On March 15, 2023, Standing Committee on Territorial Administration, Local Self-Government, Agriculture and Environmental Protection of RA National Assembly approved RA Law Draft and the package of related bills "On Amendments to the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment and Expertise".
On March 13, Standing Committee on Territorial Administration, Local Self-Government, Agriculture and Environmental Protection invited representatives of non-governmental organizations to discuss the draft of RA Law "On Amendments to the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment and Expertise". Victoria Burnazyan, Vice President of EcoLur, considered it worrisome to demand a decision on agreement or disagreement from the council without presenting the risks of the planned activity at the first stage of public hearings, when people are not aware of what they will support or oppose.
Khachatur Khachatryan, Head of Legal Department of RA Ministry of Environment, noted that in any case, the authorized body will make the final decision, and it is possible that even if the Council of Elders issues a positive decision, a negative conclusion will be issued and vice versa. It was suggested to Committee chair, Vahe Ghalumyan, to send the package of draft laws back for revision, and the participants of the discussion gave him written observations and suggestions regarding the package of draft laws. EcoLur also submitted its observations and recommendations, which had also submitted to RA Ministry Environment.
That discussion was followed by the meeting of Standing Committee on Territorial Administration, Local Self-Government, Agriculture and Environmental Protection held on 15 March during which the committee approved the package of draft laws with a ratio of 5 votes in favor and 2 abstentions.
March 16, 2023 at 13:40