Disagreements between the Parliament and the Council were ironed out in conciliation committee. The most serious related to the question of whether or not to impose mandatory insurance schemes to companies, as was requested by Parliament.
On another sensitive issue, that of finding ways to treat the damage after it has been made (the so-called remedies), it was agreed that they would only be imposed as a means of last resort.
An innovative feature of the directive is that it allows public interest groups such as NGOs to require public authorities to act or to challenge their decisions before the courts.
