Luxembourg, 02/07/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Court of Justice has found guilty of failing to provide the European Commission with the names of companies carrying out disposal and recovery of hazardous waste. A vague ruling mirroring the vagueness of the data provided by the Greek government.
The European Commission has still not received information it has requested but cannot say whether Greece is refusing to hand it over or if Greece does not actually have the information. An EU Directive from 1991 required Member States to provide the Commission before 12 December 1994 with the name and address of companies processing waste, along with the treatment method and the types and quantities of waste that can be treated. In November 1998, the Greek government told the Commission that there were no establishments disposing of hazardous waste in Greece but in the same letter it supplies the names and addresses of four companies managing hazardous waste and exporting it to other Member States. In August 1999 the Commission said it was unsatisfied with this reply since the information supplied was incomplete. According to Greece's own figures, it produced 287 000 tonnes of hazardous waste in 1998, 65 000 tonnes of which was recovered. In 2000 the volume almost totalled 400 000 tonnes.