14/03/2024 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday, 13 March, the Court of Justice of the European Union convicted the Council of the EU of refusing full access to an opinion by its legal service on the European Commission’s October 2020 proposal amending the ‘Aarhus Regulation’ (1367/2006) in order to improve public access to justice in environmental matters (Joined Cases T-682/21 and T-683/21) (see EUROPE 12581/8). The EU Council did not specify how disclosure of this opinion could be detrimental to its ability to defend itself in litigation regarding the application of the ‘Aarhus Regulation’, even though the document in question cannot be considered as expressing a negative opinion on the European Commission’s proposal. According to the [Court of Justice], the fact that international negotiations were underway does not in itself substantiate [the claim] that disclosure of the document would undermine the public interest. See the judgment: https://aeur.eu/f/bbi (MB)