(2004/C 78 E/0210)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2983/03

by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(9 October 2003)

Subject:   Instances of infringements of Community legislation on the environment

Can the Commission say in which specific cases it has identified incompatibilities between Greek legislation and Community legislation on the environment? In which of these cases has the Commission launched infringement proceedings against Greece?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(12 November 2003)

On 21 October 2003, there were 92 cases open concerning suspected or confirmed infringements of Community environmental legislation in Greece. Of these, 24 relate to Community waste management legislation, 19 relate to Directive 85/337/EEC, as amended by Directive 97/11/EC (1), 19 concern nature protection, 13 relate to air pollution, 11 relate to water, and the remaining six concern other areas of Community environmental legislation. In 42 cases the Commission, considering that Greece has failed to meet its obligations under Community environmental legislation, has initiated infringement proceedings under Article 226 or Article 228 of the EC Treaty.

For 11 infringement cases, the Commission has sent Greece a reasoned opinion in accordance with Article 226 of the Treaty. The infringements concern the designation of special protection areas under Directive 79/409/EEC (2), the construction of a waste water treatment plant in Gerani, the treatment of used oils, protection of the Mesolongi lagoon, an illegal waste dump in Paiania, sewage sludge treatment at the Psittalia plant, the Maroulas waste dump on Crete, and failure to notify measures transposing Directives 2000/69/EC (3), 2000/76/EC (4), 2001/80/EC (5) and 2001/81/EC (6).

The Commission has already brought nine cases before the Court of Justice: case C-301/01 (non-conformity of measure transposing Directive 85/337/EEC into Greek law), C-119/02 (failure to establish a system for the collection and appropriate treatment of urban waste waster in the Thriassio region), C-420/02 (operation of a waste dump at the Pera Galinoi site on Crete), C-163/03 (pollution in the Thriassio Pedio region), C-167/03 (incompatibility of Greek hunting legislation with the Birds Directive), C-246/03 (failure to notify measures transposing Directive 2000/53/EC (7)), C-247/2003 (failure to notify measures transposing Directive 1999/22/EC (8)), C-364/03 (operating conditions at a power station in Linoperamata, Crete), C-416/03 (failure to notify measures transposing Directive 2001/18/EC (9)).

The Commission, considering that Greece has not taken the measures required to comply with certain judgments of the Court of Justice, has also initiated infringement proceedings under Article 228 of the EC Treaty. The cases in question concern failure to establish programmes including quality objectives in order to reduce pollution caused by dangerous substances covered by the first indent of list II in the annex to Directive 76/464/EEC (10) (judgment of 25 May 2000, C-384/97), failure to establish and implement an effective system of strict protection for the sea turtle Caretta caretta on Zakynthos (judgment of 30 January 2002, C-103/00) and failure to provide the information specified in Article 8(3) of Directive 91/689/EEC (11).

The Commission has also decided to bring two more infringement cases before the Court of Justice. On 21 October 2003, the preparations for lodging the applications were in hand. The infringements concern the operation in Greece of a large number of illegal or uncontrolled waste dumps and the inadequate treatment of waste water in Athens.

In its judgments of 5 June 2003, the Court of Justice stated that, by failing to notify measures transposing Directive 2000/14/EC (12) (C-352/02) and by failing to communicate the information referred to in Article 11 of Directive 96/59/EC (13) (C-83/02), Greece had failed to fulfil its obligations under those Directives.

(1)  Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 amending Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(2)  Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds, OJ L 103, 25.4.1979.

(3)  Directive 2000/69/EC of Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2000 relating to limit values for benzene and carbon monoxide in ambient air, OJ L 313, 13.12.2000.

(4)  Directive 2000/76/EC of Parliament and of the Council of 4 December 2000 on the incineration of waste, OJ L 332, 28.12.2000.

(5)  Directive 2001/80/EC of Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2001 on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants, OJ L 309, 27.11.2001.

(6)  Directive 2001/81/EC of Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2001 on national emission ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutants, OJ L 309, 27.11.2001.

(7)  Directive 2000/53/EC of Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of-life vehicles — Commission Statements, OJ L 269, 21.10.2000.

(8)  Council Directive 1999/22/EC of 29 March 1999 relating to the keeping of wild animals in zoos, OJ L 94, 9.4.1999.

(9)  Directive 2001/18/EC of Parliament and of the Council of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms and repealing Council Directive 90/220/CEE — Commission Declaration, OJ L 106, 17.4.2001.

(10)  Council Directive 76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community, OJ L 129, 18.5.1976.

(11)  Council Directive 91/689/EEC of 12 December 1991 on hazardous waste, OJ L 377, 31.12.1991.

(12)  Directive 2000/14/EC of Parliament and of the Council of 8 May 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors, OJ L 162, 3.7.2000.

(13)  Council Directive 96/59/EC of 16 September 1996 on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and poly-chlorinated terphenyls (PCB and PCT), OJ L 243, 24.9.1996.