On Monday 1 July, the European Commission launched a consultation on a new procedure for access to justice allowing the public and NGOs to challenge state aid decisions penalising the environment. The targeted consultation is aimed at the business community and public authorities responsible for State aid measures and the environment.
Under this procedure, NGOs would be able to ask the European Commission for an internal review of a State aid decision for alleged violations of EU environmental law. A right of appeal to the EU courts could then be obtained.
This procedure has already existed for challenging decisions by EU bodies in environmental matters since 2021 and the EU’s new Aarhus Regulation. PAN Europe used it in early 2024 to challenge the Commission’s decision to renew the authorisation of glyphosate for 10 years (see EUROPE 13336/4).
The submission of State aid decisions to public consultation was set aside in 2021, at the time of the Aarhus Convention (see EUROPE 12806/8). This earned the EU strong criticism from the NGO ClientEarth (see EUROPE 12818/21). Preventing challenges from the public and NGOs renders considerable sums of public money paid directly to the industry untouchable, the NGO explained at the time. The EU was in breach of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention, as confirmed by the committee responsible for examining compliance with these provisions.
This consultation follows on from these conclusions and remains open until 6 September. The European Commission wants to assess the financial and administrative consequences of this new procedure. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)