MEPs want tougher quality standards

摘要

The European Parliament's Environment Committee has urged the European Commission to consider placing another 31 substances either on the list of pollutants for which water quality standards must be met by 2015 or on the list of substances to be banned from EU surface waters by 2025. With its adoption, on 6 May, of a report by Anne Laperrouze (ALDE, France) on the draft directive on surface water quality standards (COM(2006)397), the committee called for much stricter standards. The draft directive sets environmental quality standards (EQS) for 33 pollutants (pesticides, heavy metals and others) likely to be found in rivers, lakes and coastal waters. These substances are recognised as priorities in the Water Framework Directive, which the proposed directive will support.