Date published:
On 25 September 2006, the Official Journal of the European Union published a new EC Regulation (No. 1367/2006) 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 EC institutions and bodies. This "Aarhus' Regulation", which deals with the application of procedural rights guaranteed by the 1998 Aarhus Convention within the EU’s institutional framework, will become directly applicable on 28 June 2007. It contains provisions on public access to environmental information held by European Community institutions and bodies, as well as requiring the European Commission and other EU bodies to actively collect and disseminate such information. It organizes a new public participation procedure which shall apply whenever Community institutions and bodies prepare, modify or review plans and programmes likely to have significant effects on the environment. Finally, it provides for a special internal review procedure whereby NGOs meeting certain criteria can request the Commission or any other Community body to reconsider any administrative act it has adopted pursuant to EU environmental law, or to adopt such an act where it was legally required to do so but failed to act.
The controversial aspects of the issues of public participation, transparency and accountability, whose institutional, legal and political implications go far beyond environment policy, sparked off a heated debate on the proposed Regulation, eventually leading to a conciliation procedure between the European Parliament and the Council. Does the Aarhus Regulation actually create new rights and opportunities for citizens and civil society organisations and, if so, how can they be exercised effectively?
In order to address these questions, the European Centre on Sustainable Policies for Human and Environmental Rights (ECOSPHERE) will be organizing a public Forum in Brussels on Friday 27 October 2006, chaired by Dr. Ludwig Krämer, Professor of European environmental law, University of Bremen & University College London. Experts from NGOs, several European universities and the legal profession will discuss the new provisions of Regulation No. 1367/2006 and analyze their implications for EU environmental policy. The Forum will be opened by Mrs Evelyne Huytebroeck, Minister of Environment and Energy of the Brussels Capital Region. The detailed program and list of speakers for this Forum can be accessed at http://www.ecosphere.be/pdfflyers/Ecosphere_27oct2006.pdfParticipation in the Forum is open to all and free of charge, but registration is required by sending an e-mail to [email protected] before 20 October.
The controversial aspects of the issues of public participation, transparency and accountability, whose institutional, legal and political implications go far beyond environment policy, sparked off a heated debate on the proposed Regulation, eventually leading to a conciliation procedure between the European Parliament and the Council. Does the Aarhus Regulation actually create new rights and opportunities for citizens and civil society organisations and, if so, how can they be exercised effectively?
In order to address these questions, the European Centre on Sustainable Policies for Human and Environmental Rights (ECOSPHERE) will be organizing a public Forum in Brussels on Friday 27 October 2006, chaired by Dr. Ludwig Krämer, Professor of European environmental law, University of Bremen & University College London. Experts from NGOs, several European universities and the legal profession will discuss the new provisions of Regulation No. 1367/2006 and analyze their implications for EU environmental policy. The Forum will be opened by Mrs Evelyne Huytebroeck, Minister of Environment and Energy of the Brussels Capital Region. The detailed program and list of speakers for this Forum can be accessed at http://www.ecosphere.be/pdfflyers/Ecosphere_27oct2006.pdfParticipation in the Forum is open to all and free of charge, but registration is required by sending an e-mail to [email protected] before 20 October.
