Digital opacity: why the public no longer sees environmental projects on the enquetes.public.lu portal

In response to a parliamentary enquiry by David Wagner, Luxembourg's Minister for the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity confirmed that the public consultation portal enquetes.public.lu no longer displays complete environmental project dossiers. The reason is that there is no legal obligation to publish such material in full on the electronic platform. The situation is particularly acute in light of the European norms on mandatory accessibility of environmental information.

According to the Minister, publication on the national portal is not mandatory: authorities can use alternative means, such as commune or ministry websites. In practice, this means fragmented access and the need to search for documents manually on different resources, which practically excludes the participation of the general public.

This practice contradicts the spirit of the Aarhus Convention, signed by Luxembourg, which requires active access of citizens to environmental information. The Convention stipulates that the public should be able not only to be notified, but also to participate fully in the discussion - which is impossible without access to the dossier.

The Minister acknowledged the problem and said that a reform of the Law on Nature and Resource Protection is planned for 2025, which, among other things, should include mandatory posting of dossiers on a centralised portal. This is part of a broader strategy to improve administrative transparency and build confidence in environmental policy.

The minister also recalled that in some cases access to data may be restricted for confidentiality reasons - for example, if the documents contain information related to commercial secrets or national security issues. However, these cases, he said, are the exception.

Until the reform is implemented, the situation remains unsatisfactory: citizens, environmentalists and even local government officials face difficulties when trying to examine projects that may affect the environment. This digital backlash is particularly sensitive at a time of growing public interest in biodiversity, green space development and climate resilience.

Judging by the current pace, real improvement will not come until 2026 at the earliest. Until then, access to environmental information will remain partially blocked behind bureaucratic walls - and, in a sense, behind the stony silence of the digital portal.