Directive 94/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 4

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that:

(a)

if the geographical areas are not delimited on the basis of a prior geometric division of the territory, the extent of each area is determined in such a way that it does not exceed the area justified by the best possible exercise of the activities from the technical and economic points of view. In the case of authorizations granted following the procedures laid down in Article 3 (2), objective criteria shall be established to this end and shall be made available to the entities prior to the submission of applications;

(b)

the duration of an authorization does not exceed the period necessary to carry out the activities for which the authorization is granted. However, the competent authorities may prolong the authorization where the stipulated duration is insufficient to complete the activity in question and where the activity has been performed in accordance with the authorization;

(c)

entities do not retain exclusive rights in the geographical area for which they have received an authorization for longer than is necessary for the proper performance of the authorized activities.