Note: The above Protocol was adopted on 21 May 2003 by the Extraordinary Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention of 25 June 1998 on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, held in Kiev from 21 to 23 May 2003. The Protocol was opened for signature from 21 to 23 May 2003 in Kiev and will remain open for signature at United Nations Headquarters in New York until 31 December 2003 by all States which are members of the United Nations and by regional economic integration organizations constituted by sovereign States members of the United Nations to which their member States have transferred competence over matters governed by the Protocol, including the competence to enter into treaties in respect of these matters.

(Unless otherwise indicated, the declarations were made upon ratification,

acceptance, approval, accession or succession.)

Belgium

Upon signature:

Declaration:

This signature engages also the Waloon region, the Flemish region, and the Brussels-Capital region.

Denmark

Upon signature:

Declaration:

"Both the Faroe Islands and Greeland are self-governing under Home Rule Acts, which implies inter alia that environmental affairs in general and the areas covered by the Protocol are governed by the right of self-determination.

Signing by Denmark of the Protocol, therefore does not necessarily mean that Danish ratification will in due course include the Faroe Islands and Greenland."

European Community

Declaration:

Declaration by the European Community in accordance with article 26(4)

"The European Community declares that, in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular article 175 (1) thereof, it is competent for entering into international agreements, and for implementing the obligations resulting therefrom, which contribute to the pursuit of the following objectives:

preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment,

protecting human health,

prudent and rational utilization of natural resources,

promoting measures at international level to deal with regional or worldwide environmental problems.

Pollutant release and transfer registers are appropriate tools for encouraging improvements in environmental performance, for providing public access to information on pollutants released, and for use by competent authorities in tracking trends, demonstrating progress, thereby contributing to the achievement of the abovementioned objectives.

Moreover, the European Community declares that it has already adopted legislation, binding on its Member States, covering matters governed by this Protocol and will submit and update, as appropriate, a list of that legislation in accordance with article 26 (4) of the Protocol.

The European Community is responsible for the performance of those obligations resulting from the Protocol which are covered by Community law in force.

The exercise of Community competence is, by its nature, subject to continuous development."

1. In the course of adopting the Protocol, the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention made an oral modification to the French version of the Protocol to correct some typographical errors, thereby bringing the text in line with the English and Russian versions. The modifications made to the French version were as follows:

- In annex I on Activities, para. 1(c), the text should refer to '50 mégawatts' and not to '500 mégawatts';

- In annex II on Pollutants, in No. 31 the text in the third column should read 'Chloroalcanes, C10-C13)', and in No. 57, third column, '(TRI)' should be deleted;

- In annex II, the column headings '(colonne 1a)', ''(colonne 1b)', '(colonne 1c)' and '(colonne 3)' should be included in the French version as in the English and Russian versions, and the vertical dividing line between column 1c & column 2 should extend to the top of the table (to make it clear that column 2 is not a sub-column of column 1).

2. See note 1 under "Montenegro" in the "Historical Information" section in the front matter of this volume.