After neglecting to heed an initial warning, six Member States may face financial penalties if they do not reduce pollution levels.

By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and Alexander Wilhelm

The European Commission (EC) has referred the UK, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Romania to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for failing to adequately tackle and control air pollution in their respective jurisdictions. The Member States, the EC said, had not produced and delivered “credible, effective and timely measures to reduce pollution as soon as possible, as required under EU law”. The EC had already issued these Member States with a warning in January 2018. Polluted and toxic air is thought to cause over 400,000 early deaths each year in Europe. The actions against the UK, France, and Germany concern exceedances of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), while the actions against Hungary, Italy, and Romania target particulate matter (PM₁₀).

The ECJ can impose significant fines stretching to millions of euros, for Member States that fail to remedy their behaviour.

In this blog, a more detailed analysis of the current position in the UK, France, and Germany is set out.