European Commission Requests Information from Member States on Airborne Particles Pollution

The European Commission has written to 23 Member States to request information on what action they are taking to comply with the EU's air quality standard for dangerous airborne particles known as PM10. These coarse particles, emitted by industry and traffic, can cause asthma, cardiovascular problems, lung cancer and premature death. The Commission's action follows the entry into force on 11 June of the major new EU air quality directive, which allows Member States to request limited extra time to meet the PM10 standard under certain conditions.

Stavros Dimas, European Commissioner for Environment, said: 'Air pollution has serious impacts on health and compliance with the standards must be our utmost priority. The entry into force of the new Directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe marks a new phase in the implementation and enforcement of air quality standards.'

Time extensions
The new directive[1] (see MEMO07/571 and IP/08/570) establishes ambitious, cost-effective targets for improving human health and environmental quality up to 2020. However, in recognition of the difficulty many Member States face in complying with some EU air quality standards, it also allows for the possibility of limited time extensions for compliance. In the case of PM10, for which the mandatory standard has been in force since 2005, this time extension can run until 10 June 2011. It is estimated that on average 40% of air quality zones in the EU currently do not comply with the PM10 standard.

Time extensions will be granted only for zones that satisfy the conditions laid down in the directive, which relate to external factors over which the Member States have no direct control, such as transboundary contributions, and adverse climatic conditions. Outside these areas the air quality standards must be fully complied with already.

On 26 June the Commission adopted a Communication[2] providing guidance to Member States wishing to request time extensions. In assessing notifications for such requests, the Commission will look specifically at the efforts undertaken by Member States to comply by the initial deadline, ie 1 January 2005 in the case of PM10. The Commission must also be convinced that full compliance will be achieved at the expiry of the time extension period.

In the light of this guidance, the Commission has written to the 23 Member States that reported exceedances of the limit value for PM10 in 2006, asking them to provide information by 30 September 2008 on the steps they are taking to achieve compliance. This concerns all Member States except Ireland and Luxembourg, which reported no exceedances of the PM10 standard in 2006, and Bulgaria and Romania, which did not join the EU until 2007.

In the letters, the Commission makes clear that Member States are expected to notify requests for time extensions by 31 October 2008. Failure either to achieve compliance with the standard or to submit notifications by that date will lead to legal action against the Member State concerned.

PM10 standard
The PM10 standard consists of two limit values:
- a concentration of 50 micrograms (µg)/m3, measured over 24 hours; this can be exceeded on no more than 35 days per year
- a concentration of 40 µg/m3, measured over one year; no exceedance is allowed.

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The U.S. Senate Committee on Finance heard the testimony of Ambassador John Bruton this week, outlining the European Union’s energy policy objectives.

With the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting energy dependency, the Ambassador stated several EU policies such as energy taxation, the EU emission trading system, and a plan for sustainable coal technologies.

"Although EU energy policy is far from being created from scratch - a number of energy efficiency and renewables promotion measures date back more than 10 years - it is just recently that the EU has opted for a comprehensive, integrated and ambitious policy set in the field of energy and fight against climate change," said Ambassador Bruton, Head of Delegation of the European Commission to the United States, during testimony.

He continued "the EU’s increasing dependency on imports threatens not only its security of supply but it also implies higher prices, if, for example, the price of oil rises to $100 per barrel in today’s money, the EU's energy import bill will be around 50 percent higher by 2030. While Europeans would have to pay a lot more for their energy, few additional jobs in the EU would be created this way. In contrast, boosting investment in energy efficiency, renewable energy and new technologies has wide-reaching benefits and would contribute to the EU’s strategy for growth and jobs."

Addressing the common situation of the EU and United States’ energy situation, Ambassador Bruton concluded "…that in order to ensure a sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply, a common response is needed."

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Ambassador Bruton’s testimony

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