Brussels, 27/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 27 September, a stage was crossed in infringement proceedings against member states that continually fail to comply with EU law on the environment. Reasoned opinions (second stage in the procedure) will be sent to the countries concerned summoning them to comply with EU legislation, and they will have two months in which to satisfy the European Commission's demands, failing which the Commission may take action against them before the Court of Justice of the EU. The different infringements were as follows in the different countries:
Nature conservation.
Greece is called upon to step up the protection of its loggerhead Caretta caretta turtles in the Bay of Kyparissia (western Peloponnese), a protected area of the Natura 2000 network under the “Habitats” directive (Directive 92/43/EC on the conservation of natural habitats as well as wild flora and fauna). Despite a letter of formal notice sent to the Greek authorities in October 2011, the Greek legislation still tolerates the existence of a large number of projects and activities for which environmental impact assessments have not been correctly carried out. Also, measures required to establish and implement an effective system of strict protection for the turtles of the Kyparissia sea have still not been adopted (see above article).
Latvia is summoned to bring its legislation on hunting into line with the “Wild Birds” Directive 2009/147/EC. It would be appropriate for the Latvian legislation to respect the principles for a reasoned use and regulation of species from a balanced ecological point of view, ensure the protection of birds during nesting season and while raising their young, and respect the very strict conditions linked to the granting of derogations. The amended national legislation announced by Riga has not been notified to the Commission.
Water contamination. The Commission is calling on Greece to rectify the shortcomings in its legislation protecting water from nitrate pollution. The Commission considers that Greece needs to extend some of its vulnerable zones and designate some additional areas - although it had committed to designating some additional zones, no concrete steps have so far materialized. Under the directive, member states must include closed periods when manure and chemical fertilizers cannot be spread, a capacity for storing manure when it cannot be spread, and limitations on fertilizer application.
End-of-life vehicles. Italy is being asked to notify the Commission about its transposition of a directive amending legislation on end-of-life vehicles. The amendment was to be adopted by 31 December 2011. Italy has stated that it is preparing draft legislation, but no update has been received yet, explained the Commission.
Mining waste. The Commission has reminded Latvia of its obligation to correctly transpose the Mining Waste Directive. The Commission opened an infringement on this matter in April this year and although some of the original problems have been resolved, Latvian legislation still lacks an obligation to draw up external emergency plans, which are vital for civil protection. In its current form, Latvian legislation also fails to guarantee that the public is sufficiently informed about decisions on permits, and that comments and opinions are taken into account by the competent authority before decisions on permits are taken. The Commission is waiting for Latvia to rectify these shortcomings, as it had proposed.
Batteries and accumulators. Estonia is being asked to bring its legislation on batteries into line with the European directive 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators, as it announced but that it has as yet failed to do. Estonian legislation prohibits any batteries and accumulators containing lead from being placed on the market, unless they are for use in motor vehicles, even if they meet the requirements of the Batteries Directive. In addition the scope of the national definition of “producer of battery and accumulator” is too wide.
Petrol vapour recovery. Romania is being summoned to transpose EU legislation (phase II) on petrol vapour recovery during the refuelling of motor vehicles at service stations (directive 2009/126/EC). Although legislation should have been in place from 1 January 2012 and a warning letter was sent last March, nothing has yet happened.
Mining waste. The European Commission is asking Portugal to make good some shortcomings in transposition of a directive on mining waste (directive 2006/21/EC). Although Portugal has recognised the shortcomings, which relate to technical provisions and access to information, the Commission has still not received notification of the amended legislation. (AN/trans.fl)