1. ENVIRONMENTAL CASES

° Environmental Impact Assessment (E.I.A.): The European Commission is taking legal action against Belgium, Italy Spain and U.K. to ensure they comply with EU EIA legislation (amended Directive adopted in 1997 - 97/11/EC) which requires such assessments to be carried out for certain projects (e.g. motorways, airfields, nuclear power stations).  U.K. and Italy are receiving final written warnings: U.K.  excluded Crown development (land owned by the state) from planning legislation but is now preparing necessary legislation; Italy’s current legislation excludes waste recovery installations and specifically failure to carry out an EIA on an incinerator for refuse-derived fuel and biomass located in Massafra.  Spain is being referred to the Court of Justice as the Commission believes the public is not adequately informed about decisions and as Spain only applied the Directive on projects post October 2000 rather than March 1999.  Belgium was condemned by the Court of Justice in November 2002 for failing to adopt and notify the appropriate legislation scheduled for March 1999. Failure to comply with the Court ruling could result in substantial fines being imposed.

In a January court case the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice Italy was ordered to pay costs for failure to verify if a construction project in Abruzo required an E.I.A.

° Water policy: The Commission is taking legal action against Greece, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Germany and Ireland for non-compliance with EU water-quality laws.

Final written warnings have been sent to Greece (regarding a ruling in 2000) and Netherlands (regarding a ruling in 2001) urging them to comply with rulings of the Court of Justice with regard to discharge of dangerous substances to water.  Belgium has also received a final written warning relating to a 2003 Court ruling on the need to implement drinking water legislation for the Walloon Region.  These three Member States could face considerable fines should they not comply.

Final written warnings are being sent to France regarding insufficient information on implementation of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive; to Portugal on discharges from milk-processing factories in the Azores adding to marine water pollution; to Spain on contravention of the Urban Waste Water Directive and the Bathing Water Directive in Valencia; to Germany over shortcomings in its national legislation to implement the Nitrates Directives.

Commission v France Case Filing C-505/03: On 28 November 2003 the European Commission of the European Communities took action in the Court of Justice against the France for  failure to meet EU requirements on nitrates in drinking water in Brittany.  The French Republic was ordered to pay the costs.  

° Waste legislation: The Commission is taking legal action against France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg and the U.K. for non-compliance with EU waste laws – namely the Waste Framework Directive (Council Directive 75/442/EEC on waste, as amended by Directive 91/156/EEC), the PCBs and PCT Directive (Council Directive 96/59/EC on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT), The Landfill Directive (Council Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste), the Hazardous Waste Directive (Council Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste) and the Waste Oil Directive (Council Directive 75/439/EEC on waste oils as amended by Directive 87/101/EEC) . Italy has been referred to the Court of Justice (ECJ) for inconsistent definition of waste in national legislation in two of the four cases (e.g. excluding large quantities of recoverable waste from the EU Directive’s control system).  Italy has received a final written warning due to numerous illegal or uncontrolled landfills on its territory. Spain is being referred to the ECJ because of an illegal site in Cadiz which poses a threat to the quality of underground waters and in relation to another illegal landfill in Galicia. Luxembourg may face substantial fines in relation to a Court ruling on its failure to adopt and notify a plan for collection and disposal of large PCB containing equipment (Ref: Coase C-174/01). France is being referred to the ECJ for incomplete implementation of the Landfill Direct, which does not cover inert construction and demolition waste, also for failure to adopt certain measures relating to safe disposal of waste oils.  It has also received a final written warning over numerous illegal or uncontrolled landfills. Greece is being referred to the ECJ in regard to illegal waste disposal at Paiania, Eastern Attica.  The U.K. is receiving a final written warning over its disposal of amalgam waste from dental surgeries, which they do not treat as hazardous waste. 

° Polluted soil as waste product:  Advocate General Kokott has issued his conclusions relative a waste with regard to soil polluted by hydrocarbon discharge.  Polluted soil excavated to remove pollution is a waste product.  The petrol company’s liability for this waste depends upon its contractual relations with the filling station.  (Case Ref: C-1/03).  Relevant Directive 75/442.

° Major industrial Accidents: Final written warning sent to Spain urging it to correctly transpose EU law on the control of major industrial accidents involving dangerous substances (Seveso II Directive)

Integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC): First written warning sent to Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands which have been asked to sent initial reports (for 2000-2002) on how they implement the IPPC Directive which aims to ensure that polluting industrial and agricultural operations are subject to strict environmental controls.  The Directive applies to mainly industrial activities with a high pollution potential e.g. energy sector, waste management facilities, metal production and processing industry.

° Air pollution: The Commission is taking further legal action against 9 Member States - Belgium, Italy, Greece, Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, Austria and Spain.

Regarding Incineration of Waste (Directive 2000/76/EC of 4 December 2000 on the incineration of waste) Belgium, Italy, Greece and Portugal have still not complied; the Commission has decided to refer them to the Court of Justice. It has sent the Netherlands a final written warning, as Dutch legislation is still incomplete.

In relation to Air Quality Limits for Benzene and Carbon Monoxide (Directive 2000/69 of 16 November 2000 relating to limit values for benzene and carbon monoxide in ambient air), the Netherlands and Greece are yet to comply and the Commission has decided to refer both Member States to the Court of Justice.

Framework Directive for Assessing and Managing Air Quality (Directive 96/62 of 27 September 1996 on ambient air quality and management) (Directive 1999/30 of 22 April 1999 relating to limit values for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter and lead in ambient air).  Italy is being referred to the ECJ as it has communicated this information only for some regions and not for its whole territory. The Commission has, therefore, decided to refer Italy to the Court of Justice.

National Emission Limits for Sulphur Dioxide, Nitrogen Oxides, Volatile Organic Compounds and Ammonia (Directive 2001/81 of 23 October 2001 on national emissions ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutants) The Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Greece have still not complied and the Commission has decided to refer all 3 to the ECJ. Final written warnings are being sent to Belgium (only Flanders and Wallonia) and Luxembourg as they have failed to comply with the reporting requirements of the Directive.

Large Combustion Plants (Directive 2001/80 of 23 October 2001 on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants) The Directive aims to reduce air pollution from larger power plants by setting strict limits on sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions. Belgium (for the Flanders region), the Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Greece and Spain have so far failed to comply, so the Commission has decided to refer them all to the Court of Justice. It has also sent Germany a final written warning.

 Sulphur Content of Fuels (Directive 1999/32 of 26 April relating to a reduction in the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels and amending Directive 93/12/EEC) Austria has yet to provide the necessary information for 2001 and the Commission has decided to refer it to the Court of Justice.
Protecting the Ozone Layer (Regulation 2037/2000 on substances that deplete the ozone layer)  Spain, Greece and Portugal have failed to fully implement these measures and are being send a final written warning.  The Commission is referring Italy to the Court of Justice for allowing the use of HCFCs in fire-fighting installations at levels that exceed the limits or fail to respect the conditions set down in the Regulation.

° Protection and Conservation of European bio-diversity: The European Comission is taking action against 8 member states -  Luxembourg, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Spain, Ireland, Greece and the U.K. – for failing to ensure sufficient protection of wild birds, habitats and species protected under the EU’s Habitats and Wild Birds Directive.  Three States – Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy are asked to comply with earlier Court rulings or face significant fines.

Belgium has not respected Wild Birds Directive requirements regarding special protection areas (SPAs) in Flanders (Case Ref: C-415/01). Luxembourg has not adequately implemented the Habitats Directive or reflected definitions setou in in the Directive (Case Ref: C-75/01) and Italy has failed to classify a large number of territories as SPAs for protecting bird species under the Birds Directive – particularly in Lombardia and Sardegna. There are also specific complains regarding a skiing resort in Bolzano and water abstraction from a Lake in Umbria.  Being referred to the ECJ are: Ireland for failing to designate sufficient SPAs and protect those sites that have SPA status; Austria for a road project in an SPA in Vorarlberg; Greece for failure to properly protect an internationally recognised wetland, Lake Koronia and also failure to protect a rare snake species Vipera schweizeri.  The U.K. is being referred in relation to trading in wild birds and species as it only protects species whose natural range includes Great Britain and actually excludes certain game birds.  Spain is being referred as it allows use of non-selective trapping methods such as snares to control foxes, a practice banned under the Habitats Directive.

Legislative References: Decision of the European Council in Göteburg in June 2001 to halt biodiversity decline within the EU by 2010; (in relation to Italian case) Council Directive 76/464/EEC on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community; Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds; Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora and fauna

For further details and statistics on these cases see also: http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgb/droit_com/index_en.htm#infractions