The European Commission decided on Thursday 2 December to bring three Member States - Romania, Germany and Spain - before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for breaches of environmental law.
Romania. The Romanian authorities will have to explain to the CJEU their non-compliance with Directive (2010/75) on industrial and air pollution.
Firstly, the institution criticises Bucharest for the fact that three Romanian industrial plants do not yet have a permit guaranteeing that their air emissions do not exceed the limit values set by the industrial emissions directive.
In the second case, Romania has not adopted a national air pollution control programme. However, Directive (2016/2284) on the reduction of emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants required Bucharest to submit such a programme to the Commission by the beginning of April 2019.
Germany. The Commission has decided to bring Germany before the Court for failing to meet the requirements of the ‘Habitats’ Directive (92/43/EEC) by not sufficiently protecting flower-rich grasslands in Natura 2000 sites. These territories are shrinking or even disappearing, notably due to unsustainable agricultural practices.
Spain. Finally, the Spanish authorities will have to explain why Spain is not taking sufficient action against nitrate pollution under the current Directive (91/676/EEC).
Despite some limited progress, Spain still needs to take additional measures to prevent eutrophication throughout the country. In addition, the Spanish government must: - more precisely designate the nitrate vulnerable zones in seven regions; - include all necessary mandatory elements in the action programmes of five regions; - take additional measures for the four regions where the measures in place have proved insufficient. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot and Mathieu Bion)