33As the Court has also emphasised, the prior nature of such an assessment is justified by the fact it is necessary for the competent authority to take effects on the environment into account at the earliest possible stage in all the technical planning and decision-making processes, the objective being to prevent the creation of pollution or nuisances at source rather than subsequently trying to counteract their effects (judgment of 3 July 2008, Commission v Ireland, C‑215/06, EU:C:2008:380, paragraph 58).
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