Frankrijk leeft jurisprudentie EU-Hof niet na inzake natuurbescherming en afvalstortplaatsen (en)
The European Commission has decided to pursue legal action against France in eight separate cases. In three of these cases France has already been judged by the European Court of Justice, but has not yet taken the necessary measures to comply with the judgements. The Commission is therefore continuing legal action to make France comply with EU laws on nature protection, public access to environmental information and water protection. France could face fines if it fails to bring its laws into line with the earlier court rulings. The Commission is also taking legal action against France for non-respect of EU laws on land filling of waste. Finally, France has failed to correctly implement EU laws on air pollution, ozone depleting substances and urban waste water. By not correctly implementing European environmental law, France is undermining EU efforts to create a healthy environment for citizens.
Commenting on the decisions, Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström said: "France has to improve its record with regard to the implementation of several important pieces of environmental legislation. In many cases France has already been judged by the Court of Justice for failure to correctly apply the laws which are agreed by all Member States - including France. The French authorities must now demonstrate that the country really cares about the state of the environment and the health of its citizens by correctly implementing these laws."
Warnings for failure to comply with Court rulings
The Commission has sent France first written warnings for non-execution of three earlier rulings by the European Court of Justice.
- The first warning concerns nature conservation. On 11 September 2001, the Court found that France had still not put forward enough sites for the protection of species and habitats mentioned in the EU's Habitats Directive[1] (case C-220/99). The Directive required Member States to propose, by June 1995 at the latest, a set of sites to safeguard the EU's most endangered plant and animal species and natural habitats in a Europe-wide network of protected areas known as Natura 2000. While France has made progress towards fulfilling this requirement, significant gaps in the proposed coverage still exist. The site proposals are still insufficient for dozens of habitats and species which must be protected under the Directive. French delays are hampering the completion of the Natura 2000 network, which is the EU's most important contribution to conserving Europe's biodiversity for future generations.
- The second warning concerns citizens' access to environmental information. On 26 June 2003, the Court identified several shortcomings in the French national legislation related to the EU's Access to Environmental Information Directive[2] (case C-233/00). Subject to a number of exceptions, this Directive gives citizens the right to obtain environmental information held by public authorities, which is an important precondition for their involvement in decision-making. The Court found that, in several respects, the French legislation was unduly restrictive in providing for citizen access to such information. Since then, France has resolved all except one of the shortcomings identified by the Court. The outstanding problem relates to the failure of the French legislation to require that, where public authorities refuse environmental information, citizens are provided with the reasons for refusal within a period of two months of submission of their initial request. France is in the course of amending its legislation, but the necessary revision has not yet been notified to the Commission.
- The third Court ruling with which France has not yet fully complied is of 12 June 2003 and concerns the EU's Directive on Discharges of Dangerous Substances to Water[3] (case C-130/01). This Directive,one of the earliest pieces of EU environmental legislation, creates a framework for dealing with water pollution caused by discharges of an extensive list of dangerous substances, such as heavy metals (mercury, cadmium etc.), pesticides and chemicals such as PCBs. Under this framework, Member States must adopt pollution-reduction programmes that involve binding water quality objectives, a monitoring network and a system of authorisations for such discharges.
The Court found that France had still not adopted legislation implementing the provision on pollution-reduction programmes. Failure to implement the 1976 Directive properly means that citizens, and in particular vulnerable groups like children and elderly people, are not adequately protected against exposure to for instance cancer-causing substances in water.
France referred to Court over illegal and uncontrolled landfills
The Commission has furthermore decided to refer France to the European Court of Justice over the existence of numerous illegal and uncontrolled landfills across the country .8,434 sites have been identified by the Commission in France's 95 departmental waste management plans. Landfills are required to be strictly controlled and supervised under the terms of the Waste Framework Directive[4] and the Landfill Directive[5]. The Waste Framework Directive lays down basic rules for Member States with regard to handling waste and defines what is meant by "waste".
The Landfill Directive establishes a set of detailed requirements that must be met with regard to waste landfills. The objective is to help prevent or limit the negative effects that unacceptable landfill sites can have, such as pollution of surface water, groundwater, soil and air. The effects of citizens living close to landfills is also considerable, i.e. bad smells, pests etc. While France is taking measures to reduce the number of illegal and uncontrolled landfills, the situation remains unsatisfactory in terms of protection of the environment and human health.
Court action decided over Bistade landfill
In a separate case, the Commission decided to refer France to the European Court of Justice because of environmental problems associated with the Bistade landfill in the municipality of Sainte Marie de Kerque in the Pas de Calais department in the north of France. The landfill is located only a few meters from a residential area. Since it became operational, it has caused a lot of problems for local residents. Apart from being affected by the bad smell, the residents' health is also badly affected. As this is contrary to the Waste Framework Directive, the Commission pursues its legal action.
Three first warnings
Along with several other Member States, France has received three first written warnings for the following failures:
- to draw up plans to reduce air pollution in areas where the limit values for a number of air pollutants have been exceeded[6];
- to submit certain reports on the use of methyl bromide, a pesticide that damages the Earth's protective ozone layer and must be phased out under the EU Ozone Regulation[7], which implements the 1987 Montreal Protocol on ozone-depleting substances;
- to meet a December 2000 deadline for installing proper treatment for waste-water discharges from cities and towns with more than 15,000 inhabitants under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive[8].
These three cases are the subject of separate press releases (IP/04/872, IP/04/878, and IP/04/870).
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" (second and 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, 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. 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, again by issuing a first written warning ("Letter of Formal Notice") and then a second and final written warning ("Reasoned Opinion"). The article then 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
For rulings by the European Court of Justice see:
http://curia.eu.int/en/content/juris/index.htm
[1] Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora and fauna
[2] Council Directive 90/313/EEC of 7 June 1990 on the freedom of access to information on the environment
[3] Council Directive 76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community
[4] Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste, as amended by Directive 91/156/EEC
[5] Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste
[6] Directive 96/62/EC of 27 September 1996 on ambient air quality and management and Directive 1999/30/EC of 22 April 1999 relating to limit values for sulphur oxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter and lead in ambient air
[7] Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 June 2000 on substances that deplete the ozone layer
[8] Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste water treatment