SECTORAL POLICIES / Environment

Polluter pays principle too often morphs into taxpayer pays principle, says European Court of Auditors

Brussels, 05/07/2021 (Agence Europe)

Although the ‘polluter pays’ principle (PPP) underpins EU environmental policy (Article 191(2) TFEU), it is too often the European taxpayer, not the polluter, who bears the cost of the pollution the latter causes, the European Court of Auditors denounces in a report published on 5 July.

The audit sought to establish whether the PPP was properly implemented in four areas of EU environmental policy: industrial pollution, waste, water, and soil. 

The auditors also looked at whether the...