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The V.I.A. is an administrative procedure aiming at describing and assessing the impact on the environment of a plan or programme, subject to approval or authorization from a public authority.

Such procedure is provided for by art. 6, Decree-Law no. 152 of 3rd April 2006. This Decree-Law has complied with Directive 2001/42/EC (so-called VAS Directive, where VAS stands for “strategic environmental assessment”) and has introduced the obligation to assess the effects on the environment of certain plans and programmes, prior to their execution.

Therefore, the V.I.A. describes and assesses the effects on the environment of specific public and private projects.

In case C-444/15, the European Court of Justice, with judgment of 21st December 2016, has confirmed the validity of the VAS Directive, as adopted by Decree-Law no. 152 of 3rd April 2006 and subsequent amendments, and has also explained that local authorities may freely assess the environmental risk in case of minor interventions.

This means that, where the plan is limited to the use of small areas at local level, it is not necessary to assess its impact on the environment.

Nevertheless, the Court has stated that a plan or programme must fulfil two conditions: that plan or programme must be prepared and/or adopted by a local authority, as opposed to a regional or national authority; and the area concerned must be small in size relative to the territorial jurisdiction of the local authority which prepared and/or adopted the plan or programme at issue.

Therefore, the Court has recognized that administrative authorities of Member States may freely assess the environmental risk of plans and programmes regarding small areas at local level.