Originally published July 30 2005
Legal action imminent for EU states that do not implement environmental legislation
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
England, Germany and France are under fire from Brussels for not implementing environmental legislation required by the EU council.
The European Commission is taking action against the UK in eight cases involving laws on hazardous waste, urban wastewater, noise pollution, protection of the ozone layer and failure to implement regulations on electro-waste.
In the most advanced case Britain will receive a written warning after failing to act on the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) regarding safe management of hazardous waste.
Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: "EU environmental legislation has already done a lot to improve the state of the environment in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.
The silver lining for the UK is that it has become the first EU member to formally designate all of its protected areas of European importance under the Habitats Directive.
Biodiversity Minister Jim Knight said that the UK had designated all 608 sites as Special Areas of Conservation, less than six months after the European Commission's decision to adopt the proposed areas as sites of Community importance.
"I'm delighted that the UK is the first EU member to meet its European and international commitments to protect vulnerable and threatened species and habitats in this way," he said.
France, still reeling from having a record �20 million EU fine for an environmental breach slapped on it last week (see related story) now has to face EU action in ten new cases.
Paris has been sent three warnings for not respecting judgements of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) concerning genetically modified micro-organisms (GMMs), genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and waste management.
"I am pleased that we were able to close a number of our cases against France," said Commissioner Dimas.
Commissioner Dimas said: "I know that Member States understand the need to address the concerns of their citizens; concerns that legislation must ensure a healthy environment and a high quality of life.
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