The European Commission announced on Thursday 7 March that it had brought an action against Cyprus before the Court of Justice for failure to provide adequate treatment for urban waste water, in persistent breach of Directive 91/271/EEC.
This directive requires cities to put in place the necessary infrastructure for the collection and treatment, before discharge, of their waste water - whether from households or industry - to protect human health and the environment.
Reproach is being made in Cyprus for not having taken the necessary measures to ensure that all agglomerations with more than 2,000 inhabitants are equipped with adequate urban waste water collection and treatment systems.
Following a letter of formal notice in July 2017 and a reasoned opinion in June 2018, progress has been made, but not all water is yet collected in 31 agglomerations and waste water entering collection systems is not subject to appropriate treatment before discharge either.
In some cases, the Cypriot authorities do not plan to comply with the Directive before 2027, which is why the Commission has decided to put pressure on them by taking a new step in the infringement procedure. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)