ANNEX VI GUIDELINES FOR TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

specifications of the relevant pieces of legislation upon which decisions and opinions are based for the various types of relevant projects of common interest, including environmental law;

the list of relevant decisions and opinions to be obtained;

the names and contact details of the competent authority, other authorities concerned and major stakeholders concerned;

the work flow, outlining each stage in the process, including an indicative timeline and a concise overview of the decision-making process for the various types of relevant projects of common interest;

information about the scope, structure and level of detail of documents to be submitted with the application for decisions, including a checklist;

the stages and means for the general public to participate in the process;

the manner in which the competent authority, other authorities concerned and the project promoter shall demonstrate that the opinions expressed in the public consultation were taken into account, for example by showing what amendments were done in the location and design of the project or by providing reasons why such opinions have not been taken into account;

to the extent possible, translations of its content in all languages of the neighbouring Member States to be realised in coordination with the relevant neighbouring Member States.

the decisions and opinions to be obtained;

the authorities, stakeholders, and the public likely to be concerned;

the individual stages of the procedure and their duration;

major milestones to be accomplished and their deadlines in view of the comprehensive decision to be taken;

the resources planned by the authorities and possible additional resource needs.

the stakeholders affected by a project of common interest, including relevant national, regional and local authorities, landowners and citizens living in the vicinity of the project, the general public and their associations, organisations or groups, shall be extensively informed and consulted at an early stage, in an inclusive manner, when potential concerns by the public can still be taken into account and in an open and transparent manner. Where relevant, the competent authority shall actively support the activities undertaken by the project promoter;

competent authorities shall ensure that public consultation procedures for projects of common interest are grouped together where possible including public consultations already required under national law. Each public consultation shall cover all subject matters relevant to the particular stage of the procedure, and one subject matter relevant to the particular stage of the procedure shall not be addressed in more than one public consultation; however, one public consultation may take place in more than one geographical location. The subject matters addressed by a public consultation shall be clearly indicated in the notification of the public consultation;

comments and objections shall be admissible only from the beginning of the public consultation until the expiry of the deadline;

the project promoters shall ensure that consultations take place during a period that allows for open and inclusive public participation.

the stakeholders concerned and addressed;

the measures envisaged, including proposed general locations and dates of dedicated meetings;

the timeline;

the human resources allocated to various tasks.

publish in electronic and, where relevant, printed form, an information leaflet of no more than 15 pages, giving, in a clear and concise manner, an overview of the description, purpose and preliminary timetable of the development steps of the project, the national grid development plan, alternative routes considered, types and characteristics of the potential impact, including of cross-border or transboundary nature, and possible mitigation measures, such information leaflet is to be published prior to the start of the consultation and to list the web addresses of the website of the project of common interest referred to in Article 9(7), the transparency platform referred to in Article 23 and the manual of procedures referred to in point (1) of this Annex;

publish the information on the consultation on the website of the project of common interest referred to in Article 9(7), on the bulletin boards of the offices of local administrations, and, at least, in one or, if applicable, two local media outlets;

invite, in written or electronic form, the relevant affected stakeholders, associations, organisations and groups to dedicated meetings, during which concerns shall be discussed.

the date when the project website was last updated;

translations of its content in all languages of the Member States concerned by the project or on which the project has a significant cross-border impact in accordance with point (1) of Annex IV;

the information leaflet referred to in point (5) updated with the latest data on the project;

a non-technical and regularly updated summary reflecting the current status of the project, including geographic information, and clearly indicating, in case of updates, changes to previous versions;

the implementation plan as set out in Article 5(1) updated with the latest data on the project;

the funds allocated and disbursed by the Union for the project;

the project and public consultation planning, clearly indicating dates and locations for public consultations and hearings and the envisaged subject matters relevant for those hearings;

contact details in view of obtaining additional information or documents;

contact details in view of conveying comments and objections during public consultations.