Recent Developments in Environmental Law in Greece: A Commentary

The recently voted environmental law in Greece (Law 4685/2020) aims to modernize and simplify the existing provisions and administrative procedures on various topics of national environmental regulation. The draft provisions underwent extensive public consultations with all interested stakeholders on the basis of transparency. The objective of this paper is to present Environmental Law 4685/2020; for methodological reasons, an analysis of each Chapter of the Law is being analyzed. Specifically, the Law comprises of eleven Chapters, each attempting to approach different issues, with 136 articles in total and two annexes, being one of the most ambitious revision proposals in the field of environmental legislation in Europe for the time being. The examination of the Chapters shows that the majority of its provisions stem from European Union legislation, with which Greece -as a member state- needs to comply. In this context, national provisions based on older Directives have been updated, while recent European Union Directives have been transposed, on the basis of new societal needs. The paper concludes that the new Environmental Law is an ambitious legislative framework, which sets more efficient regulatory models and faster procedures in Greece for the preservation of the ecosystems and the promotion of economic development at the same time.