The space for civil society is furtherly shrinking: Too many states do not respect the environmental democracy principles

Substantial number of countries are failing to adhere to the agreed provisions of the International Aarhus Convention on environmental democracy (1). While the post-Soviet and Western Balkan states struggle with law enforcement, some EU members continue to weaken previously set standards (2). The assessment is based on shadow reports published by non-governmental organizations at the occasion of the Seventh Meeting of the Parties to the Convention (3). Delegates representing the signatory countries are gathering for a quadriennal meeting in Geneva, Switzerland (4), as informs Czech NGO "Arnika".