Commissie maant Polen, Malta en Luxemburg om uitstootstatistieken broeikasgassen te publiceren (en)
The European Commission has decided to start infringement proceedings against three Member States for failing to provide data on their emissions of greenhouse gases in 2003. Without this data the Commission cannot complete its report covering the European Union's greenhouse gas emissions in 2003 and meet its obligation to publish and submit these to the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in time. The Commission has sent a first written warning to Luxembourg, Malta and Poland for failing to report their 2003 emissions. The deadline for doing so was 15 January this year. This case marks the Commission's first infringement action over incorrect application of EU environmental law by Member States that joined the EU last year.
The reporting requirements for greenhouse gas emissions are laid down in a Decision[1] of the European Parliament and Council, adopted last year, on implementing the Kyoto Protocol. It requires Member States to submit a report to the Commission by 15 January each year containing the information needed for assessing their progress towards their Kyoto target and for preparing an annual report by the EU in line with its UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol obligations.
The information must include figures for Member States' emissions of the six greenhouse gases controlled by the Protocol - carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride - during the year before last. Other requirements include information on the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere by carbon `sinks' resulting from land use, land-use change and forestry over the same period.
To date, none of the three Member States has submitted the report for its 2003 emissions. If after receiving the first written warning any of the Member States still fails to comply, the Commission can issue a final written warning, the last stage in the infringement procedure before it takes a Member State to the European Court of Justice.
Legal Process
Article 226 of the Treaty gives the Commission powers to take legal action against a Member State that is not respecting its obligations.
If the Commission considers that there may be an infringement of EU law that warrants the opening of an infringement procedure, it addresses a "Letter of Formal Notice" (first written warning) to the Member State concerned, requesting it to submit its observations by a specified date, usually two months.
In the light of the reply or absence of a reply from the Member State concerned, the Commission may decide to address a "Reasoned Opinion" (final written warning) to the Member State. This clearly and definitively sets out the reasons why the Commission considers that there has been an infringement of EU law and calls upon the Member State to comply within a specified period, normally two months.
If the Member State fails to comply with the Reasoned Opinion, the Commission may decide to bring the case before the European Court of Justice. Where the Court of Justice finds that the Treaty has been infringed, the offending Member State is required to take the measures necessary to conform.
Article 228 of the Treaty gives the Commission power to act against a Member State that does not comply with a previous judgement of the European Court of Justice, again by issuing a first written warning ("Letter of Formal Notice") and then a second and final written warning ("Reasoned Opinion"). The article then allows the Commission to ask the Court to impose a financial penalty on the Member State concerned.
For current statistics on infringements in general see:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgb/droit_com/index_en.htm
For rulings by the European Court of Justice see
http://curia.eu.int/en/content/juris/index.htm
[1] Decision No 280/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 concerning a mechanism for monitoring Community greenhouse gas emissions and for implementing the Kyoto Protocol