Member States still have a lot of work to do to improve their implementation of EU environmental legislation, particularly in the field of air quality and waste management, according to the second Environment Implementation Review (EIR) published by the European Commission on Friday 5 April (see EUROPE 11719/10).
The EIR, a tool for reviewing Member States' environmental performance, identifies implementation gaps on a country-by-country basis, not to point out wrongdoers, but to help them tackle the causes of these gaps, at an early stage in order to save around €55 billion a year in healthcare and direct environmental costs in the EU (see EUROPE 11560/4).
“Ensuring the best possible air and water quality and optimal waste management for European citizens, ensuring that our natural capital is protected is our priority”, European Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella told the press.
Air quality. 18 Member States still have excessive levels of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and 15 countries exceed the limit values for fine particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10). Given the impact of air pollution on health, the Commission has initiated clean air dialogues with several countries to help them comply.
Waste. Waste prevention remains a major challenge for all Member States. In terms of waste management, five countries have already achieved their recycling targets and nine others are on track to achieve them, but fourteen countries are at risk of missing the 2020 target for municipal waste recycling.
Water. Much remains to be done to fully achieve the objectives set out in the Water Framework Directive and the Groundwater Daughter Directive, in particular to ensure that rivers achieve good environmental status by 2027. Urban waste water is still not properly treated in two thirds of Member States. More investment is required to achieve the objectives. EU funds will continue to support implementation efforts.
Protection of nature and biodiversity. The EU has already exceeded the UN Convention on Biological Diversity target of designating 10% of its coastal and marine areas as marine protected areas by 2020. But most Member States need to step up their efforts to complete the Natura 2000 network.
Climate. Member States have made good progress and it is likely that the 2020 targets will be achieved, but the efforts of each Member State and the EU collectively to meet the commitments under the Paris Agreement must be intensified.
Governance. In the area of governance, which is one of the factors that can contribute to improving the implementation of legislation, the Commission invites Member States to improve the integration of environmental objectives into other strategic objectives, to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public administration and to be more transparent in the area of environmental information. It also underlines that local and regional authorities and other stakeholders could be more involved in overcoming the main obstacles to the correct implementation of EU environmental legislation.
The EIR assessment includes a communication and review on a country-by-country basis. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)