Environment: public participation in plans and programmes

The Parliament approved the report by Mrs Eija-Riitta KORHOLA (EPP-ED, FIN) on providing public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment. Parliament wants the public to have more say over planning permission decisions on schemes affecting the environment. The Parliament voted 500 votes to 7, with 13 abstentions, to endorse a Commission proposal to bring Community legislation into line with the Aarhus Convention. It states that the Commission must include some aspects of the Convention that it has left out of the draft Directive. The amendments approved are designed to allow members of the public to take part in drawing up environmental policies as well as plans and programmes. Parliament also wants to ensure that national defence projects are not automatically excluded from the legislation and, to prevent abuse of the review procedure allow the public to challenge decisions. There is therefore a stipulation that the public concerned must have a sufficient interest in or claim the impairment of a right to have access to the review procedure.�