Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-05-22-Speech-4-817"
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"en.20080522.24.4-817"2
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"I have been actively involved in the Aarhus Convention since 2000, when we discussed its first pillar, the right of citizens to information on the environment, and soon after that the second pillar, opportunities for public participation in decision-making. When I met local environment activists in Kazakhstan, what seemed obvious in the West took on a new dimension from my standpoint.
The Aarhus Convention is a major achievement in the aim to improve public participation and access to information rights and is a component in any successful system of democracy, and that is why I well understand Parliament’s position in which also the missing element, the right of the public to appeal, should be restored. I can sympathise, however, with the Council when it says it fears that citizens’ rights could be abused when it comes to lodging an appeal in order to slow down projects or establish a level playing field for fund-raising campaigns staged by organisations. The Council is right to be worried about this exploitation of democracy. It is important, however, that the issue should be raised once again: the world and our society are changing all the time, and political decisions must stand up to present-day scrutiny.
It is for this very reason that I like the paragraph in our resolution in preparation for the meeting which states that there is a desire to extend the Aarhus Convention to apply to all the principles of sustainable development. This way the criteria for sustainable development are met thanks to the Convention’s principles regarding openness, the chance for participation, and accountability. This is actually the idea behind the Aarhus Convention: it will generate a wide-ranging and proactive way of thinking about the environment, especially amongst the public, so creating new opportunities for improving existing practices. The Riga meeting will be a splendid opportunity for an interim evaluation of the Convention, and I am convinced that this is the way to go."@en1
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