The European Commission decided to refer Bulgaria (INFR(2017)2082) and Romania (INFR(2018)2109) to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to fully comply with the collection and treatment obligations set in the urban wastewater treatment directive (Directive 91/271/EEC).
The Directive aims to protect people's health and the environment by requiring that urban waste water is collected and treated before discharge into the environment. Towns and cities (agglomerations) need to put in place the necessary infrastructure to collect and treat their urban waste water. The Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Bulgaria in July 2017, followed by a reasoned opinion in May 2020. The Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Romania in June 2018, followed by an additional letter of formal notice in October 2020 and a reasoned opinion in February 2022. The additional letter of formal notice was sent to Romania to include big agglomerations that were not in the scope of the initial letter of formal notice in June 2018.
The Commission considers that efforts by the Bulgarian and Romanian authorities have, to date, been insufficient and is therefore referring Bulgaria and Romania to the Court of Justice of the European Union. More information is in the press release.The Commission decides to refer BULGARIA and ROMANIA to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to adequately collect and treat urban waste waterToday, the European Commission decided to refer Bulgaria (INFR(2017)2082) and Romania (INFR(2018)2109) to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to fully comply with the collection and treatment obligations set in the urban waste water treatment directive (Directive 91/271/EEC).
The Directive aims to protect people's health and the environment by requiring that urban waste water is collected and treated before discharge into the environment. Towns and cities (agglomerations) need to put in place the necessary infrastructure to collect and treat their urban waste water. The Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Bulgaria in July 2017, followed by a reasoned opinion in May 2020. The Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Romania in June 2018, followed by an additional letter of formal notice in October 2020 and a reasoned opinion in February 2022. The additional letter of formal notice was sent to Romania to include big agglomerations that were not in the scope of the initial letter of formal notice in June 2018. The Commission considers that efforts by the Bulgarian and Romanian authorities have, to date, been insufficient and is therefore referring Bulgaria and Romania to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
