Omzetting Seveso II-richtlijnen: procedures gestart tegen Nederland, Ierland en Italië (en)

The European Commission has sent a formal request to the Netherlands, Ireland and Italy urging them to correctly transpose into national legislation an EU law on the control of major industrial accidents involving dangerous substances. This EU law is known as the Seveso II Directive and aims to avoid or minimise the consequences of major industrial accidents through a variety of preventive measures, including preparation of emergency plans and public participation. The requests take the form of so-called 'reasoned opinions', the second phase of EU infringement procedures set out in Article 226 of the Treaty. In the absence of a satisfactory response within 2 months, the Commission may refer the Member States to the European Court of Justice. The decisions taken show that the Commission is determined to establish - as soon as possible - a common EU framework for preventing and limiting the consequences of major accidents involving dangerous substances.

Commenting on the decision, Environment Commissioner, Margot Wallstrom said: "Experience tells us that we need to be pro-active in avoiding major industrial accidents. The Seveso II Directive is important in this sense as its central aim is public safety. I therefore urge the Netherlands, Ireland and Italy to comply as soon as possible."

The Netherlands

The decision to send the Netherlands a Reasoned Opinion follows close examination of its national legislation. The Commission believes that the Netherlands has failed to properly transpose Article 12 of the Seveso II Directive, which relates to land use planning. The Netherlands has indicated its intention to adopt appropriate transposing measures, but so far no such measures have been adopted.

Ireland

After close examination of Irish legislation, the Commission found that Irish legislation does not always, whether fully or accurately, reflect the wording of the Seveso II Directive. For example, Article 11(3) of the Directive requires Member States to prepare emergency plans and to ensure that the public is consulted. However, Irish legislation appears to be less strict when it comes to public consultation.

Article 13(5) of the Directive also requires Member States to ensure that the public can express an opinion on developments concerning major industrial installations. Irish legislation requires the public to pay to have the right to have its opinions taken into account. The Directive does not allow for such an approach. The Commission therefore decided to send Ireland a reasoned opinion.

Italy

The decision to send Italy a Reasoned Opinion follows close examination of Italian legislation. The Italian legislation does not always, whether fully or accurately, reflect the wording of the Seveso Directive. For example, while Article 17 of the Seveso Directive requires the competent authorities of Member States to prohibit the bringing into use of installations for which the measures taken by the operator for the prevention and mitigation of major accidents are seriously deficient, the Italian legislation provides only that the competent authority may prohibit the bringing into use of the installation. In addition, the Commission also considers that Italy has failed to appropriately transpose the requirements of Articles 9 (regarding safety reports) and 18 (regarding inspection systems)

Background

The Seveso II Directive

The Seveso II Directive⁽¹⁾ is aimed at preventing major accidents involving dangerous substances and at limiting their consequences for citizens' health and the environment. It replaces a previous Directive on the same subject, Council Directive 82/501/EEC ("Seveso I"), providing both a wider scope and stronger provisions. It imposes stringent obligations on companies that store dangerous substances. It also requires that information be notified to public authorities and that a major-accident prevention policy, a safety report and emergency plans are prepared in advance. It also sets requirements for land-use planning and public information, as well as emergency procedures that must be followed when an accident occurs. The deadline for adopting and sending the necessary national legislation to the Commission was 3 February 1999.

^{(1)Council Directive 96/82/EC}