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dossier	COM(2021)532 - EU position at the seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention regarding compliance cases ...
document	COM(2021)532
date	October 11, 2021

Article 1

The position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention (‘the Meeting of the Parties’) with regard to decision VII/8f concerning compliance by the Union with its obligations under the Aarhus Convention (‘decision VII/8f’) as regards case ACCC/C/2008/32 shall be to accept decision VII/8f and to endorse the findings and recommendations of the Compliance Committee. The Union, however, shall ensure that the following points are reflected in that decision:

—	decision VII/8f shall welcome that the Union has taken all necessary steps to ensure compliance with the findings of the Compliance Committee, and

—	decision VII/8f shall confirm that the Union will have fully met the recommendations of the Compliance Committee with regard to case ACCC/C/2008/32 once the amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 has come into force.

In the statement on decision VII/8f as regards case ACCC/C/2008/32, the Union shall emphasise the central role of the Union’s national courts as ordinary courts of Union law and the system of preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU as a valid means of redress.

Article 2

1. The position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties with regard to decision VII/8f as regards case ACCC/C/2015/128, shall be to not endorse the findings of the Compliance Committee, but instead to acknowledge the concerns and findings of the Compliance Committee and to propose to postpone the adoption of the position on the findings in that case to the next session of the Meeting of the Parties.

2. With a view to justifying the request for such a postponement and proving its readiness to follow-up without delay to the findings of the Compliance Committee in case ACCC/C/2015/128, the Union shall declare that in the context of the legislative procedure concerning the amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006, the Commission made a statement by which:

—	it stated that it is currently analysing the implications of the findings and assessing the options available,

—	it committed to complete and publish that assessment by the end of 2022,

—	it committed to come forward, if appropriate, by the end of 2023, with measures to address the issue, in light of the obligations of the Union and its Member States under the Aarhus Convention and taking into account the rules of Union law concerning State aid.

The Commission’s statement shall be made available to the other Parties to the Aarhus Convention and the Compliance Committee ahead of the seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties.

3. In the event the other Parties to the Aarhus Convention do not accept the position taken on behalf of the Union in case ACCC/C/2015/128 referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties with regard to decision VII/8f as regards case ACCC/C/2015/128 shall, instead, be to decide separately on the part of decision VII/8f which concerns ACCC/C/2015/128 and to reject the adoption of that part of decision VII/8f with the aim of postponing the decision-making on those findings of the Compliance Committee until the next session of the Meeting of the Parties.

4. If, despite intensive consultations with the Bureau of the Aarhus Convention and the other Parties to the Aarhus Convention, it is not possible to decide separately on the part of decision VII/8f which concerns case ACCC/C/2015/128 and to postpone decision-making on that case, while endorsing those parts of decision VII/8f which concern cases ACCC/C/2008/32, ACCC/C/2013/96, ACCC/C/2014/121 and ACCC/C/2010/54, and the Union comes to the conclusion, in on-the-spot coordination, that all means to that effect have been exhausted, the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties with regard to decision VII/8f as regards case ACCC/C/2015/128 shall, as a last resort, be to postpone the adoption of decision VII/8f in its entirety to the next session of the Meeting of the Parties.

Article 3

The position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties with regard to decision VII/8f as regards cases ACCC/C/2013/96 and ACCC/C/2014/121 and request ACCC/M/2017/3 with respect to decision V/9g (case ACCC/C/2010/54) shall be to endorse the findings and recommendations of the Compliance Committee in decision VII/8f.

Article 4

Minor changes to the positions referred to in Articles 1, 2 and 3 may be agreed by the representatives of the Union, in consultation with Member States, at coordination on the spot and in light of possible negotiations on decision VII/8f at the seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties, without a further decision of the Council.

Article 5

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.