Environmental impact assessment in the EU as a roadmap for reforms in Ukraine
This paper aims to provide an overview of the environment impact assessment system in the EU, which should help Ukrainian policy-makers to understand better the procedures as well as associated benefits and costs of the EIA model in the EU compared to the one in Ukraine. It describes the legislative background, procedures and scope of the EIA in the EU, elucidates provisions for public consultations and discusses costs and benefits of the EIA. The paper also presents previous and current EIA procedures in Ukraine and briefly describes legislative initiatives aiming to harmonise Ukrainian legislation with the EU acquis. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are made for the implementation of the EU EIA procedures in Ukraine.