On Thursday 11 December, the European Commission decided to take Portugal to the Court of Justice of the European Union over two environmental issues.
Firstly, according to the European Commission, Portuguese legislation allows compensatory measures to be taken into account when assessing the likelihood of a plan or project having a significant impact on Natura 2000 sites, “which compromises the validity of the assessment”, even though the Court of Justice has ruled that such measures cannot be taken into account in the assessment. The Commission sent Portugal a letter of formal notice in May 2024 and a reasoned opinion in May 2025. Although Lisbon has agreed to amend its national legislation to address the Commission’s concerns, no progress has been made to date.
The Commission is also taking Portugal to court in two cases relating to the treatment of urban waste water (Directive 91/271/EEC), based on information provided in 2020 and 2022. In the first case, the Commission sent the country a reasoned opinion in September 2023. Despite some progress, in nine agglomerations there is no guarantee that urban wastewater entering the collection networks undergoes secondary or equivalent treatment before being discharged. In two others, urban wastewater is discharged into sensitive areas without undergoing more rigorous treatment. In the second case, the Commission issued a reasoned opinion in July 2025, because the urban wastewater entering an agglomeration does not undergo any secondary or equivalent treatment before being discharged.
Romania. In addition, the European Commission has decided to take Romania to the Court of Justice of the EU for failing to comply with its air quality monitoring obligations, considering that the country is not complying with its obligations under the directives on ambient air quality (directives 2008/50/EC and 2004/107/EC). According to the Commission, Romania has not ensured that its national air quality monitoring network meets the legal requirements concerning the number, type and location of sampling points, as well as data quality objectives. The Commission issued two letters of formal notice, in June 2017 and July 2019, and a reasoned opinion in June 2023. According to the Commission, despite the measures taken by the Romanian authorities, major shortcomings remain.
Ireland. Lastly, the European Commission has decided to refer Ireland again to the Court of Justice of the EU for failure to comply with the judgment handed down in Case C-427/17 in March 2019, concerning failure to comply with EU rules on urban wastewater treatment.
In this judgment, Ireland was found guilty of breaching the requirements of the Directive on urban waste water treatment in 28 agglomerations. Since then, eight agglomerations remain in breach, because the country has not ensured that overflows from urban wastewater collection systems are sufficiently controlled and appropriately treated, or that urban wastewater entering collection systems undergoes secondary or equivalent treatment before discharge. In one agglomeration, urban wastewater is discharged into a sensitive area without undergoing more rigorous treatment. The Commission sent Ireland a letter of formal notice on 14 November 2024. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)