Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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16. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he is concerned that after a period of sustained lobbying by pro-fracking industry that the EU Parliament refused to support a motion calling for a mandatory environmental impact assessment to be applied to planning applications involving fracking. [44981/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The final text of an EU Directive requires the agreement of both the Council of Ministers, representing the Member States, and the European Parliament in the final trilogue negotiations on any particular EU Directive. In the case of the current negotiations on the Commission proposals for a revised Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive, I understand that the European Parliament Environment Committee voted in support of an amendment to the Commission’s proposals requiring that a mandatory EIA be carried out in respect of development consent applications involving fracking. These negotiations on a revised EIA Directive are ongoing under the current Lithuanian EU Presidency.