Fuente: © European Parliament
http://www.europarl.eu.int/

EU: EU should take a leading role on access to environmental justice

/noticias.info/ MEPs urge the EU to take a leading role in the negotiations on the EU strategy for the third Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention, including the elaboration of a possible wider scope of the Convention to cover sustainable development in all its dimensions. MEPs say that synergies with other multilateral environmental agreements and other relevant international organisations and Conventions (in particular the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety) should be created.

The Aarhus Convention deals with the access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters. From 11 to 13 June 2008 the forthcoming third Meeting of the Parties (MOP-3) is to be held in Riga, Latvia. The Aarhus Convention entered into force on 30 October 2001, was ratified by the EC in 2005, has at the moment 41 parties.

The resolution was adopted with 426 votes in favour, 10 against and 3 abstentions.

Aims of the meeting (inter alia) should be according to the European Parliament:

- increase of citizens awareness of their rights and responsibilities under the Aarhus Convention

- ensure that work on access to justice continues by ensuring that public authorities are aware of their obligations

- full implementation of the Convention is needed (Commission shall set god example) and other countries should become parties to Convention.

The legislative instruments which implements the remaining part of Convention in the EU (on access to justice in environmental matters) is blocked in Council, MEPs urge Commission and Member States to resume work to transpose the remaining part in EU law.
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