Romania referred to EU Court of Justice over clean air breaches

Romania has been referred to the EU Court of Justice for reported non-compliance with EU clean air laws and failure to implement an air pollution control programme, the European Commission has revealed.

Three plants in the nation are currently not operating under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), while its government has yet to adopt its first national air pollution control program under the NEC Directive, which could result in hefty fines should they be found liable.

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Cutting down on air pollution is a key part of the EU Green Deal which forms the bloc's plans to operate at net-zero emissions by 2050. The EU has been handing out hefty fines at a rapid scale since the rules came into place, including France in 2019, and Germany and Belgium earlier this year.

Under the IED, players are required to have a permit to pollute, likely so the EU can track emissions for active reduction.

"In the absence of a permit, compliance with emission limit values, in particular, cannot be checked and environmental and human health risks cannot be effectively avoided", the Commission stated.

"Three industrial plants in Romania do not have a permit yet ensuring that their emissions into the air do not exceed the emission limit values set by EU law", it added.

Under the NEC Directive, member states are required to draft up and implement strategies to cutting air pollution, including pushing for initiatives that do not negatively impact human health, specifically to remove particulate matter and certain types of greenhouse gas emissions, such as sulphur dioxide and ammonia.

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