If a government reduces the level of environmental protection provided by existing legislation, it will not be eligible for support from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the European Commission has said in response to a joint letter from ten NGOs. Environmental NGOs from EU countries have given concrete examples of how some governments are planning to weaken environmental legislation, claiming that the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic requires EU funds to be used as quickly as possible.

In a joint letter of response, the Commission's Secretariat-General and DG Environment thanked the NGOs for drawing attention to the fact that in some Member States the implementation of national recovery and resilience plans (RRPs) may harm people and the environment rather than contributing to achieving the EU’s environmental objectives. The Commission insists that the principle of non-regression must be respected, i.e., that no measure or new legislation should worsen the current level of environmental protection, but rather improve it. Only under such conditions can Member States receive support from the RRF.

In their letter, the NGOs pointed out that the Slovak government has recently proposed legislation that strengthens the position of investors, weakens the position of local authorities and NGOs, and makes it virtually impossible for nature protection authorities to do their job. The Slovenian government is considering abolishing the right of NGOs to participate in environmental protection procedures. The Polish government wants to give free rein to investments that could significantly degrade the ecological status of rivers and their environment by amending the Water Act, the Building Act and the Mining and Geology Act.

András Lukács, President of Clean Air Action Group said: “In Hungary, over the past two decades, stepping back has been almost continuous. For example, the environmental authorities have been substantially weakened, access to environmental information has been made more difficult, and almost all projects where serious environmental concerns could arise have been classified as “investments of national economic importance”, thus making it more difficult for the public to take action against them. The Commission’s letter gives hope that this practice will not continue."

The Commission's concrete response to the concerns raised about these Member States is a particular positive development.

The letter and the Commission's response are available in English and Hungarian at http://levego.hu/sites/default/files/NGO_Commission_letters_Non_regression_in_NRRPs.pdf