A controversial law exempting developments on hospital grounds from an environmental impact assessment is “not in line” with EU legislation, the European Commission has warned.
The admonition came from a commission spokeswoman in Brussels who was asked by the Times of Malta whether a member state could legislate to introduce this automatic exemption, regardless of the nature of the project in question.
In her reply the spokeswoman noted that apart from certain exceptions which could only be invoked in cases of national security, such a law “would not be in line” with the EU’s Environmental Impact Assessment Directive.
This newspaper yesterday also sought a reaction from the Maltese government, but questions sent to the Parliamentary Secretariat for Planning were not answered by the time of writing.
The law, Legal Notice 263 of 2015, was enacted this summer on the eve of the Santa Marija feast. Apart from the unusual timing, the waiver immediately raised questions on its legality with respect to EU laws.
The exemption was accompanied by a separate legal notice (LN 262), also issued on August 14, through which no development permit would be required for developments on hospital grounds.
A planning expert had told this newspaper that the EIA exemption was likely to set Malta on a collision course with the European Commission. He noted that the EIA Directive was one of the EU laws most strictly enforced by Brussels to keep member states in check on the environment.
As a matter of fact, a high proportion of cases before the European Court of Justice are about alleged breaches of this directive.
The expert also observed that the ECJ had repeatedly ruled that even developments exempted from a permit were not automatically excluded from the requirement of having an EIA carried out.
Commenting yesterday in the wake of the commission’s reaction, the expert reiterated his concern that it did not make sense at all to make exclusions for a project for which an application had not even been submitted.
What about the visual and traffic impacts if a 20-storey project were to be proposed at St Luke’s?
“What about the visual and traffic impacts if a 20-storey project were to be proposed at St Luke’s Hospital? Such considerations cannot be overlooked due to the site’s location at the top of a ridge overlooking the historic fortifications of the capital, and its close proximity to a residential neighbourhood,” he said.
The expert also pointed out that even certain medical facilities like those used in oncology needed thorough assessment as they required certain radiation safeguards.
Asked about possible repercussions in case the commission was to take legal action against Malta, the expert said this could also spell trouble for the developers, as banks might be reluctant to continue financing the project.
“No reputable developer would consider doing without an EIA on such a large scale project, even if there was no obligation to do so, as environmental awareness is nowadays given the utmost importance.”
Last August the government justified this development exemption by saying it would accelerate its plans to address the shortage of beds in public hospitals and help to improve the healthcare services.
However, even at that stage it had dodged questions on the doubts raised about the legality of LN 263 with respect to EU law.
The exemption was granted a few weeks after the government announced that Singaporean firm Vitals Global Healthcare had been chosen as the preferred bidder for a €200 million investment in the redevelopment of the former St Luke’s Hospital and the Gozo General Hospital.
The latter site will also host a new medical school and campus to be used by Barts Medical School.
Mater Dei, Mount Carmel and St Vincent de Paul were also included under exemptions granted by the legal notice.