Environmental impact assessment: A source of activism for the Court of Justice of the European Union

The case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union on environmental impact assessment is particularly extensive. First and foremost, it is demanding, since European judges have interpreted Directives 2011/92/EU and 2001/42/EC in such a way as to reinforce their scope, based on the precautionary principle. But it is also marked by strong interaction with national jurisdictions, which is hardly surprising given that we are dealing with procedural issues that have major consequences for national legal systems. Despite this extensiveness, there are still some open questions, such as how to implement the principles of environmental democracy in emergency situations.