On 29 May 2026, the Flemish Government granted preliminary approval to a draft decree amending various provisions in relation to the introduction of the modular environmental permit procedure (“Voorontwerp van decreet tot wijziging van verschillende decreten naar aanleiding van de invoering van de modulaire omgevingsvergunningsprocedure”).
This draft decree is the latest step in an ongoing legislative process. The decree of 17 May 2024 introduced two major innovations: the modular environmental permit procedure and the so-called omgevingsbesluit (a combined planning and permitting instrument). The modular procedure has not yet entered into force. During the drafting of the implementing decree, several issues came to light which this draft decree seeks to address. At the same time, the Flemish Government is also using this legislative initiative to implement a number of actions from its Action Programme for robust and legally certain permits (“Actieprogramma voor robuuste en rechtszekere vergunningen”).
The draft decree contains, among other things, the following changes: a statutory right to pre-consultation, amendments to the admissibility and completeness review, the introduction of a "pause button" in the permit procedure, a limitation on the number of public inquiries, a clarification of the non-binding nature of advisory opinions, the introduction of social added value as an assessment criterion, a tightening of standing requirements for administrative and judicial appeals, and a new revision procedure linked to a duty to raise objections in a timely manner.
For a more detailed analysis, please refer to our Dutch-language contribution.
