The European Commission has decided to bring Romania in The Court of Justice of the European Union because the country has not closed and rehabilitated 68 illegal landfills, despite the warnings and repeated demands to comply with Directive 1999/31/EC.
Under this Directive, member states are required to recover and remove the waste in a way that does not endanger the human health and the environment.
The Directive also prohibits the abandonment, dumping or uncontrolled disposal of waste, as it is happening in Romania.
Our country was forced to close and rehabilitate by 16 July 2009 all municipal and industrial non-compliant landfills.
In September 2015, the Commission sent Romania an additional reasoned opinion requesting the Romanian authorities to take appropriate action on 109 uncontrolled sites, which although not used, continued to pose a threat to the human health and the environment.
But the problem remains for 68 landfills, where the necessary remedial and closure measures had not been completed in December 2016.
Similar measures were taken against six other Member States: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Spain, Italy, Slovenia and Slovakia. The Court has already issued decisions against Bulgaria, Cyprus and Spain.
European Commission calls on Romania to respect principle of equal access to EU waters and resources from Black Sea
In a reasoned opinion addressed to Romania, the Commission believes that Romania failed to allow equal access to the EU waters and resources, following a series of incidents involving ships flying the flag of Bulgaria.
The equal access regime is a fundamental principle of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The EU fishing vessels have equal access to waters and resources in all EU waters, as provided for in Article 5 (1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013.
Member states must ensure that ships flying the flag of other EU countries can access the waters under their jurisdiction for fishing activities.
In addition, member states must ensure that these vessels are treated without discrimination by the national authorities responsible for fisheries inspection. Romania has two months available to inform the European Commission about the measures taken to solve the situation. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Applying European standards for explosives precursors
The European Commission requests Cyprus, France and Romania to ensure the full implementation of the Regulation (EU) No 98/2013 on the marketing and use of explosives precursors.
The regulation entered into force on 2 September 2014 and is an important piece of legislation that limits and controls the access to a range of dangerous chemicals that could be used by terrorists to fabricate home-made explosives.
Cyprus, France and Romania have not yet issued the necessary rules providing for the sanctions to be imposed in case of breaching this regulation.
Therefore, the Commission sent reasoned opinions to the three member states and urges them to take all necessary steps to ensure that sanctions are implemented in accordance with the regulation.
In addition, France and Romania have been informed on the need to ensure a regular communication to the economic operators (namely to the retailers) of the guidelines on the precursors.
If Cyprus, France and Romania fail to solve the situation within the next two months, the Commission may decide to refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union in these cases. The correct implementation of this regulation on explosives precursors is an important element of both the European Agenda on Security and the Commission’s Communication presenting the way towards an effective and genuine Security Union.
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