12/05/2022 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday 12 May, the European Commission launched a public consultation to evaluate Directive 2004/35/EC on environmental liability, aiming to prevent and remedy environmental damage according to the precautionary principle. The assessment will look at ways to improve national authorities’ compliance with EU rules to prevent pollution, in line with the EU Action Plan “Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil”. “In many cases, it is public funds, including European funds, that finance the repair of damage, not those responsible”, the European Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius, points out. The Court of Auditors criticised this in July 2021 (see EUROPE 12755/3). The consultation is open to contributions from all interested parties until midnight on 4 August. You can participate here: https://aeur.eu/f/1li (AN)