Facilitation Unit for Urban Planning and Environment

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The Facilitation Unit aims to facilitate the administrative procedures related to the State’s authorisation processes with regard to the main laws and regulations in the fields of urban planning and environment.

It offers assistance in the preparation of urban planning projects and acts as an interface between project holders and the public administration service.

The Facilitation Unit’s main missions are:

  • to provide a technical assistance and advise public, municipal and private project holders in the fields of urban planning and urban development projects within the framework of their planning and approval process;
  • to facilitate the co-design of urban projects between public and private stakeholders as part of negotiated urban planning;
  • to support public promoters and to manage urban development projects when housing benefits are involved;
  • to facilitate exchanges between the competent public authorities and citizens with regard to authorisation procedures established at the State level;
  • to analyse the current legal and regulatory frameworks in the fields of urban planning, housing and the environment as well as
  • to formulate reform proposals to the legal and regulatory frameworks or structural improvements in public services and administrations.

The Facilitation Unit works in immediate consultation with the stakeholders (project holders, design consultants) and the involved public authorities. In the discharge of its duties, the Facilitation Unit shall upon request:

  • inquire about the entire files;
  • request the collaboration of the competent public authorities or public administration services;
  • convene and facilitate meetings or participatory workshops involving the relevant competent public authorities or public administration services;
  • initiate preliminary consultation meetings when large projects relating to the responsibilities of different public authorities or public administration services are concerned.

The Facilitation Unit is the competent national authority for procedures related to projects of common interest (PCI) in the field of Trans-European energy infrastructure. It facilitates and coordinates the entire approval process required in application of the regulation (EU) n°347/2013.

In addition, the Facilitation Unit is: