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This article investigates the excessive restrictions that impede NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) and other stakeholders from directly accessing the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in environmental public interest cases, arguing that reform of the Aarhus Regulation is well overdue. The article uses three recent cases decided by the General Court to illustrate the extent to which public interest challenges to EU environmental acts are fraught with difficulties. Against this backdrop, it argues that the CJEU has so far relied too heavily on the “complete system of legal remedies and procedures” established by the Treaties, and paid too little attention to the specificities of environmental public interest litigation. The article thus advocates reforming the Aarhus Regulation to extend its scope of application so as to encompass regulatory acts of general application, regardless of whether they entail further implementation.
