A revision was already demanded by the European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions, and hinted at by the Commission in its decision VII/8f progress report on the ongoing non-compliance case of the EU with the Aarhus Convention. [...] Legal grounds calling for review The need for a review of the environmental democracy elements of the Governance Regulation is supported by the following legal grounds: A case is currently pending before the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee, in which the EU is charged for non-compliance of the Governance Regulation with the Aarhus Convention (decision VII/8f) The obligations stemming from th. [...] In that regard, the optional The Governance Regulation needs to discussion on NECPs’ establishment either define which members of the in the MCEDs from Article 11 of the public are to be included in the scope Governance Regulation should of the public consultation or require become mandatory. [...] This weak obligation Regulation and include at the least: should be transformed into a clear A draft of the plan (before the obligation to report on the iterations submission of the official draft to of the national dialogue and on how the Commission) the opinions voiced, in the dialogues, Information about the public were taken into account in energy participation procedure and climate related de. [...] Create a link between the public consultation on the plans and the Multilevel Climate and Energy Dialogues (MCEDs) Turn the option of discussing the NECPs in the MCEDs from an option into an obligation under Article 11, including an obligation to regularly discuss the implementation of the NECP.
Authors
- Pages
- 12
- Published in
- Belgium
Table of Contents
- Respecting environmental democracy rights in 1
- Legal grounds calling for review 2
- Impact of a Revised Governance Regulation 2
- Planning with respect for public opinion 3
- The publics ability to influence the plans and strategies 4
- Timing Draft vs draft of the draft 4
- Structured ongoing public dialogue 4
- Proper regulatory framework adopted 5
- Transparent and fair framework Reasonable time frames for public participation procedures 5
- Early public participation Due account of the public participation outcome 6
- Identifying the participating public while taking into account the objectives of the Aarhus Convention 7
- MCEDs 7
- Policy consistency 7
- Information necessary for the Public Participation requirements 7
- General information 7
- National legal challenge 8
- EU legal challenge of Commission acts 9
- Governance Regulation 10
- 1. Clarify the link with the Strategic Environmental Assessment SEA Directive by ensuring its applicability to National Energy and Climate Plans NECPs 10
- 2. Clear mention of procedural public participation guarantees in Article 10 in lieu of SEA Directive applicability 10
- 3. Include an access to justice provision 10
- 4. Differentiate between different drafts 10
- 5. Specify which information must be proactively made available 10
- 6. Create a link between the public consultation on the plans and the Multilevel Climate and Energy Dialogues MCEDs 10
- 7. Ensure easy access to environmental information 10
- NECP template - Annex I of the Governance Regulation 11
- Commission Notice Guidance to Member States 11
- Implementing Regulation 20222299 and its Annex XXIII 11
- 8. Improve reporting on public participation in the preparation of NECPs 11
- 9. Include an obligation for meaningful reporting in Article 18 10.Increase the level of detail required in the template of Annex XXIII 11
- 11. Include guidance on reasonable timeframes for public participation. 11
- Signatories 12
