Press Release: Belgium and Luxembourg: Commission takes legal action to improve implementation of environmental laws

The European Commission was taking legal action against Belgium in four cases involving violations of EU environmental laws, and against Luxembourg in one case, 13 January 2005. The action aimed to ensure that both Member States put an end to their infringements as soon as possible and thereby improve their level of environmental protection. The Commission decided to take Belgium and Luxembourg to the European Court of Justice for not fully transposing the Water Framework Directive, the cornerstone of EU water protection policy, into their national law. The deadline for doing so had expired almost one earlier. The Commission was also taking legal action against Belgium over greenhouse gas emissions trading, petrol and diesel quality and ozone-depleting substances.