EC Takes Court Action Over Missing Industrial Permits
October 30, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS
The European Commission (EC) announced on Oct. 29 it is taking six European Union (EU) member states to court over their failure to issue new or updated permits for over 1,500 industrial installations in operation in these countries.
The six member states are Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.
The EC also sent first written warnings to Austria, France and Sweden for insufficient progress towards issuing permits for around 1,700 installations operating in those countries, 1,647 of which are located in France.
Applicable Industrial Emissions Directive
The infringements concern the Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) - Directive 96/61/EC, codified by Directive 2008/1/EC - which aims to prevent and control industrial emissions to air, water and soil.
The directive set a deadline of Oct. 30, 2007 for member states to issue new permits, reconsider or, where necessary, update existing permits, for all industrial installations that were in operation before Oct. 30, 1999.
For more information, see the EC web site on the IPCC Directive.
Missing Permits
Having sent two written warnings already regarding the more than 1,500 missing industrial installation permits, the EC decided to take the six member states to the European Court of Justice over this breach of the directive.
The number of missing permits is, however, well below the number (more than 4,500) that existed in these member states when the EC launched infringement proceedings in May 2008 (see IP/08/704).
Legal Procedure
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.
Source: European Commission (EC).