Revisiting the standing debate before the EFTA Court through the lens of post-Lisbon EU devlopments regarding locus standi

Abstract

The Lisbon Treaty broadened and relaxed the standing requirements before the EU Court of Justice by adding a third class of acts amenable to judicial review. In the meantime, the EU has moreover been found in breach of the Aarhus Convention twice for shortcomings in access to justice for environmental organisations. Hence, the Aarhus Regulation, which implements the Aarhus Convention at Union level, was revised in 2021, and possible further amendments with regard to state aid decisions are being examined at the moment. The current standing requirements before the EFTA Court by contrast still reflect the situation prevailing in the European Union before those EU pillar evolutions. This article revisits four judgments of the EFTA Court in light of these developments and analyses how the EFTA Court has dealt with the existing discrepancies before, and might or might not be able to deal with them in the future.