The Aarhus Convention
What is the Aarhus Convention?
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention
on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making
and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (pdf
~50K) was adopted on 25 June 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus (Århus)
at the Fourth Ministerial Conference as part of the "Environment
for Europe" process. It entered into
force on 30 October 2001. (For recent up-dates and the follow-up
process please have a look at the
UNECE Convention website).
The Aarhus Convention establishes a number of rights of the public
(individuals and their associations) with regard to the environment.
The Parties to the Convention are required to make the necessary
provisions so that public authorities (at national, regional or
local level) will contribute to these rights to become effective.
The Convention provides for:
-
the right of everyone to receive environmental information
that is held by public authorities ("access to environmental
information"). This can include information on the
state of the environment, but also on policies or measures taken,
or on the state of human health and safety where this can be
affected by the state of the environment. Applicants are entitled
to obtain this information within one month of the request and
without having to say why they require it. In addition, public
authorities are obliged, under the Convention, to actively disseminate
environmental information in their possession;
-
the right to participate in environmental decision-making.
Arrangements are to be made by public authorities to enable
the public affected and environmental non-governmental organisations
to comment on, for example, proposals for projects affecting
the environment, or plans and programmes relating to the environment,
these comments to be taken into due account in decision-making,
and information to be provided on the final decisions and the
reasons for it ("public participation in environmental
decision-making");
-
the right to review procedures to challenge public decisions
that have been made without respecting the two aforementioned
rights or environmental law in general ("access to justice").
The EU & the Aarhus Convention: in the EU
Member States, in the Community Institutions and Bodies
Legislation
The Decision on conclusion of the Aarhus Convention by the EC
was adopted on 17 February 2005 [Decision
2005/370/EC]. The EC is a Party to the Convention since May
2005.
In 2003 two Directives concerning the first and second "pillars"
of the Aarhus Convention were adopted; they were to be implemented
in the national law of the EU Member States by 14 February and 25
June 2005 respectively:
- Directive
2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information
and repealing Council Directive 90/313/EEC
- Directive
2003/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
26 May 2003 providing for public participation in respect
of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to
the environment and amending with regard to public participation
and access to justice Council Directives 85/337/EEC and 96/61/EC
Provisions for public participation in environmental decision-making
are furthermore to be found in a number of other environmental directives,
such as Directive
2001/42/EC of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of certain plans
and programmes on the environment (see also the "environmental
assessment" homepage) and Directive
2000/60/EC of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community
action in the field of water policy (see also the "Water
Framework Directive" homepage).
Both Directives 2003/4 and 2003/35 contain provisions on access
to justice.
Furthermore, on 24 October 2003 the Commission presented a Proposal
for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on
access to justice in environmental matters [COM(2003)
624 - see
details on the legislative procedure]. This proposal was part
of the "Aarhus package", also consisting of the Proposal
for a decision to ratify the Convention, [COM(2003)
625] (meanwhile adopted, see above), and a Proposal for a Regulation
to apply the provisions of the Convention to Community
institutions and bodies [COM(2003)
622]
(Press
release
,
Questions and Answers document)
The latter was adopted on 6 September 2006: Regulation
(EC) N° 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council
on the application of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention
on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making
and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to Community institutions
and bodies (OJ L 264, 25.9.2006, p.13) entered into force
on 28 September 2006 and became of application on 17 July 2007.
The "Aarhus Regulation" covers not only the institutions,
but also bodies, offices or agencies established by, or on the basis
of the EC Treaty. They now need to adapt their internal procedures
and practice to the provisions of the Regulation. The Aarhus Regulation
addresses the "three pillars" of the Aarhus Convention
- access to information, public participation and access to justice
in environmental matters - where those are of relevance to Community
institutions and bodies and lays down related requirements. Regarding
access to environmental information, the Aarhus Regulation extends
Regulation
(EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council
and Commission documents to all Community institutions and bodies.
The Aarhus Regulation furthermore requires those institutions and
bodies to provide for public participation in the preparation, modification
or review of "plans and programmes relating to the environment".
The Aarhus Regulation also enables environmental NGOs meeting certain
criteria to request an internal review under environmental law of
acts adopted, or omissions, by Community institutions and bodies.
Requests for internal review of an administrative act or relating to an administrative omission are to be sent by mail, fax or e-mail to the department responsible for the application of the provision on the basis of which the administrative act was adopted, or in respect of which the administrative omission is alleged.
With respect to acts or omissions falling under the responsibility of the Environment Directorate-General (‘DG Environment’) of the Commission, the following address and contact details may be used:
Postal address:
Request for internal review under Title IV of Aarhus Regulation
Environment Directorate-General
European Commission
B-1049 Brussels
Fax: +32(0)2.298.63.27
E-mail: ENV-INTERNAL-REVIEW@ec.europa.eu
The Commission has adopted two decisions to implement further the Regulation:
- Commission Decision 2008/50/EC of 13 December 2007 laying down detailed rules for the application of Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Aarhus Convention as regards requests for the internal review of administrative acts.
This Decision specifies the evidence to be provided by NGOs, the calculation of time-limits for reply to applications and cooperation between Community institutions and bodies. This Decision applies to all the Community institutions and bodies covered by Title IV of the Regulation.
- Commission Decision 2008/401/EC, Euratom of 30 April 2008 amending its Rules of Procedure as regards detailed rules for the application of Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the application of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to Community institution and bodies.
This Decision ensures that the General principles and minimum standards for consultation of interested parties by the Commission [COM(2002) 704] apply to public participation concerning plans and programme relating to the environment. It assigns also clear responsibilities and decision-making powers to the appropriate bodies or persons within the Commission with respect to the provisions of the Regulation concerning requests for internal review.
For more information, see the practical guide on Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006.
Reporting
The Commission adopted on 7 May 2008 the first Implementation Report reviewing how the Community has implemented the Aarhus Convention.
EC commissioned studies
Relevant European Commission on-line resources
Access to Information
- The European
Environment Agency aims to support sustainable development
and to help achieve significant and measurable improvement in
Europe's environment through the provision of timely, targeted,
relevant and reliable environmental information to policy making
agents and the public.
- European Environment Information
and Observation Network (EIONET): EIONET is a collaborative
network of the European Environment Agency and its Member Countries,
connecting National Focal Points in the EU and accession countries,
European Topic Centres, National Reference Centres, and Main Component
Elements. These organisations jointly provide the information
that is used for making decisions for improving the state of environment
in Europe and making EU policies more effective. EIONET is both
a network of organisations and a electronic network (e-EIONET).
-
Eurostat: Eurostat’s mission is to provide the European Union
with a high-quality statistical information service
- European Pollutant Emission
Register (EPER) and European Pollutant Release and Transfer
Register (E-PRTR): National governments of all EC Member States
are required to maintain inventories of emission data from specified
industrial sources and to report emissions from individual facilities
to the European Commission. The reported data will be made accessible
in a public register (EPER), which is intended to provide environmental
information on major industrial activities. E-PRTR is the European
Pollutant Release and Transfer Register, which will succeed the
EPER. It is based on Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 and is intended
to fully implement the obligations of the UN-ECE PRTR Protocol,
which was signed in May 2003 by 36 countries and the European
Community. The obligations under the E-PRTR Regulation extend
beyond the scope of EPER mainly in terms of more facilities included,
more substances to report, additional coverage of releases to
land, off-site transfers of waste and releases from diffuse sources,
public participation and annual instead of triennial reporting.
The first reporting year under the E-PRTR will be the year 2007
and respective information will have to be reported by Member
States in June 2009. The Commission will publish the data in autumn
2009.
- "Openness
and access to documents": Article 255 of the treaty establishing
the European Community, implemented through Regulation 1049/2001
of 30 May 2001, grants a right of access to European Parliament,
Council and Commission documents to any Union citizen and to any
natural or legal person residing, or having its registered office,
in a Member State.
- Document
registers of the European Parliament, the Council of the European
Union and the European Commission
Public Participation
Access to Justice
- The
European Ombudsman: any citizen or resident of the EU (or
a business, association or other body with a registered office
in the Union) can make a complaint to the European Ombudsman.
He investigates complaints about maladministration by institutions
and bodies of the European Union.
Links
- The UNECE
Aarhus Clearinghouse for Environmental democracy
- "Your Right to a Healthy Environment: a Simplified Guide to
the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation
in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters":
A joint publication of the United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (UNECE) and the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP)
- Environmental Assessment: information
on the European Community's laws on Environmental Impact Assessment
of projects and the Environmental Assessment of certain plans
and programmes
- eEurope
2005 Action Plan
- eGovernment
i2010 Action Plan
- eGovernment
Good Practice Framework: The European Commission has started
a series of measures to support the creation of comprehensive
eGovernment services across all levels of the Union. The "Good
Practice Framework" (GPF) is a centrepiece in this strategy.
- The European Commission eGovernment
Observatory: eGovernment is a way for public administrations
to become more open and transparent, and to reinforce democratic
participation.
Contact:
Mr Charles Pirotte
European Commission
Environment Directorate-General, "Communication & Governance"
Unit
B-1049 Brussels
Electronic form for information/documentation
requests
