Hungarian National Council on the Environment
Name: Hungarian National Council on the Environment (Országos Környezetvédelmi Tanács)
Established in: In 1995 through national legislation
Duties: The Council is tasked with reviewing proposed legislation and regulations relating to the environment. It also issues statements on environmental impact assessments as well as environmental plans and programmes. The Council is also responsible for advising the authorities on improving the institutional system for nature protection and environmental matters. Specific attention is focused on scientific research, education and the provision of information. The EU context plays an important role, particularly in relation to the council's task of issuing statements on environmental impact assessments, plans and programmes. These often stem directly from the EU Directive on Environmental Impact Assessments. The Council does not address the EU institutions, but translates the issues into the national context.
Composition: The Council has one member from the government, namely the State Secretary for Environmental Affairs. The other members are nominated from three umbrella organisations/coalitions: The Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the (industrial) employers' organisation and green NGOs. These three parties all have the same number of seats on the Council (seven each).
The secretariat: The Council is supported by its own independent secretariat. The secretariat is an administrative part of the Ministry of the Environment and Agriculture.
