Carrying out its threat, the European Commission decided on Thursday 17 May to refer six member states – France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania and the United Kingdom – to the European Court of Justice for persistently exceeding the limits set by the European air quality directive and for failing to take appropriate measures to keep exceedance periods as short as possible.
The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Spain had also been in the Commission’s sights but they have been spared for...