On Wednesday 25 July, the European Court of Justice issued hefty fines on Spain for delays in applying the EU directive on the processing of urban waste water (case C-205/17).
The Court of Justice says that Spain has not always properly implemented Directive 91/271/EEC, which stipulates that agglomerations of more than 15,000 inhabitants must have mechanisms for collecting and treating waste water. This follows an appeal by the European Commission in April 2017 (see EUROPE 11670) over non-execution by Spain of an initial ECJ ruling in 2011 over the same infringement of EU rules (C-343/10).
The ECJ says Spain has failed in its duty to implement the 2011 ruling since 17 of the 43 agglomerations were still not equipped with systems for collecting and treating urban residual water as at the date of the appeal made by the Commission.
Taking account of the duration of the infringement and the number of agglomerations in question, the ECJ issued a set fine of €12 million and a fine of €10.95 million for each six months of delay in implementing the 2011 ruling.
The Court of Justice justifies the penalties by the serious nature of the infringements, given the absence or insufficiency of urban waste water collection and treatment systems, which could be environmentally-damaging. Moreover, the judges feel that the lengthy duration of the infringement is an aggravating circumstance.
The directive should have been transposed by 2001 at the latest and implementation of the ruling by 2013. Full implementation of the rules is not foreseen before 2022, when the Spanish government says the agglomeration with the longest delay will bring its water treatment system on stream.
The European Commission welcomed the ECJ’s decision, which notes Spain’s infringements, stating that this will help the member state to comply with the ruling.
Spanish ecological transition minister Teresa Ribera said they could not afford to wait 20 years, announcing the introduction of a national plan and ‘shock measures’ to resolve the issue. (Original version in French by Carmen García, trainee)