ABSTRACT
The Directive is regarded by the European Community (EC) Commission as an embodiment of the preventative approach to environmental protection; an approach enumerated as the first of 11 principles of EC environmental policy in the first EC Action Programme on the Environment of 1973. The essential elements of the Directive can be stated quite simply: an assessment is to be made of the effects of certain development projects on the environment before development consent is given, the developer, as a contribution to this assessment, is to supply, and make public, certain information and so on. The arrangements for public consultation are to be decided upon by the Member State but any request for development consent, and the information supplied by the developer, must be made public. The public concerned must also be given the opportunity to express an opinion before the project is initiated.
