Directive 2003/4 / EC (Environmental Information Directive)
 Directive 2003/4 / EC |
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|---|---|
| Title: | Directive 2003/4 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of January 28, 2003 on public access to environmental information and repealing Directive 90/313 / EEC of the Council |
| Designation: (not official) |
Environmental information directive |
| Scope: | EEA |
| Legal matter: | Environmental law |
| Basis: | EC Treaty , in particular Article 175 paragraph 1 |
| Procedure overview: |
European Commission European Parliament IPEX Wiki |
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To be implemented in national law by: |
February 14, 2005 |
| Reference: | OJ L 41 of 14.2.2003, pp. 26-32 |
| Full text |
Consolidated version (not official) basic version |
| The regulation must have been implemented in national law. | |
| Please note the information on the current version of legal acts of the European Union ! | |
The Directive 2003/4 / EC (Environmental Information Directive) ( english directive on public access to environmental information ) requires Member States and EU institutions, access to official its citizens environmental information to provide. Natural and legal persons can request information without having to give a reason, and environmental information must also be actively disseminated.
The Environmental Information Directive (UIRL) sets deadlines within which information must be provided - usually one month after receipt of an application. In principle, the applicant can determine in which form he wishes information. Authorities must take certain precautions in order to be able to provide information. This includes appointing an information officer, keeping registers of available information and providing opportunities for inspection. The applicant can assert a right to information in court or by other legal means.
In some cases, applications can be rejected. On the one hand, a rejection can be justified in the application itself if it is “obviously abusive” or “too general”, concerns “internal communications” or “material not yet completed”. On the other hand, the reason for not providing information, or only to a limited extent, may be that complete information would have negative consequences for certain areas, such as international relations, ongoing legal proceedings, intellectual property, data protection or trade secrets.
Certain information needs to be actively disseminated. This includes international treaties and other agreements, environmental plans and programs, corresponding progress reports, environmental status reports, monitoring data, permits, impact assessments and risk assessments.
In 1998, under the umbrella of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe , numerous European states agreed on the Aarhus Convention , which contains free access to official environmental information as an essential pillar. It is based on the assumption that environmental protection can be improved through environmental awareness and public participation. The European Union was also one of the signatories to the convention.
In 2000 the European Commission presented a first draft directive for the implementation of the Aarhus Convention. After a few changes, the directive was finally adopted under the co-decision procedure (COD) in January 2003. It expanded the environmental information directive 90/313 / EEC ("Directive on free access to information about the environment") , which it replaced in 1990 . The UIRL obliges all member states of the EU to implement it into national law. The EU directive goes beyond the Aarhus Convention in some points. So your concept of environmental information is broader. In addition, companies that provide public services on behalf are also obliged to make environmental information accessible.
With Decision 2005/370 / EC of February 17, 2005, the European Union has been a member of the Aarhus Convention since May 2005. At the same time, the EU stated that its institutions will enable appropriate access to environmental information. In Germany, the UIRL was implemented in 2005 through a redesign of the Environmental Information Act and in information laws at regional level, in Austria in 2005 through an amendment to the Austrian Environmental Information Act and also through state laws.
literature
- Daniel R. Klein: Environmental information in international and European law: active environmental education of the state and information access rights of the citizen . Mohr-Siebeck, 2011.
Web links
- Directive 2003/4 / EC - Text of the directive, consolidated version (with all amendments)
- European Commission website on the implementation of the Aarhus Convention
Footnotes
- ↑ Long text Directive 2003/4 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of January 28, 2003 on public access to environmental information and repealing Directive 90/313 / EEC of the Council
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↑ common, non-official short name and abbreviation for the directives 2003/4 / EG and 90/313 / EWG, see z. B .:
- Daniel R. Klein: Environmental information in international and European law . 2011, p. 64 ff .
- Felix Ekardt : Information, participation, legal protection: proceduralization of justice and control in the European Union . LIT-Verlag, Munich 2004, p. 81 ff .
- European law regarding access to environmental information. In: Umweltinformationsrecht.de. Independent Institute for Environmental Issues, accessed July 14, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c Public access to environmental information. Legislative Summary , accessed July 3, 2018 .
- ↑ Stefan Keupp and Michael Zschiesche: The Aarhus Convention - Citizen Participation in a New Quality? Ed .: Independent Institute for Environmental Issues . June 2010 ( aarhus-konvention.de [PDF; 589 kB ]).
- ↑ EC Treaty Article 175 (1)