Air Pollution: ECJ strengthens civil rights | Currently Europe | '
It is crucial for the judges of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that the limit values should be complied with at each individual station. This eliminates the formation of measured values. They would distort the result.
The determination of a mean value from the results of all stations in a city or metropolitan area provides "no useful indication" of the pollutant load of the population, said the ECJ. For the question of compliance with the limit values, the degree of soiling measured at each station is decisive. It would be sufficient to establish that the limit values were exceeded if too high values were measured at one point.
National dishes on the train
The courts should be able to verify compliance with the obligations of the relevant EU air quality directive, the Luxembourg judges said. They are also empowered to take "all necessary measures" against the national authorities, such as orders.
Traffic junction A8 motorway near Stuttgart
The ECJ referred to strict provisions in the EU Directive and made it clear that citizens can have their compliance with the courts reviewed. The regulations contained some "clear, precise and unconditional obligations" that citizens could invoke against the state, the court said. This applies in particular to the obligation to set up measuring points so that they provide information about the most polluted places.
Litigation in Belgium
The background to the decision is a legal dispute in Belgium. Several inhabitants of the Brussels-Capital Region and the environmental organization ClientEarth are arguing with the regional administration about whether a sufficient air quality plan has been drawn up. A court in Brussels asked the ECJ for an interpretation of EU law in the case.
There may also be complaints in German cities. The German Environmental Assistance (DUH) sees itself encouraged by the decision in their actions. Their lawsuits have already led to diesel driving bans in several cities. All German courts could now feel confirmed in their verdicts, said DUH lawyer Remo Klinger.
Fine dust measuring station in Germany
According to the ECJ decision, the states and cities in Germany would have to act immediately and could "no longer calculate the actual burden on their inner-city breathing air by absurd averaging", said DUH CEO Jürgen Resch with conviction. The ECJ had expressed itself "clearly for the precedence of the health protection of the humans before the profit interests of the Dieselkonzerne". The hope of the Federal Government and some federal states to question compliance with the limit values and the locations of the measuring stations was "finally failed".
"Announcement to Federal Government"
The Greens welcome the verdict as "a clear statement to the Federal Government". Bundestag parliamentary leader Anton Hofreiter told the German press agency, "The Union and the SPD must no longer try to soften the provisions for clean air and thereby endanger the people in the cities." Now it is clear that the discussion about measuring points for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which are at the center of the dispute over diesel driving bans, is a "bogus debate".
Green Party leader Anton Hofreiter
Among other things, the Greens criticize the fact that the Federal Government considers driving bans on older diesels to be proportionate only if more than 50 micrograms of NO2 per cubic meter of air are measured in a city on an annual average – the EU limit is 40 micrograms. The job of the government is to provide healthy urban air, "in every city and at any time". For Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) must allow a blue badge for relatively clean cars, enforce hardware retrofitting older diesel and bus and train "vigorously promote".
Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze
Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze is also behind the EU ruling. "It supports everyone who works for better air in the cities and for health protection," said the SPD politician.
cgn / rb (afp, dpa, epd, rtr)
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