March 18, 2022
In its discussion paper, UfU makes proposals on how digital public participation can be improved at EU level, for example via the European Commission’s Have-your-say portal.
Environmental protection is important to Europe’s citizens and there is a strong desire for change towards more climate protection and sustainability. This is shown, for example, by the results of the special Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Commission in 2019: over 90% of respondents across Europe believed that climate change is a serious problem and 94% stated that environmental protection is important to them personally. Many people also want to help shape the necessary transformation themselves – and they have a right to do so, both in their own country and at European level. In accordance with the Aarhus Convention, the rights of European citizens and environmental associations to information, participation and access to justice must be developed not only within the member states, but also for European procedures. This means, for example, that when EU regulations on air quality are revised or the 2030 climate target plan is drafted as part of the European Green Deal, the public must be involved and consulted. Not least due to the coronavirus pandemic, participation processes have increasingly shifted to the digital space in the last two years or so. On the one hand, digitalization holds great potential for the participation of different social groups and organizations. On the other hand, it also brings with it various challenges. In practice, European institutions are still struggling to respond appropriately to the new, digital participation needs and to design modern, effective participation processes.
Building on a series of UfU “Aarhus Workshop Talks”, this English-language discussion paper on the topic of digital participation (e-participation) has therefore been produced. In the paper, UfU, together with Prof. Dr. Alexandra Aragão from the University of Coimbra, Portugal, discusses how the European Union can improve the digital participation of citizens and organizations. The paper focuses on online public consultations initiated by the European Commission via the Have-your-say portal. This web-based portal offers citizens, stakeholders and academics, among others, the opportunity to comment on new EU policies and existing legislation. The discussion paper first describes how the public can participate via the online portal. It then systematically identifies the challenges and shortcomings of e-participation in European environmental policy. Based on this, concrete solutions for improving e-participation are proposed.
Discussion paper: Strengthened e-participation in European environmental decision-making
Background:
The discussion paper is part of the
project
“European Implementation of the Aarhus Convention in the Digital Age (EU-AarCo)”, which was funded by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection.
The aim of the project was to organize dialogue and positioning processes with regard to the implementation of the Aarhus Convention at European level and to develop information and educational materials on the topics of access to environmental information, participation and legal protection in environmental matters.
In 2020 and 2021, a total of five digital Aarhus workshop discussions were organized and conducted by UfU. The results included the joint
Position paper
“German, Portuguese, Slovenian Civil Society Declaration on Access to Justice for Citizens & NGOs at European Union Level” and the discussion paper “Strengthened e-participation in European environmental decision-making”.
In addition, four short explanatory films and three brochures were produced on the Aarhus Convention and the opportunities available to campaign for environmental protection at European level. Further information and all documents can be found here: www.ufu.de/projekt/eu-aarko
Further information on the Aarhus Convention and its implementation at European level can be found here:
www.aarhus-konvention.de