Brussels, 12/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Economic and Social Committee is calling on the capitals to provide more information on nuclear safety and to involve the citizens in the decision-making process.
In Brussels on 4 and 5 December, a conference on the limitation of the Aarhus Convention on nuclear safety allowed the EESC to draw the following conclusion: transparency remains a challenge. Those taking part called on the Commission to draw up “clear and broadly approved” guidelines on the transparency clauses in the directives on nuclear waste and safety, particularly on the right of the public to take part in the process. They also called for dedicated support to be provided to civil servants to help them correctly to implement the proposals on access to information and transparency.
The Aarhus Convention on access to information, public involvement in the decision-making process and access to justice in environmental matters, which has been ratified by the EU, is an international agreement which aims to improve the environmental information issued by the public authorities, to promote public involvement in the making of all decisions with an impact on the environment and to extend the conditions for access to justice in environmental legislation and access to information matters. (EH/transl.fl)