likely to fall under the scope of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive 2011/92/EU.

“According to Article 3 of the Directive, the environmental impact assessment shall identify, describe and assess the direct and indirect effects of a project on the environment, including also effects on cultural heritage. In accordance with Ar- ticle 6 of the Directive, the assessment is to be based, inter alia, on the participation of the public. In addition, pursuant to Article 2(1) and Article 1(2)(c), the environmental impact assessment must take place before the consent entitling the developer to “proceed with the project is given.

The provisions of the EIA Directive have been primarily transposed into Maltese law by means of Subsidiary Legislation 549.46, entitled the ‘Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations’. This legislation describes the relevant procedures, including public participation, to be followed in relation to the development project in question.”