EIVP backlog threatens jobs: Large projects in danger!

EIVP backlog threatens jobs: Large projects in danger!

Oberösterreich, Österreich - Gottfried Kneifel, Managing Director of the initiative of the business location in OÖ (IWS), expresses significant concerns about the delays in large -scale projects in Upper Austria on May 18, 2025, which are caused by lengthy methods of environmental impact assessment (RRP). In his statement, Kneifel emphasizes that five significant projects in the Region are currently affected with a total investment volume of almost one billion euros. These are, among other things, the Mauthausen Danube Bridge, the Sandl wind farm and the 110 kV management from Freistadt to Bad Leonfelden. These delays could cause serious damage to the local economy and employment in a phase of economic stagnation.

According to a survey, around 75 percent of the population evaluate democracy and social market economy as an effective models to solve political and social challenges. However, Kneifel emphasizes that bureaucratic hurdles and lack of consistency difficult to overcome current challenges such as climate change, energy shortages, migration, demographic changes and global conflicts. This makes a reform of the approval procedures all the more urgent.

demands for reforms

In order to create more legal certainty and predictability for project advertisers, Kneifel calls for the acceleration of the approval procedures and a simplification of the environmental impact law. Concrete reform proposals are anchored in the current government program as well as in the concepts of the WKO and the initiative for the business location of Upper Austria. The federal legislature lies responsibility for the implementation of these proposals.

The RRP, which is monitored by the Federal Administrative Court in accordance with the environmental impact assessment law 2000 (UVP-G 2000), includes the examination of potential environmental impacts of projects listed in Appendix I of the UVP-G, such as waste treatment plants and power plants. These exams are crucial to evaluate the social and ecological consequences of great projects. However, the procedure often represents an enormous bureaucratic hurdle.

the way to approval

The RRP process is complex and is divided into different sections. The responsibilities lie with the state government and the BMVIT. An essential feature of the procedure is the period of four weeks to collect symptoms, which in most cases applies after delivery of the decision. The authority has the opportunity to make a preliminary decision before the case is forwarded to the Federal Administrative Court. In this context, decisions can be made within defined deadlines, whereby the assessment notices typically take up six to eight weeks.

The criticism of the lengthy methods is not only a local phenomenon, but also reflects the need for efficient development at a time when the economy faces numerous challenges. Kneifel and the initiative of the business location of Upper Austria appeal to the political responsibilities to initiate the necessary reforms to secure the future of the region.

Further information on the environmental impact assessment is available from [Federal Administrative Court] (https://www.bvwg.gv.at/verfahren/wirtschaft-kommunikation-verund-und-und-und-und- undumwelt representation.html).

Details on the statements and demands of Kneifel can be found in ots.