EU asks court to fine Greece over nitrate pollution of water

The European Commission asked the European Union’s top court on Thursday to impose fines on Greece for failing to protect its waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agriculture in compliance with an earlier court ruling.

In April 2015, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that Greece violated EU law by failing to protect its waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources.

“Four years later, the problem is still not fully resolved,” the Commission said in a statement.

The Commission asked the court to impose a fine of 2,639 euros per day on Greece for each day since the initial April 2015 ruling that Greece has failed to comply, providing Greece does so before the next ruling of the EU court.

Were Athens still not to comply before the next ECJ ruling, the Commission wants the fine to be raised to 23,753 euros per day.

[Reuters]