European Commission refers Belgium to Court of Justice over nitrate pollution in Flanders
The European Commission has decided to refer Belgium to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to take sufficient action to tackle nitrate pollution in the Flemish Region, it announced on Thursday.
Nitrates in water can cause health problems and damage freshwater and coastal ecosystems. The Nitrates Directive requires EU member states to implement action programmes to control and reduce nitrate pollution in water.
Despite these requirements, nitrate pollution in the Flemish region has worsened significantly in recent years. Reports from the Flemish authorities show that successive nitrate action programmes have failed, resulting in persistently high pollution levels and making its waters one of the most polluted in the EU.
Not the first time
The Commission sent Belgium a letter of formal notice in February 2023, requesting immediate action on nitrate pollution, followed by a reasoned opinion in September 2023. However, the region has still not taken the necessary measures, the European Commission has found. As a result, it is referring the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
In February 2023, the Commission referred Belgium to the Court over poor water quality in Wallonia due to nitrate pollution. However, this case was closed following Wallonia's adoption of a revised nitrates action programme in March 2023.
Last June, the Flemish government was fined 1,000 euros per day, up to a maximum of 1 million euros, by the Brussels Court of First Instance for nitrate pollution. It found that nitrate thresholds were exceeded at more than 30 per cent of monitoring sites, while Flanders aims to have exceedances at only 5 per cent of these sites.
#FlandersNewsService | Illustration © PHOTO IMAGEBROKER
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