As part of the Hungarian law harmonization process with the EU acquis communautaire, EMLA worked for the Ministry of the Environment together with Öko Rt in the harmonization of the 97/11/EC Council Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The project is about changing current Hungarian law in order to be in line with EU requirements. This necessitates the amending of Hungarian EIA law. The amendment affects the process of carrying out an EIA and broadens the list of activities requiring an EIA. This type of work is essential for Hungary’s eventual acceptance into the EU.

EMLA prepared a study for the National Public Health Institute on the compliance situation of Hungarian law with the recently adopted Water and Health Protocol. The Protocol was initiated by the London Conference of Health Ministers and belongs to the Convention on the Use of International Watercourses and was adopted in June 1999. Issues discussed in the
study include access to fresh water, sewage treatment systems, and public participation.

The Hungarian Government itself is taking substantial steps toward the ratification and implementation of the Aarhus Convention. To this end, the Ministry of Environment contracted EMLA to write a study on these topics. EMLA wrote a sixty-page analysis of the Convention’s text based on our experiences during the drafting of the Convention and on the international legal literature appearing since publication of the Convention’s final draft. EMLA also produced a systematic legal comparison between the substantial requirements of the Convention and the status of current Hungarian regulations on public participation in environmental decision making. Finally, we drafted a detailed text suggesting and explaining the necessary amendments to Hungarian law in order to achieve the goals envisioned in Aarhus. The Ministry appreciated the study, and consequently EMLA received the commission to prepare the ratification document itself.

The VI. District of Budapest has asked EMLA to draft a local ordinance on residents' keeping of pet animals. The district knew of EMLA's strong reputation for work with local governments. The draft will be debated in plenary in late 2000.

The Ministry of Environment contracted EMLA and the Association of Environmental Services and Producers to conduct a survey on the variety of environmental authorities. The main task was to clarify the roles of the Ministry and its central and regional authorities, as well as their cooperation with other authorities that play a role in environmental protection. This was the first such study in Hungary, and can serve as the basis for future development of envionrmental authorities - we made suggestions.