A Scottish lawmaker is accusing the European Commission of shackling shale gas exploration with “over-zealous restrictions.”
The criticism from Member of European Parliament Struan Stevenson came after the commission’s Environment Committee voted last week to include shale gas exploration on a list of activities requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before they can take place. The vote came as part of the committee’s review of the EIA Directive. Stevenson said his objection was not about the requirement for impact assessments on shale gas projects overall, but that the requirement applies to projects at the exploratory stage as well.
