Brussels, 26/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - The threat of being taken for a second time to the European Court of Justice and possibly being fined is drawing closer by the day for Italy, which has not yet implemented its waste management plan for the Campania region. The risk was clearly raised by EU Commissioner Janez Potoènik on Friday 26 November, saying that the Italian authorities had still not come into line with the Court of Justice ruling that found the country guilty in March 2010 of failing to respect EU Directive 2006/12/EC on waste management (Case C-297/08). The competent authorities and all political parties in the region are now invited to introduce the plan without delay and ensure it is properly implemented. This is of capital importance, explained the commissioner.
A preliminary report by Commission experts sent on a fact-finding mission to Campania on 22 and 23 November to assess the new rubbish crisis is alarming (see EUROPE 10262) and has been handed to the commissioner, who made the following statement: The report confirms that the measures necessary to implement the Court of Justice ruling issued in March have not been put in place. “I am still concerned at the fact that it will take several years to set up the necessary infrastructure to ensure that all the waste produced in Campania - 7,200 tonnes a day - is properly managed and therefore to avoid any further crisis. Although some progress has been made with the building of the Acerra incinerator, there are still important gaps in the system. The absence of rubbish sorting in Naples - the biggest agglomeration in the region - is of particular concern”. The commissioner points out that in the absence of an effective waste management plan in Campania, the dangers to human health and the environment that were explicitly set out by the Court of Justice will continue. This would finally force the Commission to send a second case to the Court of Justice, probably resulting in the levying of financial penalties, he warned.
Janez Potoènik explained that to implement the ruling and avoid the risk of a fine, the management plan needs to: 1). Fully meet the requirements set out in the EU legislation and priorities waste reduction, recovery and recycling; 2). Ensure sorted waste collection is introduced across the region; 3). Provide Campania with the necessary composting structures; and 4). Introduce measures to ensure the elimination in full safety and within a reasonable timeframe of the some 8 billion tonnes of waste currently stored at several sites in Campania. (A.N./transl.fl)