1.

Severity of the infringement The Commission proposes the application of a coefficient for seriousness of 3 on a scale of 1 to 20. In accordance with the Commission’s Communication on the application of Article 228 EC (‘the 2005 Communication’), the Commission calculates that coefficient taking account of the following: a) The importance of the rules of EU law which have been infringed It is apparent from Articles 1, 2, 3(1) and 4 of Council Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban waste-water treatment (2) (‘Directive 91/271/EEC’), and Annex I thereto, that the disposal of untreated urban waste water into receiving waters causes pollution which has a significant impact on the quality of such waters and on the associated ecosystems. The collection and treatment of urban waste water from agglomerations with a population equivalent greater than 15 000 is of crucial importance in terms of the preservation and improvement of the quality of receiving waters and of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems which depend directly on such water masses, and also in terms of ensuring full and correct compliance with other EU law directives. b) The consequences of that infringement for general and specific interests — The protection of the environment and of human health is of general interest. Incomplete compliance with the judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-530/07 presents a serious risk in terms of pollution of the environment and has an impact on human health. — Incomplete compliance with that judgment also affects the implementation of other EU law directives and has a direct impact on the ability of citizens to enjoy unpolluted receiving waters, which they use for recreational activities, and could have an impact on the tourism sector and on related economic activities. c) Other aggravating and attenuating circumstances — Attenuating circumstances: i) The number of agglomerations with a population equivalent greater than 15 000 and which are not compliant with Article 4 of Directive 91/271/EEC went, as of the date of delivery of the judgment in accordance with Article 258 TFEU, from 15 to 2. ii) In relation to the agglomeration of Vila Real de Santo António, the new treatment plant has been operational since 2009 and only three zones of that agglomeration are still to be linked to the treatment plant; in so far as concerns Matosinhos, the current treatment plant enables the primary treatment of the waste water from that agglomeration. Such water in then disposed of in the sea, via an underwater outfall, more than 2 km off the coast. According to the Portuguese authorities, this does not affect the good quality of the bathing waters. — Aggravating circumstances: i) Full compliance with the judgment cannot be demonstrated before 2018, even though the collection and treatment obligations in question in the present proceedings should have been fully satisfied by 31 December 2000, at the latest. ii) The provisions in question of Directive 91/271/EEC, which are the provisions infringed by the Portuguese Republic, set out clear obligations. iii) The successive time frames presented to the Commission by the Portuguese authorities were not adhered to and in a way which the Commission deems serious. iv) The high number of infringement proceedings brought against the Portuguese Republic, including in relation to judgments already delivered by the Court of Justice in the specific area of urban waste-water treatment, shows repetitive unlawful conduct, and this in a sector in which the repercussions on human health and the environment are particularly serious.