Water Quality: Commission acts against France, Greece, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom

Brussels, 22 February 2002

The European Commission has decided to take further legal action against France, Greece, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom for non-compliance with EU water quality legislation. The legislation in question is the Directives governing Surface Water, Bathing Water, Drinking Water, Shellfish Water, Urban Wastewater and Nitrates. Legal action also relates to an agreement on the protection of the Mediterranean Sea.

Commenting on the decisions, Margot Wallström, the Environment Commissioner, said: "The European Commission must respond to the particular concern of many citizens for a strong level of water protection by ensuring that Member States comply with the range of EU agreements that they have adopted for this purpose. It is essential that all Member States adhere fully to these legislative measures if we are to ensure a sustainable management of water quantity and quality in Europe."

France

On 8 March 2001, the Court of Justice ruled against France for its failure to comply with the 50mg/l limit for nitrates in surface waters in Brittany which are used for the abstraction of drinking water. This was contrary to the legal requirements of the Surface Water Directive (Case C-1999/266). Effective measures are not yet in place to combat this problem, so the Commission decided to send a Letter of Formal Notice (first written warning) for not complying with the judgement, under Article 228 of the Treaty of the European Communities (EC).

Of three decisions to refer France to the Court under Article 226 of the EC Treaty, the first concerns its failure to meet the December 2000 deadline for transposing the new Drinking Water Directive into national legislation.

A second decision relates to France's failure to provide bathing water monitoring results for 1999 (apparently because of an internal dispute within the French administration), in contravention of the Bathing Water Quality Directive.

The third decision to refer France to the Court under Article 226 relates to polluting discharges that are responsible for the decline of the de Berre saline lake (in the Bouches du Rhone department), which is one of the largest saline lakes in Western Europe. These polluting discharges come from a hydroelectric power station and consist of freshwater discharges and sediments containing excessively high nutrient levels. These damage the sensitive ecosystem of the lake. In the Commission's view, this pollution is contrary to the Protocol governing the protection of the Mediterranean Sea from land-based pollution sources.

Greece

Two decisions to refer Greece to the Court under Article 226 of the EC Treaty concern the implementation of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.

The first concerns the Greece's failure to meet the 1998 deadline for installing tertiary treatment (advanced treatment for the cleaning of wastewater) for the region of Elefsina.

The second decision relates to inadequate wastewater treatment in Athens. The city will eventually benefit from a major new treatment plant at Psittalia (capable of treating the waste produced by five million people). However, the stricter wastewater treatment measures that are required to protect the receiving waters of the Gulf of Saronikos will not be operational before the end of 2002. Recent studies have shown those waters to be eutrophic i.e. to have undergone a sharp increase in photosynthetic organisms, including algae, and a lowering of the oxygen levels as anaerobic organisms degrade the dead algae.

Greece has also received a Reasoned Opinion (second written warning) under Article 226 for failing to designate the gulf of Thermaikos as sensitive.

Germany

A decision to refer Germany to the Court under Article 226 of the Treaty relates to German federal legislation concerning the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. In the Commission's view, German legislation fails to provide adequately for the monitoring of wastewater treatment measures.

Luxembourg

A decision to refer Luxembourg to the Court under Article 226 of the Treaty relates to Luxembourg's failure to met the December 2000 deadline for transposing the new Drinking Water Directive into its national legislation.

Ireland

The decision to refer Ireland to the Court under Article 226 of the Treaty follows an investigation into a complaint that Ireland has not adopted any anti-pollution programmes under the Shellfish Directive. Irish legislation previously only provided for programmes where problems had already arisen, whereas, in the Commission's view, programmes should be in place to help avoid pollution occurring in the first place. Ireland has now amended its legislation in response to the Commission's Reasoned Opinion. However, the required programmes have still not been finalised and sent to the Commission.

Belgium, Spain and United Kingdom

These Member States will be referred to the Court of Justice under Article 226 of the Treaty for missing the December 2000 deadline for transposing the new Drinking Water Directive into their respective national legislation.

While Belgium has sent the Commission draft legislation for Flanders and Wallonia, the Commission has not yet received final adopted legislation. Spain has also sent a draft of part of the required legislation, but once again final adopted texts have still not been received. The decision to refer the United Kingdom to the Court relates to the absence of legislation covering Northern Ireland and Wales.

Protecting Europe's water : the EU agreements concerned

The Surface Water Directive⁽¹⁾ aims to protect the quality of surface waters used for the abstraction of drinking water. It sets standards and requires Member States to draw up a global and coherent plan of action for all waters, with a special focus on poor-quality ones, which should have led to the reduction of pollution within 12 years of the entry into force of the Directive.

The Nitrates Directive⁽²⁾ aims to prevent the introduction into surface waters and ground waters of excessive levels of nitrates due to the presence of agricultural fertilisers and agricultural waste. Excessive nitrate levels cause undesirable ecological changes in water and are a factor in the proliferation of harmful algal blooms. They also adversely affect public health. The Directive required Member States to carry out monitoring of surface waters and ground water, to identify nitrate-polluted waters and to designate vulnerable zones (i.e. intensive agricultural zones that include nitrate-polluted waters) by December 1993.

The Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive⁽³⁾ addresses the nutrient-based, bacterial and viral pollution caused by urban wastewater. Urban wastewater discharges, by introducing excessive nutrients (in particular, phosphorous and nitrates) into rivers and seas cause Ť eutrophication" (sharp increases in photosynthetic organisms, including algae, and a lowering of the oxygen levels as anaerobic organisms degrade the dead algae). This can drastically change the lake or sea's ecosystem. It may even include the death of large numbers of fish, especially those that need high oxygen levels such as trout. By introducing potentially harmful bacteria and viruses, the dischrages also pose health risks in waters used for bathing or shellfish culture. The Directive requires that cities, towns and other population centres meet minimum wastewater collection and treatment standards within deadlines fixed by the Directive. The expiry of these deadlines was the end of 1998, 2000 and 2005, depending on the sensitivity of the receiving water and on the size of the population centre in question. The Directive required Member States to have identified sensitive areas by 31 December 1993, and to have met strict standards for discharging directly into these areas or their catchments. This was to have been achieved by 31 December 1998 (including the removal of nutrients that contribute to eutrophication). The Directive also imposes several other requirements, including those relating to the monitoring of wastewater discharges.

The revised Drinking Water Directive⁽⁴⁾ is intended to replace the existing Directive by the end of December 2003 at the latest. The Directive establishes quality standards for drinking water and key instruments for safeguarding public health. These standards apply to a range of substances, properties and organisms (called parameters). Among other things, the new Directive considerably tightens the standards with regard to lead content, which reflects current public health concerns. The deadline for adopting the necessary national legislation was 25 December 2000.

The Bathing Water Quality Directive⁽⁵⁾ is also important for public health. It aims to ensure that bathing waters meet minimum quality criteria by establishing a set of binding and more stringent Community standards for a range of key parameters (such as indicators of the presence of faecal bacteria).

It also requires that Member States carry out regular water quality monitoring and send annual reports to the Commission detailing bathing water quality. The legal deadline for complying with these standards was 1985.

The Shellfish Water Directive⁽⁶⁾ aims to safeguard the quality of waters designated for shellfish and thereby contribute to ensuring the availability of high quality edible shellfish. It also establishes a set of water quality standards and requires Member States to put in place programmes to ensure compliance with these standards.

In 1983, the then European Community ratified the protocol for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution from land-based sources⁽⁷⁾. This protocol was adopted under the Barcelona Convention and commits parties to preventing or reducing pollution of the Mediterranean caused by rivers, coastal installations and waste discharge pipes.

Legal Process

As guardian of the EC Treaty, the Commission must make sure that the legal requirements of the Treaty and legislation adopted under the Treaty are respected by Member States. The procedure being followed in this case relates to Article 226 of the Treaty, which 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 Community law that warrants the opening of an infringement procedure, it addresses a "Letter of Formal Notice" 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" (or second written warning) to the Member State. This clearly and definitively sets out the reasons why it considers there to have been an infringement of Community law and calls upon the Member State to comply within a specified period, normally two months.

If the Member State fails to comply with the Reasoned Opinion, the Commission may decide to bring the case before the European Court of Justice.

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⁾^{Directive 75/440/EEC concerning the quality required of surface waters intended for the abstraction of drinking water in the Member States}

⁽²⁾^{Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources}

⁽³⁾^{Council Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban waste water treatment}

⁽⁴⁾^{Directive 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human consumption}

⁽⁵⁾^{Directive 76/160/EEC concerning the quality of bathing water}

⁽⁶⁾^{Directive 79/923/68/EEC}^{on the quality required of shellfish waters}

⁽⁷⁾^{See Council Decision 83/101/EEC concluding the protocol for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution from land-based sources.}



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