Brussels, 29/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - This should be the very last warning to Italy, which is urged to comply immediately with the EU Court of Justice ruling, in March 2010, that it must set in place an effective waste management solution in Campania (Case C-297/08). On 29 September, the European Commission decided to send a second and last letter of formal notice to the Italian authorities calling on them to find effective short and long-term waste management solutions to a problem that has caused repeated crises, and to put an end to continued infringement of the waste management directive (2006/12/EC). Italy will have two months to comply with the letter, failing which the Commission may refer the matter to the Court again, perhaps entailing financial sanctions (Article 260 of the Treaty). The same threat was made by Janez Potoènik, European Environment Commissioner, in November 2010 (see EUROPE 10265).
Despite a number of improvements made since the Court's judgement, it is not a pretty picture. The Campania region still lacks an adequate network of waste management installations; and recurrent problems exist with the collection and disposal of waste in Naples and in several other Campania municipalities. Some 6 million tonnes of old baled waste still stored in temporary storage sites and awaiting final disposal or recovery must be added to the daily production of waste. This, as Joe Hennon, the spokesman for Commissioner Potoènik, explained to the European press, is a “major concern for the Commission”. He went on to add that 18 months have elapsed since the Court's ruling. Commission experts have been sent to the spot in response to the request made by Italian authorities for technical assistance. He explained that they have held meetings with the Italian authorities at every level and have always shown proof of flexibility towards them. The waste management plans communicated need to be far more specific, he said, as many of the installations set out in the plans have not yet been built and the timeframes are too long. This is a final warning before second referral before the Court, Hennon said.
A first letter of formal notice was handed to the Italian ambassador to the EU in January this year, calling for a waste management plan to be notified. In January and June 2011, the Italian authorities submitted several draft waste management plans, which should provide a framework for setting up the installations necessary to comply with the ruling. On 3 February this year, the European Parliament expressed its impatience and called on the Commission to closely monitor the situation and to ask the Court to impose fines unless a real and immediate management plan is implemented (see EUROPE 10308).
If the matter is sent before the Court a second time, it will be up to the Court to fix the amount of fines in relation to several criteria (GDP, duration and gravity of infringement). (AN/transl.jl)