Italiaanse vuilnisbelten en natuurgebieden voldoen niet aan EU-regels: Commissie start juridische procedures (en)

The European Commission has decided to continue legal action in five cases where Italy is breaching EU laws to protect the environment and human health. In two cases the Commission is sending Italy final written warnings to heed earlier European Court of Justice (ECJ) rulings over inadequate management of waste landfills. Unsatisfactory responses to these warnings could lead the Commission to ask the Court to impose daily fines on Italy. The Commission is also sending final written warnings over three other cases, one involving the absence of measure to comply with the limits for certain air pollutants in many areas of Italy and two concerning breaches of hunting rules.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas i said: "Violations of EU environment law means lower protection of Italian citizens' health and the environment. It is necessary that the Italian authorities move swiftly to remedy the situation."

Final written warnings over non-compliance with earlier rulings on waste landfills

In two separate cases the Commission is sending Italy final written warnings to comply with ECJ rulings concerning inadequate management of waste landfills. Should Italy's response be inadequate, the Commission has the power to ask the Court to impose fines on Italy for as long as the infringements continue.

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  Castelliri

In September 2004 the ECJ ruled that Italy had breached the EU's 1975 framework directive on waste,[1] which lays down definitions and basic requirements for waste management, over an illegal landfill for hazardous waste near the town of Castelliri in the Lazio region. The site was authorised to take municipal waste, which is considered non-hazardous, but has also been used illegally for the disposal of hazardous waste. An expert report undertaken as part of a criminal investigation by the Italian authorities found a potential risk of the groundwater becoming polluted due to leaks of contaminated liquids from the site.

Since the Court judgement, the Italian authorities have decided to remove the waste from the landfill and dispose of it safely. However, to date only part of the waste has been removed, with the completion of the operation depending on funding which has not yet been made available. The Commission concluded that Italy has not taken all the necessary measures to comply with the ECJ ruling and sent a first written warning last December asking Italy to follow up the Court ruling. Italy's reply has confirmed that this state of affairs is still the same and so the Commission has now decided to send a final written warning.

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  Campolungo

The Commission is also sending Italy a final written warning over its failure to comply with an ECJ judgement of December 2004 concerning an illegal landfill at Campolungo, near the city of Ascoli Piceno in the Marche region. The landfill, abandoned since the late 1980s but yet to be decontaminated, is located just 3 metres above the water table and next to a river which often floods it.

Since the Court ruling, the Italian authorities have announced that an agreement has been signed between the national government and the Marche region on remedial measures for part of the landfill. However, since only partial measures are planned, and it not clear that they are being implemented, the Commission concluded that Italy has not taken all the necessary measures to comply with the ECJ judgement. It therefore sent a first warning last December asking Italy to comply with the Court ruling. Italy's reply to the warning confirmed the Commission's view that the planned measures are not adequate and it is therefore pursuing its action.

Final written warning over air quality

The Commission is sending Italy a final written warning for breaching EU legislation on air quality, designed to protect the public and the environment against the harmful effects of air pollution. The case involves the absence of measures required to reduce air pollution, with reference to levels of particulate matter (PM), one of the air pollutants of greatest threat to human health because it can penetrate deep into the lungs, as well as of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx), which have a wide variety of health and environmental impacts.

Italy submitted in 2001 and 2002 a list of agglomerations and other areas where EU limit values for particulate matter, NO2 and NOx were particularly high - but for most of these agglomerations and areas it failed to subsequently adopt plans or programmes for bringing their air quality into conformity with the rules.

These measures should have been sent to the Commission by 31 December 2003, but 17 areas are still lacking measures to reduce levels of NO2 and NOx, while 25 areas have yet to get plans or programmes to address excessive levels of particulate matter. These shortcomings infringe the 1996 air quality framework directive[2] and its 1999 daughter directive.[3]

Final written warnings over bird hunting

The Commission has decided to send Italy final written warnings over infringements of the EU directive on the conservation of wild birds[4] in two separate cases, one concerning Sardinia and the other in the Veneto region.

The directive requires member states to establish a general system of protection for the bird species it covers. Member states may derogate from this general protection, and thus allow capture or killing of a small number of birds, provided that the derogations specify the species affected, the circumstances under which they may be killed and certain other information.

Under regional legislation for both Veneto and Sardinia, where the capture or killing of birds protected under the directive is authorised for exceptional reasons, there is no guarantee that the requirements and conditions of the derogation regime set out in the directive are fully complied with. The Commission believes that this leads to too many birds being captured or killed.

Legal Process

Article 226 of the Treaty gives the Commission powers to take legal action against a Member State that is not respecting its obligations.

If the Commission considers that there may be an infringement of EU law that warrants the opening of an infringement procedure, it addresses a "Letter of Formal Notice" (first written warning) to the Member State concerned, requesting it to submit its observations by a specified date, usually two months.

In the light of the reply or absence of a reply from the Member State concerned, the Commission may decide to address a "Reasoned Opinion" (final written warning) to the Member State. This clearly and definitively sets out the reasons why it considers there to have been an infringement of EU law, and calls upon the Member State to comply within a specified period, usually two months.

If the Member State fails to comply with the Reasoned Opinion, the Commission may decide to bring the case before the Court of Justice. Where the Court of Justice finds that the Treaty has been infringed, the offending Member State is required to take the measures necessary to conform.

Article 228 of the Treaty gives the Commission power to act against a Member State that does not comply with a previous judgement of the European Court of Justice. The article also allows the Commission to ask the Court to impose a financial penalty on the Member State concerned.

For current statistics on infringements in general see:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgb/droit_com/index_en.htm#infractions

[1] Council Directive 75/442/EEC, amended by Directive 91/156/EEC

[2] Council Directive 96/62/EC on ambient air quality assessment and management

[3] Council Directive 1999/30/EC relating to limit values for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter and lead in ambient air.

[4] Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds