On Thursday 1 June, the European Commission decided to take Italy to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for a second time for inadequate wastewater treatment in five agglomerations, with the risk of pecuniary penalties if Italy does not fully comply with EU law.
This second referral to the Court concerns Italy’s failure to comply with a 2014 judgment of the CJEU, which found Italy in persistent breach of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), which requires Member States to ensure the proper collection and treatment of urban wastewater in order to protect human health and the environment.
Admittedly, there have been some notable improvements since this ruling, which pinpointed shortcomings in 41 agglomerations, but they are not enough.
Urban wastewater is still not being adequately treated in one agglomeration in the Valle d'Aosta region and in four agglomerations in Sicily. This is despite a letter of formal notice that the Commission sent to the Italian authorities in May 2018.
According to information provided by Italy to the Commission, full compliance will not be achieved before 2027, even though the requirements of the Directive should have been met by 31 December 1998. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)