Legal requirements

It is important to recognize that procedures and mechanisms have statutory basis according to European Directives or national legislation. For example, there is a legal right to environmental information held by public authorities and other bodies under EC Directive 90/313. A forthcoming Directive is likely to establish public participation as an important component of Environmental Assessment. The European Community has also resolved to support the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, agreed at Aarhus, Denmark in June 1998.