Brussels, 05/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - By adopting the report by the Finn Eija-Riitta Korhola (EPP/ED), the EP Environmental Committee introduced a large number of amendments to the draft Directive on public access to environmental information. This Directive has as aim to adapt the existing legislation to information technologies, in order to prepare for the ratification of the UN/EEC Convention on access to information, the public participation in the decision-making process and the right to access to justice in environmental matters. The amendments move towards an increased involvement of public powers, and the widening of the definition of public authorities in order to include physical persons that undertake administrative duties. According to the MEPs the term Internet must be explicitly mentioned and future development in these technologies must be taken into account, which the Commission omitted from specifying. Moreover, the administration must provide assistance to research. As for access to information on request, the parliamentary Committee feels that: 1) the releasing of information must be done within two weeks and not one month; 2) more restrictive restrictions must be introduced over the possibility of refusing to inform; 3) an obligation must be introduced to inform on emissions, spills and other wastes. As for the costs linked to the releasing of information, the MEPs want to limit the fee received by the authorities to the reproduction costs, while the European Commission sets the level - more generally - at a "reasonable amount". The debate in first reading (codecision) will take place during the plenary next March in Strasbourg.