Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 October 2004
283 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government , further to Question No. 16 of 30 September 2004, the EU directives and regulations regarding which the Government is still in dispute with the European Union; the status of the dispute in each case; and the level of penalty that may be incurred in each case. [23694/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraI refer to the reply to Question No. 16 of 30 September, which set out the range of issues in which my Department is in correspondence with the European Commission in relation to possible breaches of EU environmental legislation, and the status of the sole case in which the Commission has applied to the European Court of Justice for a daily fine.
The table following provides a more detailed breakdown of these cases in terms of the relevant directives or regulations and the current stage of the process. However, as I stated in my answer of 30 September, the vast majority of issues are resolved without recourse to the European Court of Justice.
|
Number of cases at each stage |
|||||
|
Directive / Regulation |
Article 226 (i) |
Reasoned Opinion (Article 226) (ii) |
ECJ stage and beyond (iii) |
ECJ daily fines pending (iv) |
Total |
|
2000/53/EC — End of life vehicles |
— |
— |
1 |
— |
1 |
|
2001/80/EC — Limitation of emission from large combustion plants |
— |
1 |
— |
— |
1 |
|
2001/81/EC — Emissions ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutants |
1 |
1 |
— |
— |
2 |
|
2002/3/EC — Ozone in ambient air |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
1 |
|
2003/35/EC — Public participation in drawing up certain plans and programmes |
— |
1 |
— |
— |
1 |
|
2003/87/EC — Greenhouse gas emissions allowance trading |
— |
1 |
— |
— |
1 |
|
75/442/EC — Waste |
— |
— |
1 |
— |
1 |
|
76/160/EC —Bathing water quality |
— |
1 |
— |
— |
1 |
|
76/464/EC — Dangerous substances |
— |
— |
1 |
— |
1 |
|
79/409/EC — Conservation of wild birds |
1 |
1 |
— |
— |
2 |
|
79/923/EC — Quality of shellfish water |
— |
1 |
1 |
— |
2 |
|
80/68/EC — Protection of groundwater |
— |
3 |
— |
— |
3 |
|
80/778 — Quality of drinking water |
— |
— |
1 |
— |
1 |
|
85/337/EC — Environment Impact Assessment |
1 |
1 |
— |
— |
2 |
|
87/101/EC — Disposal of waste oil |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
1 |
|
88/540/EC— Protection of ozone layer |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
1 |
|
91/156/EC — Waste (amending) |
— |
1 |
— |
— |
1 |
|
91/271/EC — Urban waste water treatment |
1 |
1 |
— |
— |
2 |
|
92/43/EC — Habitats |
9 |
4 |
2 |
— |
15 |
|
93/36/EC — Procedures for awarding public contracts |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
1 |
|
94/62/EC — Packaging waste |
— |
1 |
— |
— |
1 |
|
96/61/EC — Integrated pollution prevention and control |
2 |
— |
— |
— |
2 |
|
96/82/EC — Control of major accident hazards |
— |
1 |
— |
— |
1 |
|
97/11/EC — Environment impact assessment (amending) |
9 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
14 |
|
97/62/EC — Habitats — adaptation to technical and scientific progress |
— |
1 |
— |
— |
1 |
|
98/24/EC — Protection of health of workers from chemical agents |
— |
1 |
— |
— |
1 |
|
99/30/EC — limit values in ambient air |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
1 |
|
2002/37/EC — Regulations concerning substances depleting ozone layer |
1 |
— |
1 |
— |
2 |
|
Conformity with Article 10 of the EC Treaty |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
1 |
|
31 |
24 |
9 |
1 |
65 |
Explanation of above stages
(i)Where the Commission considers that a MemberState has failed to fulfil an obligation in respect of legislation, article 226 of the Treaty establishing the European Union allows them to invite the Member State to submit observations on the case.
(ii)Where Member States fail to satisfy the Commission under article 226, a reasoned opinion is issued.
(iii)In cases where the Commission is not satisfied that Member States have met the requirements of the reasoned opinion, the case may then be referred to the European Court of Justice. If the case is proven, the Member State is obliged to implement the findings of the Court.
(iv)Failure to implement the findings of the Court can result in the Commission returning to the Court to seek imposition of a daily fine for non-compliance.
