Giving a voice to the environment by challenging the practice of integrating environmental requirements into other EU policies

The author contends that the requirement to integrate environmental protection into EU policies is a binding objective, not a mere principle, and is essential for achieving sustainable development. The paper argues that EU institutions have largely abandoned governance mechanisms intended to operationalize this integration, such as the 'Cardiff process'. To remedy this, the author proposes that citizens and civil society use their fundamental right of access to environmental information (via the Aarhus Convention) to force EU bodies to explain and justify how specific legislative acts and policies ensure a high level of environmental protection and improvement.

• Article 11 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Article 37 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights establish a mandatory, absolute obligation for EU institutions to integrate environmental protection into all policies and activities, rather than a discretionary principle.
• Sustainable development is fundamentally dependent on the integration of environmental requirements into other EU policies; without this integration, the foundation for sustainable development is not solid.
• The EU's 'Cardiff process', initiated in 1998 to establish strategies for integrating environmental requirements into eight policy sectors, failed because institutions treated integration as a one-time action rather than a continuous process.
• The author argues that the right of access to environmental information under the Aarhus Convention creates a legal mechanism for citizens to demand explanations from EU institutions on how specific measures comply with the obligation to ensure a high level of environmental protection.
• The European Commission has abandoned nearly all of its previously proposed governance mechanisms for environmental integration, including the use of 'green asterisks' in work programmes, the designation of contact persons for integration, and the creation of an inter-service group of director-generals.

APA

ClientEarth (n.d.). Giving a voice to the environment by challenging the practice of integrating environmental requirements into other EU policies. https://www.clientearth.org/media/oayfdhhv/giving-a-voice-to-the-environment-by-challenging-the-practice-of-integrating-environmental-requirements-into-other-eu-policies-coll-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Giving a voice to the environment by challenging the practice of integrating environmental requirements into other EU policies. n.d. https://www.clientearth.org/media/oayfdhhv/giving-a-voice-to-the-environment-by-challenging-the-practice-of-integrating-environmental-requirements-into-other-eu-policies-coll-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Giving a voice to the environment by challenging the practice of integrating environmental requirements into other EU policies |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/oayfdhhv/giving-a-voice-to-the-environment-by-challenging-the-practice-of-integrating-environmental-requirements-into-other-eu-policies-coll-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearthndgiving, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Giving a voice to the environment by challenging the practice of integrating environmental requirements into other EU policies}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/oayfdhhv/giving-a-voice-to-the-environment-by-challenging-the-practice-of-integrating-environmental-requirements-into-other-eu-policies-coll-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }