Brussels, 28/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - After confirming its decision of March 2007 to take action in Court for the second time concerning nitrate pollution of surface waters in Brittany (see related article), the European Commission decided, on 27 June, to also take Austria before the Court for breach of environmental legislation. Belgium and Italy will receive formal letters of notice for the same reasons. The Commission also decided to trigger infringement proceedings against 11 member states with regard to protection areas for birds. Italy has been instructed to take action to resolve the waste crisis in Campania.
The Commission has decided to take Austria before the Court for failing to comply with Community legislation in two nature conservation affairs. It reproaches Vienna, on one hand, for not having designated a sufficient number of nature protection sites under the Habitats Directive and, on the other, for not having designated a sufficient number of sites under the Wild Birds Directive.
The final warnings addressed to Belgium and Italy inform these member states that they are exposing themselves to further referral before the Court and to possible fines if they do not fully transpose EU environmental protection, which was the reason for their condemnation by the EU Court of Justice last year. In Belgium, the Flemish region failed to transpose the Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) Directive, whereas Italy only partially transposed the Water Framework Directive. If, after these warnings, Brussels and Rome do not remedy such failings, the Commission is empowered under Article 228 of the Treaty, to call on the Court to impose fines upon them.
The Commission is also taking action against ten member states for not having given sufficient coverage to special protection areas for migratory and vulnerable wild bird species. This failing is violation of the Community directive on the preservation of wild birds. The Commission takes German and Poland (plus Austria, see above) before the Court and sends a first written warning to eight other member states (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Slovenia).
The Commission takes action against Italy further to the chronic waste crisis in Naples and its surrounding region (Campania). Thousands of tonnes of waste have accumulated in streets, and waste has been dumped in illegal sites. This situation is a serious threat for health and the environment given the risk of disease and air pollution, as well as the ensuing water and soil contamination. The Commission considers that the region's waste disposal sites are inadequate, thus constituting a serious threat to human health and the environment. This situation amounts to infringement of the Community legislation on waste disposal. The Commission has therefore sent Italy a first written warning and called for information on measures taken to protect human health and the environment in the region. In parallel, the Commission is assessing the Italian government's plans to open four new waste disposal sites in Campania, in order to determine whether they comply with EU legislation and whether they contribute to resolving the problem of waste management, mainly in the long term. (ol)