EU Commission sued over lack of environmental transparency

On Monday (22 September), the London-based NGO ClientEarth is expected to sue the European Commission for what it says is an anti-transparency push which will weaken public scrutiny of EU decision-making.

“With this legal case, we want to defend citizens’ fundamental right to know – what pesticides end up in our food, what chemicals are hidden in everyday products, and what action is (or isn’t) being taken to protect our health from pollution and climate breakdown”, said Ilze Tralmaka, a lawyer working at ClientEarth.

The case will be heard at the General Court of the European Union (EGC) in Luxembourg.

According to the NGO, the transparency rules implemented by the commission in December 2024 prevent European citizens from accessing documents with information on health and environment.

ClientEarth argues they are unlawful, breaking the Aarhus Convention, a UN treaty for which the EU and its member states are all parties, that grants access to environmental justice. Named after a costal Danish town, it protects the right of every person to live in a healthy environment.

Three guarantees of the convention are key: access to information on the environment and policies regarding the climate, public participation in environmental decision-making and access to justice. Various EU directives have incorporated the convention into European legislation.

At the start of 2025, ClientEarth asked the commission to repeal its new transparency rules.

Pushing back, the commission stated in July it would stand by those rules, namely on the keeping of the confidentiality of drafts, internal exchanges and administrative procedures, arguing that they are within its legal framework.

The General Court will now examine the annulment application from ClientEarth and decide on the legality of the commission’s transparency rules. 

According to procedural rules, the commission has two months to file a defence.

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