Strasbourg, 18/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - Last Thursday the European Parliament adopted the own initiative report by Maria Sornosa Martinez (PES, Spain) on the application of the 1991 directive on treating urban waste water. The report says it is "scandalous" that Member States generally fail to fully meet their obligation to provide information. It stresses the importance of the directive's legally binding timetable and the need to ensure that the sometimes considerable delays in applying the directive do not get any worse. The rapporteur notes that various Member States have only identified sensitive areas in a very reluctant and restricted manner and calls on the European Commission to immediately require that the Member States which have not provided information meet their obligations in this connection and ensure that information is supplied to the Commission respecting the deadlines set. Finally, it calls on the Commission to launch infringement proceedings when the criteria for identifying sensitive areas are not respected or taken into account, and to ensure that action is taken when states fail to provide the required information.