Brussels, 23/08/2004 (Agence Europe) - Serious shortcomings exist in the application of EU environmental law, which deprives citizens of the high level of environmental protection that they expect. This is the alarming observation made by the European Commission last week in the "Fifth Annual Survey on the implementation and enforcement of EU environmental law" covers the period until 31 December 2003 and contributes to the goals of the 1998 Aarhus Convention (which seeks to provide citizens with access to environmental information and to allow them to participate in decision-making and to seek judicial redress). The survey also reports on environmental infringement procedures initiated by the Commission. As in earlier years, the environment sector in 2003 represented over a third of all complaints and ongoing infringement cases concerning non-compliance with EU law. The number of ongoing infringement procedures related to violations of EU environmental law was 509, and the number of new complaints was 505, which involve, above all: water, waste processing and protecting nature. The Commission also reveals that there were 88 cases in which environmental Directives were not transposed on time. In 118 cases, the Directives were not correctly transposed, and in 95 cases Member States did not meet "secondary" obligations under the Directives, for example deadlines for presenting certain plans, submitting data or designating protected areas. Greece, Ireland, Italy and Spain have the worst records.
Margot Wallström, Environment Commissioner, said: "During my mandate, I have been struck by the high number of complaints about non-compliance with EU environmental law that we have received from citizens, NGOs and the Parliament". The Commissioner said that she hoped that, " the survey's findings will give Member States reason to improve their record and provide their citizens with the level of environmental protection that they demand." The Commission underlined that it was now urgent to rectify this situation, which is all the more important now that the EU has enlarged, in order to ensure that the new Member States transpose and implement correctly the "environmental acquis communautaire" within the agreed timeframes. The Commission also stressed that "taking non-compliant Member States to the European Court of Justice is not the only, nor necessarily the most efficient way to ensure compliance because the proceedings are time-consuming". The Commission has therefore developed a more proactive approach both in the preparation and in the implementation of environmental legislation, including regular contacts with officials responsible for implementation at national level and the offer of 'technical assistance'. However, the Commission can only assist in implementation - the Member States are the ones that need to carry it out. The Survey can be found at: (http: //europa.eu.int/comm/environment/law).