Brussels, 26/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - Slovenia will be back before the Court of Justice for a second time over its incomplete execution of a judgment of the Court from 2010 on the prevention of pollution and this time faces heavy fines, the European Commission announced on Thursday 26 February.
In 2010, the Court ruled against the approval of industrial facilities being operated without authorisation, in spite of the requirements of the European integrated pollution prevention and control directive (IPPC directive, which has since been replaced by directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions). Four years later, a large cement factory is still carrying out its operations without the required authorisation, with the risk of endangering citizens' health.
In bringing its second case, the Commission has asked the Court to hand Slovenia a daily fine of €9,009 until the member state complies with its obligations, as well as the payment of a fixed amount of €1,604,603.
Under the IPPC directive, industrial and agricultural activities with strong pollution potential require prior authorisation. This has been a legal obligation since 30 October 2007 for all facilities which were in place on the date Slovenia joined the EU. (Aminata Niang)