Commission Européen Initiative européenne Citoyenne

The EU and the AARHUS convention

In this briefing, Jonas Ebbesson, chair of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee, describes the 1998 Aarhus Convention on Access to Justice, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (“Aarhus Convention”).

He paint the the background and context of the convention, and highlight some shortcomings and areas of concern from the perspective of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee. Accordingly, he limits his comments to issues examined by the Compliance Committee with respect to the EU and its Member States, and particularly to matters where these Parties have been found non-compliant. He also refrains from discussing the merits of pending cases, as that could be perceived as influencing current considerations by the Committee.