The text of Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 amending Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment1 - Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment - page 390

2. The competent authority or authorities shall inform any Member State which has been
consulted pursuant to Article 7, forwarding to it the information referred to in
paragraph 1 .
Article 10
The provisions of this Directive shall not affect the obligation on the competent
authorities to respect the limitations imposed by national regulations and administrative
provisions and accepted legal practices with regard to commercial and industrial
confidentiality, including intellectual property, and the safeguarding the public interest.
Where Article 7 applies, the transmission of information to another Member State and
the receipt of information by another Member State shall be subject to the limitations in
force in the Member State in which the project is proposed.
Article 11
1. The Member States and the Commission shall exchange information on the experience
gained in applying this Directive.
2. In particular, Member States shall inform the Commission of any criteria and/or
thresholds adopted for the selection of the projects in question, in accordance with
Article 4(2).
3. Five years after the entry into force of this Directive, the Commission shall send the
European Parliament and the Council a report on the application and effectiveness of
Directive 85/337/EEC as amended by this Directive. The report shall be based on the
exchange of information provided for by Article 11(1) and (2) .
4. On the basis of this report, the Commission shall, where appropriate, submit to the
Council additional proposals with a view to ensuring further coordination in the
application of this Directive.
Article 12
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative
provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 14 March 1999 at the latest.
The y shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
When Member States adopt these provisions, they shall contain a reference to this
Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference at the time of their official
publication. The procedure for such reference shall be adopted by Member
States.
2. If a request for development consent is submitted to a competent authority before the
end of the time limit laid down in paragraph 1, the provisions of Directive
85/337/EEC prior to these amendments shall continue to apply.