The EU summoned ministers from France, Germany, Britain and six other polluting member states for a “final chance” on Tuesday to comply with air quality standards.
Brussels could follow through on threats to take them to the European Court of Justice, the bloc’s highest tribunal, if they fail to change course.
EU Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella “will give ministers the opportunity and the final chance to find solutions”, European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters on Monday.
“Otherwise the cases will follow their way to the court,” Schinas warned.
Summoned are the environment ministers of France, Germany, Britain, Spain, Hungary, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania. These countries are deemed regularly to exceed emissions limits set to protect Europeans against particulate matter and azote dioxyde.
But a total of 23 of the 28 EU member countries exceed air quality norms, the European Commission said. The problem affects more than 130 cities in Europe. Throughout the bloc, fine particulates were responsible for three out of four premature pollution deaths (399,000 out of 487,600) in 2014, according to EU figures.
