Press Release: Netherlands: Commission takes Netherlands to Court over violations of EU environment laws

The European Commission was taking the Netherlands to the European Court of Justice over three cases where the country had not implemented EU environmental laws on time or had done so inadequately. The laws covered industrial emissions, packaging waste and water protection. Final warnings of a possible referral to the Court in all cases had been sent to the Netherlands in July 2004 but the violations had not been remedied. By failing to properly implement these laws the Netherlands was not giving citizens the high level of protection from man-made environmental risks that all Member States have agreed to.