Directive 2003/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment and amending with regard to public participation and access to justice Council Directives 85/337/EEC and 96/61/EC

• Published date: 25 June 2003
• Official Gazette Publication: Gazzetta ufficiale dell’Unione europea, L 156, 25 giugno 2003,Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea, L 156, 25 de junio de 2003,Journal officiel de l’Union européenne, L 156, 25 juin 2003

02003L0035 — EN — 31.12.2016 — 002.001

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►B DIRECTIVE 2003/35/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 26 May 2003 providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment and amending with regard to public participation and access to justice Council Directives 85/337/EEC and 96/61/EC (OJ L 156 25.6.2003, p. 17)

Amended by:

		Official Journal
		No	page	date
►M1	DIRECTIVE 2011/92/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL Text with EEA relevance of 13 December 2011	L 26	1	28.1.2012
►M2	DIRECTIVE (EU) 2016/2284 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL Text with EEA relevance of 14 December 2016	L 344	1	17.12.2016

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▼B

DIRECTIVE 2003/35/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 26 May 2003

providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment and amending with regard to public participation and access to justice Council Directives 85/337/EEC and 96/61/EC

Article 1

Objective

The objective of this Directive is to contribute to the implementation of the obligations arising under the Århus Convention, in particular by:

(a)providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment;

(b)improving the public participation and providing for provisions on access to justice within Council Directives 85/337/EEC and 96/61/EC.

Article 2

Public participation concerning plans and programmes

1. For the purposes of this Article, ‘the public’ shall mean one or more natural or legal persons and, in accordance with national legislation or practice, their associations, organisations or groups.

2. Member States shall ensure that the public is given early and effective opportunities to participate in the preparation and modification or review of the plans or programmes required to be drawn up under the provisions listed in Annex I.

To that end, Member States shall ensure that:

(a)the public is informed, whether by public notices or other appropriate means such as electronic media where available, about any proposals for such plans or programmes or for their modification or review and that relevant information about such proposals is made available to the public including inter alia information about the right to participate in decision-making and about the competent authority to which comments or questions may be submitted;

(b)the public is entitled to express comments and opinions when all options are open before decisions on the plans and programmes are made;

(c)in making those decisions, due account shall be taken of the results of the public participation;

(d)having examined the comments and opinions expressed by the public, the competent authority makes reasonable efforts to inform the public about the decisions taken and the reasons and considerations upon which those decisions are based, including information about the public participation process.

3. Member States shall identify the public entitled to participate for the purposes of paragraph 2, including relevant non-governmental organisations meeting any requirements imposed under national law, such as those promoting environmental protection.

The detailed arrangements for public participation under this Article shall be determined by the Member States so as to enable the public to prepare and participate effectively.

Reasonable time-frames shall be provided allowing sufficient time for each of the different stages of public participation required by this Article.

4. This Article shall not apply to plans and programmes designed for the sole purpose of serving national defence or taken in case of civil emergencies.

5. This Article shall not apply to plans and programmes set out in Annex I for which a public participation procedure is carried out under Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment (1) or under Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (2).

▼M1 —————

▼B

Article 4

Amendment of Directive 96/61/EC

Directive 96/61/EC is hereby amended as follows:

1.Article 2 shall be amended as follows:

(a)the following sentence shall be added to point 10(b):

‘For the purposes of this definition, any change to or extension of an operation shall be deemed to be substantial if the change or extension in itself meets the thresholds, if any, set out in Annex I.’;

(b)the following points shall be added:

‘13.“the public” shall mean one or more natural or legal persons and, in accordance with national legislation or practice, their associations, organisations or groups;

14.“the public concerned” shall mean the public affected or likely to be affected by, or having an interest in, the taking of a decision on the issuing or the updating of a permit or of permit conditions; for the purposes of this definition, non-governmental organisations promoting environmental protection and meeting any requirements under national law shall be deemed to have an interest;’

2.in Article 6(1), first subparagraph, the following indent shall be added:

‘—the main alternatives, if any, studied by the applicant in outline.’

3.Article 15 shall be amended as follows:

(a)paragraph 1 shall be replaced by the following:

‘1. Member...