Activites

• 2006/09/25 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Regulation 2006/1367
  • OJ L 264 25.09.2006, p. 0013-0019
• 2006/09/06 Final act signed
• 2006/09/06 End of procedure in Parliament
• #2745
• 2006/07/18 Council Meeting
• 2006/07/04 Decision by Parliament, 3rd reading
  • T6-0283/2006 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a resolution approving the joint text agreed by the Conciliation Committee. (For a summary of the joint text, please see the document dated 02/05/2006.)

• 2006/07/03 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2006/06/27 Report tabled for plenary, 3rd reading
  • A6-0230/2006
• 2006/06/19 Joint text approved by Conciliation Committee co-chairs
  • 03614/2006
• 2006/05/02 Formal meeting of Conciliation Committee
• #2724
• 2006/04/25 Council Meeting
• 2006/01/18 Results of vote in Parliament
  • Results of vote in Parliament
  • T6-0016/2006 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Eija-Riitta KORHOLA (EPP-ED, FI) and made some amendments to the common position: - "promoting sustainable development" should be included in the scope of the European environment policy subject to the new Regulation;- the definition of 'environmental information' should be extended to include "the state of progress of proceedings for infringement of Community law";- exceptions on granting access to environmental information should be governed not by Regulation 1049/2001 but by Directive 2003/4/EC on public access to environmental information;  - public participation should be allowed with regard not only to plans and programmes but also to policies relating to the environment; - the scope of the regulation should be extended to cover plans and programmes subject to funding by the EU (and not just those which are prepared or adopted by a Community institution or body);  - banking activities, which had been excluded by the Council, should be included in the scope of the regulation;- where the requested environmental information is not held by an EU institution the latter should inform the applicant or transfer the request  "at the latest within 15 working days";- the provisions on charges should be aligned with Directive 2003/4/EC, i.e. institutions or bodies other than the Parliament, Council or Commission may levy  "a reasonable charge" for supplying information. They shall publicise and make available to applicants a schedule of charges which may be levied, indicating the circumstances in which they may be levied or waived and when the supply of information is conditional on the advance payment of such a charge;- on the results of public participation, a new clause states that in taking a decision on the plan, programme or policy relating to the environment, Community institutions and bodies shall take due account of the results of the public participation process. They must inform the public about that plan, programme or policy, including its text, and of the reasons and considerations upon which the decision is based, including information about the public participation process;- the time-limits for receiving comments or organising meetings to enable the public to participate in the environmental decision-making process should be extended from 4 weeks to 8 weeks; - the time-limit for submission of a request for internal review by an NGO which meets the criteria set out in Article 11 should be 8 weeks after the date when the act was due to be adopted, rather than 4 weeks as suggested by Council;- Parliament added the words “law-abiding” to the phrase “independent non-profit-making legal person in accordance with a Member State's national law or practice” for NGOs meeting the relevant criteria; the primary objective of such NGOs may be or include promoting sustainable development;- Community institutions and bodies should adapt their rules of procedure with effect from the entry into force of the Regulation;- the regulation should apply from 3 months after the entry into force of the regulation.

• 2006/01/17 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2005/11/30 Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading
  • A6-0381/2005
• 2005/11/21 Vote in committee, 2nd reading
• 2005/09/29 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 2nd reading
• #2676
• 2005/07/18 Council Meeting
  • 06273/2/2005 summary

    The common position incorporates a number of the European Parliament's first-reading amendments, either verbatim, in part or in spirit. In particular, procedural requirements which Community institutions and bodies have to meet with regard to information of the public and public participation in decision-making have been clarified and enhanced. With regard to access to justice, criteria for entitlement to make a request for internal review have been simplified. Qualified entities (now defined as NGOs meeting the relevant criteria) are no longer required to be active at Community level as such, yet any requests have to address Community level issues, i.e. be consistent with the definition of environmental law as it appears in Article 2 (f). Furthermore, as compared to the Commission proposal, the common position no longer requires the non-governmental organisation to “have its annual statement of accounts certified by a registered auditor.”However, other amendments are not reflected in the common position because the Council agreed that they were unnecessary and/or undesirable or because provisions from the original Commission proposal were deleted or thoroughly redrafted.The common position also includes changes other than those envisaged in the European Parliament's first-reading opinion. In addition, a number of drafting changes have been introduced to clarify the text or to ensure the overall coherence of the Directive.In particular:-the Council accepted the introduction of the concept in the Aarhus Convention, according to which administrations should assist the public regarding access to information, participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters;-the Council accepted that the time limit for making a request for internal review starts to run “after the administrative act was adopted, notified or published, whichever is the latest”.-the Council has added, in a new Article 6, provisions concerning the “application of exceptions concerning requests for access to environmental information”. While following the basic approach to extend Regulation 1049/2001 on access to documents to all Community institutions and bodies, the Council found that some provisions of that Regulation concerning exceptions would need to be qualified for requests for environmental information, in order to ensure full compliance with the Aarhus Convention. These are added in a new Article;-amendments referring to sustainable development were not acceptable because sustainable development is outside the scope of the Convention and not in line with Article 174 of the EC Treaty with regard to the objectives of environmental policy;-the notion of “qualified entity” is deleted from the text;-the Council did not accept the amendment aiming to exclude organisations “that may not have genuine environmental protection objectives”; -the amendment concerning the need for Community institutions ”to streamline procedures” is not linked to a specific operational provision and not incorporated;-the amendment aiming to include in the definition of “environmental information” information on the state of infringement proceedings, was rejected;-new clauses relating to the scope of the public participation provisions – extension to ‘policies relating to the environment’ and inclusion of plans and programmes ‘subject to funding by a Community institution or body’ - were rejected as they go beyond the legally binding requirements of the Aarhus Convention and are not in line with the approach followed for the Member States;-certain amendments relating to requests for review by individual members of the public were rejected.   The Aarhus Convention provides for the possibility for Parties to establish criteria as concerns access to justice, which the Commission proposal has made use of concerning the criteria for non-governmental organisations (“qualified entities”). While the criteria for entitlement to make a request for internal review have been simplified in the common position, the latter carefully adheres to the provisions of Articles 230(4) and 232(3) of the EC Treaty.

• #Prés
• 2004/12/20 Council Meeting
• 2004/03/31 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T5-0238/2004 summary

    The European Parliament adopted the report by Eija-Riitta Anneli KORHOLA (EPP-ED, FIN). Many of the amendments sought to align the text with various provisions in the Arhus Convention and related EU directives, especially as regards refusing requests for access to environmental information and laying down binding rules on public participation. More specifically, the Parliament includes the following amendments: - the Arhus Convention grants nongovernmental organisations promoting environmental protection the right to participate in the drawing-up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment and access to justice in environmental matters whereas other members of the public have to be affected by or have an interest in the decisions or omissions. In order to protect this right from any form of abuse, the Community law should set basic criteria for recognising such qualified organisations; - Community institutions and bodies, with particular reference to the Commission, should make greater efforts to streamline the current procedures for obtaining information and access to justice, such as those relating to complaints and to petitions to the European Parliament; - where they have a sufficient interest or maintain the impairment of a right, members of the public, where they are directly and individually concerned, should be able to bring environmental proceedings concerning the procedural and substantive legality of administrative acts or omissions which infringe environmental law; - Community institutions and bodies shall endeavour to assist the public by providing the best possible guidance in seeking access to information, in facilitating participation in decision making and in seeking access to justice in environmental matters; - Community institution or body, it shall, as promptly as possible, or, at the latest, within 15 working days, inform the applicant of the Community institution or body or the public authority within the meaning of Directive 2003/4/EC to which it believes it is possible to apply for the information requested or transfer the request to the relevant Community institution or body or the public authority and inform the applicant accordingly; - Community institutions and bodies shall refuse access to and shall decide not to actively disseminate environmental information, where disclosure of the information would adversely affect the protection of the environment to which such information relates, such as the location of rare species; - Community institutions and bodies may not refuse a request nor may they decide to actively disseminate the information, where the information relates to emissions into the environment, by virtue of the exceptions relating to the protection of commercial or industrial information, the protection of personal data, or the protection of the environment to which the information relates; - Community institutions and bodies may deny access to environmental information or decide not to disseminate environmental information only by virtue of certain exceptions; - on the issue of charges, the Parliament states that Community institutions and bodies not covered by Regulation 1049/2001/ECmay, where Article 10 of that Regulation is not applicable, make a reasonable charge for supplying information. They shall publicise and make available to applicants a schedule of charges which may be levied, indicating the circumstances in which they may be levied or waived and when the supply of information is conditional on the advance payment of such a charge; - as regards consultations, when preparing, modifying or reviewing a plan, programme or policy relating to the environment, Community institutions and bodies shall inform the public thereof, whether by public notice or other appropriate means such as electronic media; - request for internal review of administrative acts by qualified entities within a time limit not exceeding twelve weeks after the administrative act was published in the Official Journal of the European Union or otherwise made public, or, in the case of an alleged omission, twelve weeks after the date when the administrative act was required by law. It shall specify the alleged breach of environmental law as well as the content of the review decision sought. Request for internal review of administrative acts by members of the public - Members of the public who have legal standing and who consider that an administrative act or an omission, where they are directly and individually concerned, is in breach of environmental law, is entitled to make a request for internal review to the Community institution or body that adopted the act or, in case of an alleged omission, should have acted. Such a request must be made in writing and within a time limit not exceeding twelve weeks after the administrative act was published in the Official Journal of the European Union or otherwise made public, or, in the case of an alleged omission, twelve weeks after the date when the administrative act was required by law. It shall specify the alleged breach of environmental law as well as the content of the review decision sought.�

• 2004/03/30 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2004/03/16 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A5-0190/2004
• 2003/11/05 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2003/10/24 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(2003)0622 summary

    PURPOSE : to lay down rules aiming to apply the principles of the UN/ECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental matters, hereafter named the Arhus Convention, to Community institutions and bodies. PROPOSED ACT : Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. CONTENT : in 1998, the European Community, together with the fifteen Member States, signed the UN/ECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (hereinafter "the Arhus Convention"). The main aim of the Convention is to allow the public to become more involved in environmental matters and to actively contribute to improved preservation and protection of the environment. The signing of the Arhus Convention obliges the European Community to align its legislation to the requirements of the Convention. The Community is not yet allowed to ratify Arhus Convention, as the provisions of that Convention are, in part, more detailed or far-reaching than existing EC provisions, also concerning their scope of application. For this reason, additional measures are necessary to fully apply the requirements of the Arhus Convention to the Community institutions and bodies. This proposal for a Regulation envisages the application of the Convention's three pillars, access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters, to the European Community institutions and bodies, building upon the provisions which already exist in this area. This proposed Regulation shall lay down rules aiming to apply the principles of the UN/ECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental matters to Community institutions and bodies, in particular by: - guaranteeing the right of public access to environmental information held by or for Community institutions and bodies and by setting out the basic terms and conditions of, and practical arrangements for, its exercise; - ensuring that environmental information progressively becomes available in electronic databases that are easily accessible to the public through public telecommunications networks; - providing for public participation in respect of the preparation by Community institutions and bodies of plans and programmes relating to environment; - granting access to justice in environmental matters at Community level under the conditions laid down by this Regulation.�

  • DG [{'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/environment/', 'title': 'Environment'}],

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2003)0622
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A5-0190/2004
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0238/2004
• Council position published: 06273/2/2005
• Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading: A6-0381/2005
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading: T6-0016/2006
• Joint text approved by Conciliation Committee co-chairs: 03614/2006
• Report tabled for plenary, 3rd reading: A6-0230/2006
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 3rd reading: T6-0283/2006
• : Regulation 2006/1367
• : OJ L 264 25.09.2006, p. 0013-0019

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)