The rapid expansion of the infrastructure in Germany often fails due to resistance from environmental protection associations.

The European Commission has therefore repeatedly asked the German government in the past to accelerate the approval of important infrastructure projects.

Berlin reacted by bundling planning and approval procedures - to the reluctance of environmentalists.

From their point of view, the infrastructure expansion can only be accelerated if environmental and climate issues are taken into account from the start.

Hendrik Kafsack

Business correspondent in Brussels.

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    Instead, the federal government passed another law in March 2020.

    It enables important infrastructure projects in the transport sector to be approved directly by the German Bundestag instead of the classic plan approval procedure.

    "The decision of the legislature is intended to increase social acceptance of the projects and enable faster implementation," emphasized the Ministry of Transport at the time.

    But now the European Commission has stepped in and is calling the law into question.

    The EU authority initiated infringement proceedings against Germany on Wednesday because the law does not give citizens and environmental organizations sufficient opportunity to take legal action against the decisions taken along the way. A legal review of the infrastructure projects decided by the Bundestag by law is only possible before the Federal Constitutional Court. However, citizens and non-governmental organizations have only limited access to this.

    Thus, the “law to prepare for the creation of building law through a law of measures in the transport sector” violates current EU law - especially since the law does not provide any other possibilities for infrastructure projects with consequences for environmental protection to be legally examined.

    The Commission does not, however, criticize the passing of infrastructure projects by law.

    The federal government now has two months to respond to the concerns.

    If the European Commission is not satisfied with its response, it can move on to the next stage of the infringement procedure.