Commission take action on air quality failures

On 5 May the European Commission announced that it is pursuing legal action against Italy for failing to comply with EU air quality standards for dangerous airborne particles (PM10). A second and final written warning has been sent to Italy for exceeding the limit values for PM10 in many zones or agglomerations across the country.

The Commission is also pursuing infringement proceedings against five other member states that failed to comply with the EU’s air quality standards for airborne particles (PM10). On 18 March, Slovenia and Sweden were referred to the European Court of Justice, while final written warnings were sent to Cyprus, Portugal and Spain. In a separate case, Bulgaria was sent a final written warning over its failure to control concentration levels of sulphur dioxide.

Source: Commission press releases 5 May and 18 April. Web link: europa.eu/rapid/

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