The Senate approved a law that aims to facilitate the process of obtaining permits for construction.

Prague - A new institute of a unified environmental statement (JES) aims to accelerate and simplify the building permit process from an environmental protection perspective. This will be introduced by a new law approved today by the Senate. The statement will include requirements for environmental impact assessments according to up to nine applicable laws. The proposal will now be sent to the president for signature.

The draft law is related to a government amendment to the building code, which was also adopted by the upper chamber. Together, they will ensure that applicants can more easily obtain building permits and do not have to seek statements from relevant authorities. The law on the unified environmental statement is set to take effect from January of next year.

Environment Minister Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL) stated that the law aims to accelerate and streamline the building process while fully protecting public interests in environmental protection. The proposal will bring procedural unification of currently fragmented administrative actions into a single binding statement. According to the minister, it will also pertain to the assessment of the impacts of buildings on the environment (EIA).

"The builder will not have to visit so many offices and obtain so many binding statements," stated Hana Kordová Marvanová (for ODS). Independent senator Daniela Kovářová spoke about a missed opportunity, arguing that even after the law is passed, the definition of public interest in environmental protection will be lacking.

The Senate also approved a related amendment law. It did not vote on the amendment proposed by pirate senator Adéla Šípová regarding the restoration of the right of associations established for the purpose of protecting nature and landscapes to participate in all permitting procedures. Such an adjustment did not succeed in the Chamber of Deputies. Members of Parliament expanded the possibility of public participation in the law on the protection of nature and landscapes. This will concern procedures related to the felling of trees or exceptions to bans on protected trees and specially protected species of plants and animals.

The statement will be valid for five years and can be extended. At the request of the builder, the statement can also be changed. If multiple laws require the same information, the applicant will only need to fill it out once.