EC Starts Court Action on Environmental Liability Failings
June 28, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
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The European Commission (EC) referred nine European Union (EU) member states to the European Court of Justice for failing to transpose the Environmental Liability Directive into domestic law.
The nine are Austria, Belgium, Greece, Finland, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.
The Environmental Liability Directive establishes a legal framework for environmental liability based on the "polluter-pays" principle, with the aim of preventing and remedying environmental damage.
Natural and legal persons who operate or control activities listed in the directive are strictly liable for the damage they cause to the environment through their activity, including damage to protected species or natural habitats, water bodies or soil.
"The Environmental Liability Directive implements the polluter-pays principle and is one of the most significant new pieces of EU environmental law of the last few years," said Stavros Dimas, EC environment commissioner.
"More than a year after the deadline, it is high time these nine member states transposed it, not only to create the necessary legal security for operators carrying out activities falling under the directive but also to avoid distortions in its implementation. This could arise, for instance, in the case of damage affecting more than one member state."
The deadline for implementation of this directive was April 30, 2007. On June 1, 2007 the EC sent a first written warning to 23 member states that had not transposed the directive at that time. Fourteen member states have since done so, leaving nine as problematic.
Legal process
Article 226 of the treaty by which the EU was formed gives the EC powers to take legal action against a member state that is not respecting its obligations.
If the EC considers that there may be a violation 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 EC 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 EC may decide to bring the case before the European Court of Justice. If that court 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 EC power to act against a member state that does not comply with a previous judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Communities. The article also allows the EC to ask the court to impose a financial penalty on the member state concerned.
Further information
For rulings by the European Court of Justice, see Rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Communities. For more information on the Environmental Liability Directive, see the EC's web page on Environmental Liability.
Source: European Commission.