Brussels, 14/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to enter the next phase of infringement proceedings against eight Member States which, despite calls to order, continue to flout EU legislation on water. For each of these cases, there follows the infringement committed and the stage of the procedure underway:
Belgium, Greece and the Netherlands will receive a reasoned opinion under article 228 of the Treaty (final stage of proceedings) to failing in their obligations to conform to a Court of Justice ruling, and risk heavy financial penalties if they do not bring their national provisions into line with Community legislation on the quality of water destined for human consumption. Having been ruled against in May 2000 for failing to adopt and notify the Commission of its pollution-reduction programme required for some hundred dangerous substances which may have entered the water system (directive 76/464/EEC, case C-384/97), Greece has since remedied this fault, but has still to adopt the provisions required to implement the programme. The Netherlands were condemned for the same thing in May 2001; their pollution-reduction programme has since been adopted, but it is not binding and nor has it been published- two problems the Member State has been called upon to put right. Belgium, which was ruled against in January 2003 (case C-2002/122), has still not adopted the provisions required to transpose the directive in the region of Wallonia.
France and Portugal will be brought before the Court of Justice (third stage of the procedure according to article 226 of the Treaty), France for failing to provide sufficient information on how directive 91/271/EEC on treatment of urban waste water is to be implemented; Portugal because of the water discharge system of the Angra do Heroiso dairies in the Azores, which contravene the same directive and also the one on waste.
Spain is to receive a reasoned opinion (second stage of the procedure under article 226 of the Treaty) for violation of the directive on the treatment of urban waster water, and directive 76/160/EC on the quality of bathing water (beach pollution in Motilla in the region of Valencia).
Ireland will receive a reasoned opinion under article 226 for infringement of directive 79/923/EEC on the required quality of shellfish waters (unsatisfactory identification and protection of this type of water).
Germany will be sent a reasoned opinion under article 226 for failing to adopt the legislation announced to correct its overly lax national provisions on fertiliser spreading (infringement of directive 91/676/EEC on the protection of waters from pollution by nitrates of agricultural origin).