On Friday 27 September, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) announced the launch of an audit into the EU’s urban pollution control efforts. The ECA draws on the fact that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution and noise pollution are the two leading environmental causes of health problems.
The ECA points out that 70% of the EU’s population lives in urban areas. More than 300 million people may be affected by air and noise pollution.
The European Commission has proposed to reduce the impact of air pollution on health by 55% by 2030 and the number of people chronically disturbed by transport noise by 30%.
The European Court of Auditors’ audit will have to determine whether the Commission has encouraged Member States to implement existing legislation designed to reduce urban pollution.
The Court points out that actions to achieve this can be financed by the EU, including through the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the Horizon Europe framework programme.
The conclusions of the Court of Auditors are expected by early 2025. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)