Belgium and Luxembourg face fines over water failings

摘要

Belgium and Luxembourg's failure to write a 2009 directive on water monitoring into national law could see them facing the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the risk of fines. The European Commission said on 26 January that it was sending a reasoned opinion to the two member states, since neither notified the Commission about the transposition of the directive (2009/90/EC) on technical specifications for chemical analysis and monitoring of water status, which should have been in place by 1 August 2011. Belgium and Luxemburg now have two months to comply, or the Commission may refer the cases to the ECJ and ask for immediate financial penalties. Directive 2009/90/EC supports the implementation of the water framework directive by ensuring that member states measure the concentrations of chemical pollutants in water, using methods that are sensitive enough to detect and quantify them at least down to the quality standards set for those substances.