Brussels, 22/01/2003 (Agence Europe) - As part of its efforts to ensure a high level of protection of the environment and human health, the European Commission decided on Tuesday to take further legal action against Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Ireland and Portugal for non-compliance with EU laws on water quality. The Commission above all calls on a number of Member Sates to comply with rulings of the Court of Justice: Germany over bathing water and nitrates pollution, Belgium over bathing water quality, the Netherlands over dangerous substances in water and Sweden over bathing water.
We recall that failure to comply with Court rulings can result in substantial fines being imposed on the Member States in question.
Furthermore, Belgium and France have both received requests to supply information on implementation of the urban waste directive, and France has received an additional request to ensure higher drinking water standards in Brittany. The United Kingdom has been requested to implement correctly the freshwater fish directive.
Two requests have been sent to Ireland on the groundwater and bathing water directives respectively. These requests take the form of Reasoned Opinions. Finally, the Commission is to refer Portugal to the Court with the aim of requesting an improvement in drinking water quality.