EU environmental cases cost DEFRA £10,000 in legal bills

摘要

The environment department has stumped up nearly £10,000 in legal costs to defend itself against ongoing EU environmental cases. According to a parliamentary question answered by Cabinet Office minister Matthew Hancock, DEFRA shelled out £8,792 for legal counsel in 2015/16 and has already paid £967 so far this year.1 The costs were incurred for ongoing infraction proceedings brought by the European Commission for breaches of the Large Combustion Plants Directive -now part of the Industrial Emissions Directive - and the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.