Article 18, Fast-tracking of permit-granting procedures.
1. Member States shall ensure that administrative applications related to the planning, construction and operation of integrated production facilities and open EU foundries are processed in an efficient, transparent and timely manner. To that end, all national authorities concerned shall ensure that the most rapid treatment legally possible is given to these applications in a manner that fully respects national law and procedure.
2. Where such a status exists in national law, integrated production facilities and open EU foundries shall be allocated the status of the highest national significance possible and be treated as such in permit-granting processes. This paragraph shall apply only where such status of the highest national significance exists in national law and does not create an obligation for Member States to introduce such status.
3. The security of supply of semiconductors and the resilience of the semiconductor ecosystem may be considered to be an imperative reason of overriding public interest within the meaning of Article 6(4) and Article 16(1), point (c), of Directive 92/43/EEC and of overriding public interest within the meaning of Article 4(7) of Directive 2000/60/EC.
Therefore, the planning, construction and operation of integrated production facilities and open EU foundries may be considered to be of overriding public interest, provided that the remaining other conditions set out in those provisions are fulfilled. This paragraph shall be without prejudice to the applicability or implementation of other Union environmental law.
4. For each integrated production facility and open EU foundry, each Member State concerned may designate an authority responsible for facilitating and coordinating administrative applications related to planning, construction and operation.
Each designated authority may appoint a coordinator who shall serve as the single point of contact for the integrated production facility or open EU foundry.
If the establishment of an integrated production facility or an open EU foundry requires decisions to be taken in two or more Member States, the relevant designated authorities may take all necessary steps for efficient and effective cooperation and coordination among themselves.