Mea culpa? The European Council released its conclusions on air quality on Thursday, the fruit of two years of evaluation of European rules in this area. And the results that the 27 draw from policies carried out, at community level but also national or local, are mixed.
There are certainly improvements, in particular thanks to the thresholds applied in the Union, explains the Council in a press release: "The policy put in place by the EU in this area has greatly contributed to improving air quality. "
But according to the environment ministers of the member states, "there is still a lot to do". In the detail of their conclusions, they "recognize that the measures taken at local, national and EU levels have not always been sufficient to comply with air quality standards and keep exceedances as short as possible" .
NGOs expect "concrete action"
One of the problems highlighted: the lack of coherence in European policies. To remedy this, the Council explains, the air quality objectives must be "fully taken into account in the legislation" relating to emission sources, citing policies on "the climate, the industry, energy, transport and agriculture ”.
Several NGOs welcomed the awareness of the 27; in a statement released Friday, but called on decision-makers for action. "Our governments must now take concrete measures to reduce pollution at source," urges the European Environmental Bureau (EEB).
"The European Commission should not hesitate to take legal action against governments that do not comply with their current legal obligation to fight against illegal levels of air pollution," said ClientEarth. "There is no reason why Europeans should wait longer to breathe clean, healthy air. "
