The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that it is not unconstitutional nor a violation of European Union law for the construction of luxury camp sites, also known as ‘glamping’, to be subject to planning permission being granted. Parliament had passed an amendment to the 2018 law regarding environmental assessment impacts on construction projects in June, moving glamping facilities from the law’s ‘second annex’ to its first. Projects which fall under the second annex are subject to environmental impact assessment studies if it is deemed necessary due to a range of outside factors, whereas projects which fall under the first annex are subject to such studies regardless of circumstances.
First annex projects include many industrial construction projects, such as power stations and waste disposal facilities, but also include other tourism infrastructure such as marinas and golf courses. Second annex projects tend to include agricultural infrastructure, as well as lighter tourism infrastructure including hotels, tourist complexes outside urban areas, normal campsites and casinos. Christodoulides referred the law to the Supreme Court in September, arguing that it may run contrary to the principle of separation of powers and European directives regarding services inside the single market.
He also argued that it may violate the constitution and constitute parliamentary overreach, as the law, as well as moving glamping facilities into the law’s first annex, would remove the.
