Environment: EP votes for Aarhus Convention rights to be expanded to citizens

MEPs have voted for the rights enshrined in the UN’s Aarhus Convention, providing access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice, to be expanded from NGOs to citizens themselves

Groups of at least 4,000 citizens including a minimum of 250 from each of five member states who have specific concerns about certain administrative acts’ compatibility with environmental law, will now also be able to request a review of administrative decisions for their conformity with environmental law
Groups of at least 4,000 citizens including a minimum of 250 from each of five member states who have specific concerns about certain administrative acts’ compatibility with environmental law, will now also be able to request a review of administrative decisions for their conformity with environmental law

MEPs have voted for the rights enshrined in the United Nation’s Aarhus Convention to be expanded from just NGOs, as matters currently stand, to citizens themselves - allowing them access to information, public participation in decision-making and to environmental justice.

Under an informal agreement MEPs reached with member states on amending the Aarhus Regulation, groups of at least 4,000 citizens including a minimum of 250 from each of five member states who have specific concerns about certain administrative acts’ compatibility with environmental law, will now also be able to request a review of administrative decisions for their conformity with environmental law.

Until now, this had only been possible for recognised NGOs.

Moreover, MEPs have brokered into the agreement a condition that the costs of any such review process should be limited so as to enable NGOs and groups of individuals to better benefit from affordable access to justice.

To ensure this, EU institutions will only request reimbursement for “reasonable costs” in such proceedings.

As matter stood, it was only possible to request a review of administrative acts that specifically contribute to the pursuit of environmental policy objectives. With the new deal, any administrative act that contravenes EU environmental law may be subject to review, irrespective of its policy objectives.

As far as state aid is concerned, the Commission will be bound to publish an analysis of the implications of the findings of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee by the end of 2022 on the need to provide citizens with access to administrative or judicial procedures and, if appropriate, come up with measures to address the issues identified by the end of 2023.

Currently, an environmental review of an administrative act can only be requested for acts of 'individual scope' (which directly concern a person). In the future, it will be possible to request a review for any non-legislative administrative act of 'general scope'.

Rapporteur Christian Doleschal (EPP, DE) commented, “This deal will ensure the EU’s compliance with its international obligations. Our solutions ensure respect for the EU treaties and provide legal certainty. We clarified that court proceedings should not be prohibitively expensive.

“We increased transparency. We averted the danger of an actio popularis where any citizen can put a stop to major EU projects and decisions via an administrative review that was intended to be a purely supplementary legal remedy.

“All in all, this was a very positive outcome.”

The agreement still needs to be formally approved by both the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety as well as plenary and the Council.

The EU as well as its 27 Member States are Parties to the 1998 Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters.

Maltese NGOs have many times in the past complained that the Maltese authorities had not abided by the letter or the spirit of the Convention.

While the existing EU regulation that applies the Aarhus Convention’s provisions to EU institutions and bodies, has made a contribution to providing access to justice in environmental matters, the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee (ACCC) has repeatedly expressed concerns that the EU is failing to fully comply with all the Convention’s requirements.

The newly-updated regulation aims to ensure that a formal examination of the Aarhus Regulation by the Meeting of the Parties - the Aarhus Convention’s governing body - in October 2021 will not hold the EU in violation of its obligations under international law.

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This article is part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. This article reflects only the author’s view. The action was co-financed by the European Union in the frame of the European Parliament's grant programme in the field of communication. The European Parliament was not involved in its preparation and is, in no case, responsible for or bound by the information or opinions expressed in the context of this action. In accordance with applicable law, the authors, interviewed people, publishers or programme broadcasters are solely responsible. The European Parliament can also not be held liable for direct or indirect damage that may result from the implementation of the action.

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