Practical guide to requesting access to environmental information from EU bodies

The document outlines a step-by-step process for accessing environmental information from EU bodies, covering the definition of environmental information, request formulation, submission methods, and the legal process for challenging refusals through confirmatory applications, the EU General Court, or the European Ombudsman.

• Environmental information is broadly defined to include data in any form regarding the state of environmental elements (air, water, soil, land, biodiversity), factors affecting them (substances, energy, noise, emissions), measures affecting these elements, reports on legislation implementation, economic analyses, and human health and safety conditions.
• When formulating a request, users should be as precise as possible, using document references or specific dates. If the existence of information is unknown, requests can be narrowed by specifying the form (e.g., meeting minutes, legal advice), content (e.g., lobby positions), decision-making process, time span, or the specific author/actor involved.
• The process for requesting information involves strict deadlines: an initial response is due 15 working days after registration (extendable by 15 days); a confirmatory application must be submitted within 15 working days of the response; and a confirmatory decision is due 15 working days after the application is registered (extendable by 15 days).
• A confirmatory application is a mandatory prerequisite for challenging a refusal before the EU Ombudsman or the Court of Justice of the EU. Arguments for these applications should address failures to state reasons, misapplication of exceptions, or the failure to consider an overriding public interest in disclosure.
• Challenges to confirmatory decisions can be pursued via the EU General Court or the European Ombudsman. The General Court provides binding decisions and develops case law but is slow (1.5-2 years) and requires an independent lawyer. The Ombudsman is free, does not require a lawyer, and considers maladministration, but its decisions are non-binding and may be ignored.
• Certain types of information are identified as generally accessible, including lobbying communications, meeting minutes, legislative impact assessments, and evidence underlying decisions. Conversely, contentious areas include the internal decision-making exception (Art. 4(3)), Member State positions in the Council, and EIB financing operations.

APA

Friel, A., & Bechtel, S. (2020). Practical guide to requesting access to environmental information from EU bodies. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/isljj4dm/webinar-4-step-by-step-practical-guide-to-requesting-environmental-information-from-eu-bodies-and-challenging-refusals.pdf

Chicago

Friel, Anne, and Sebastian Bechtel. Practical guide to requesting access to environmental information from EU bodies. ClientEarth, 2020. https://www.clientearth.org/media/isljj4dm/webinar-4-step-by-step-practical-guide-to-requesting-environmental-information-from-eu-bodies-and-challenging-refusals.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Friel |first1=Anne |last2=Bechtel |first2=Sebastian |title=Practical guide to requesting access to environmental information from EU bodies |publisher=ClientEarth |date=16 January 2020 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/isljj4dm/webinar-4-step-by-step-practical-guide-to-requesting-environmental-information-from-eu-bodies-and-challenging-refusals.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friel2020practical, author = {Friel, Anne and Bechtel, Sebastian}, title = {{Practical guide to requesting access to environmental information from EU bodies}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/isljj4dm/webinar-4-step-by-step-practical-guide-to-requesting-environmental-information-from-eu-bodies-and-challenging-refusals.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }