The European Football Championships which ended yesterday have been the subject of overwhelming interest and earnest discussion among Europeans for

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1 The European Football Championships which ended yesterday have been the subject of overwhelming interest and earnest discussion among Europeans for over a month I am mentioning this since recently we have witnessed two other events of enormous magnitude for all Europeans. However, they have been much less discussed... The first is the enlargement. On the first of May we became a European Union of 25. A historic event, opening the borders and contacts between parts of Europe that have been divided much too long. The second important event was the European Parliament elections. For the first time, 340 million Europeans from 25 countries had a chance to elect their representatives. Disappointingly, more than half of European citizens decided not to exercise their democratic rights. Many perceive this unprecedented low voter turn-out as a democratic defeat for Europe - an expression of disinterest by civil society for European issues. The conclusions and consequences of the low turnout, and the fact that a larger number of eurosceptics have taken seats in the new parliament are not cut in stone. There are many reasons for this (wrong timing of the elections, voters voting against the sitting governments in their countries etc). But, as I see it, the low turnout reflects the fact that Europe s citizens feel that what is dealt with on European level, in Brussels is far away from their ordinary lives, which of course is not true. So, what does this have to do with the Århus Convention? Quite a lot, I would say. Århus is at the heart of what a large majority of all those who stood for elections said should be dealt with on European level improving the environment so as to provide a better quality of life for Europe s citizens; and doing so in an open and transparent manner. The Århus Convention is also an instrument that stresses the need for information and provides means for participation in the decision making process. These are measures of utmost importance to facilitate democratic decisions. 1

2 This is why I made it a priority for my mandate as Environment Commissioner to put forward all necessary legislative proposals so that the EU can ratify the Convention. And, this we have done! The pieces of legislation include three directives to be applied on national level (Directives on Access to Information, Participation in the preparation of environmentally significant projects and environmental plans and programmes and Access to Justice in environmental matters), but also a regulation ensuring that the Community institutions and bodies (the Commission itself, EP and Council and our agencies, for example) also follow the Århus principles. The Commission has also put forward a proposal that the EU ratify the Convention. (Welcome and thanks) With this as an introduction, I would like to welcome all participants who have come from Environmental Ministries, regional and local authorities, and in particular from non-governmental organisations, chiefly from the ten new Member States! I am happy that you have been willing to come to Brussels to exchange information and experience and to learn from each other about citizens environmental rights and the role that they, and their organisations, can play in environmental decision-making. This exchange is an important occasion. It is indeed the first time that we meet in a forum of NGOs from the ten new Member States since enlargement. A special thanks to the session chairmen and speakers for your willingness to lead and start off the debates in what I hope will be exciting discussions over the next two days. (The environment matters to European citizens) Indeed Europeans do feel particularly concerned about the quality of the environment. The European Commission s Eurobarometer surveys have constantly shown this. A large majority of Europeans 2

3 believe that the environment has a significant or large impact on their quality of life. Environmental pollution does not know national borders, and this is why it is with very good reason that a large number of Europeans feel that here, action by the European Union has an added value. The environment does not have a voice of its own to make its interests heard, nor does it have an economic lobby. The Århus Convention is about providing citizens and their organisations with the instruments that allow them to defend what they value the environment. However, the Convention is not only an environmental agreement. It is also about governmental accountability, transparency and responsiveness, and thus goes to the very heart of the relationship between people and governments. But, Århus is also about improving environmental policy. Environmental decisions and policies that are founded upon a democratic process of engaging and empowering public opinion are better and more effective than decisions that were made without involving citizens. I believe this to be true for the following reasons: Firstly, they are better because decisions that are made after taking into account the different perspectives and wealth of knowledge of stakeholders will automatically be more broadly based, better reasoned and appropriate. Secondly, they are more effective because by participating in the decision-making process stakeholders have a strong sense of ownership, which helps to encourage effective implementation. So, public participation helps fulfil our goal of making environmental policies work. But there is a global dimension to this right to participate that stems from the fact that environmental issues know no frontiers. It is no coincidence that the World Summit on Sustainable Development endorsed Rio s commitment to promoting environmental democracy. This commitment was motivated by the growing body of evidence that 3

4 maintains that access to information, participation and justice lead to more effective, environmentally-sound and fairer development. This applies to all levels of society -- ranging from constellations such as the EU, sovereign states, economic sectors as well as regions and local communities. I think it is also fair to say that EU environmental policy has been at the forefront of promoting citizens participation. (Topics at the conference) This conference is structured more or less along the three pillars of the Århus Convention. During the morning session, we will focus on a general point: the role of the different actors in promoting effective environmental protection. Then in the afternoon, we will discuss information and access to information. Information means power. This is true not only for politicians but also for you - environmental activists who need solid proof before you can engage in credible action. Readiness to share information is often a question of culture and tradition in the administrative systems of the different states. The Århus Convention provisions on access to environmental information make it your right to obtain information on the state of the environment. Furthermore, the Convention imposes an obligation on the authorities to actively disseminate the environmental information held by them - and not only to provide it on request. You will have a chance to learn more about this right and discuss its application in practice. Tomorrow morning, public participation in environmental decision making is on the agenda. Many of you may have had your own experiences of public participation. Perhaps you commented during discussions of industrial installations, or during the planning of infrastructure projects that affect the environment, or you might have spoken up when your local, regional or national governments 4

5 prepared environmental plans or strategies There are many experiences to be shared. Involving the public in decision-making often means changing administrative practice. It has resource and timing implications. For this reason, not all authorities accept public participation easily. Not all of them see the overall benefits of decisions that are based on sound knowledge and that take account of the views of those actually affected by the decisions. So, the morning session tomorrow will focus on experience with public participation and the challenges to make it work. The second item on tomorrow's agenda is access to justice. This means ensuring that the rights of access to environmental information and participation in decision-making processes are effectively exercised, and improving the enforcement of environmental law. The Århus Convention contains provisions on access to justice for green matters, which means for the EU that an NGO can address a national court, and in certain cases also the court of another Member State, and even the European Court of Justice. However, for most people, going through the courts is a measure of last resort. And even though the Århus Convention has established the right of access to justice to protect the environment, this does not mean that it can easily be used in practice. Tomorrow's discussions will also be about the challenges that environmental NGOs might face when they make use of the right of access to justice. (Conclusion) I am confident that during the next two days we will all benefit from interesting discussions on how the Århus Convention is put into practice, and how this could be improved. I also hope that you will be given practical information that will help you and your NGOs make better use of the rights given by the Convention. It is important that you share and disseminate the knowledge you will gather during the next two days. Please share it not only with the members of your own organisation, but also with other organisations, 5

6 with your local or regional authorities, and, last but not least, with all citizens! This will benefit both the environment and civil society. Now let me invite you to participate in the first session The open society: citizens and the environment. Thank you for your attention. 6