France motorway
The European Union has won its court case against France over warning that cities across the country from Paris to Nice have been exceeding pollution limits mostly as a result of diesel car engines.
The ruling was the first after a recent crackdown on nations in breach of air pollution laws including Germany, Italy and the UK. The judges at the Luxembourg-based EU Court of Justice said that France had "systematically and persistently exceeded the annual limit value for nitrogen dioxide since Jan. 1, 2010."
The European Commission sued the countries last year, claiming that they had failed to meet limits on nitrogen oxide and particulate matter, which are mostly a result of road traffic, industry, agriculture and heating.
"France did not implement appropriate and effective measures to ensure that the exceedance period of nitrogen dioxide limit values would be kept as short as possible within the meaning" of EU law, the court said.
The ruling could offer some insight into the outcome of the other pending cases and throw more light on diesel engines, themselves at the centre of an emissions scandal that has rocked the German automotive industry.
The engines are the main emitters of nitrogen oxides, which cause respiratory problems and has been linked to premature deaths. Under EU rules, member countries are required to keep the gas to under 40 micrograms per cubic meter.
The ruling highlights the problems governments across Europe are facing with respect to controlling pollution as air quality and climate protection climb up the EU agenda. Under President Emmanuel Macron, France is one of the most vocal proponents of stricter climate policies.
Germany's top administrative court last year issued a key decision that pushed cities toward removing older diesel vehicles from inner cities to improve air quality, including banning some cars. The ruling backed lower courts that argued that forbidding diesel cars in inner cities is the most effective way to cut exhaust-gas levels swiftly and meet EU pollution limits.
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