Attività di prospezione, ricerca e coltivazione di idrocarburi e tutela dell’ambiente nella prospettiva della Corte di Giustizia

The paper provides a brief overview of the judgment rendered in the Case C-110/20 by the Court of Justice of the European Union, wherein the latter gave a preliminary ruling on the interpretation of Directive 94/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 on the conditions for granting and using authorisations for the prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons. Specifically, the Court defined the scope of Directive 94/22/EC with regard to the extent of the geographical area covered by hydrocarbon prospecting permits and the number of authorisations that may be granted by a Member State in favour of an operator. Furthermore, those profiles were addressed taking also into consideration the compliance with the requirements of Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, in order to avoid a significant impact on the environment. Indeed, the judgment of the Court shows some interesting aspects arising, on the one hand, from its first ruling on the authorisation regime for the prospection of hydrocarbons laid down by Directive 94/22/EC and, on the other hand, from the connection made between those rules and the requirements of environmental protection, which Directive 2011/92/EU is aimed at. Moreover, the judgment is particularly relevant, and therefore worthy of consideration, having regard to the pressing need, at this historical juncture, to foster the development of new energy supply resources within the territory of the Member States, due to the high dependence of the European Union on the importation of hydrocarbons.