EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/150

(2004/C 78 E/0155)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2678/03

by Caroline Jackson (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(10 September 2003)

Subject: 1991 Nitrates Directive

It is being argued that the 50 milligrammes per litre maximum level for nitrates in water in the 1991 Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC (1)) is out of date and that, for health reasons, the nitrates in water should actually exceed that limit. Does the Commission have any observation to make on this claim, and is it planning in any way to amend the Nitrates Directive which is still far from being fully implemented in many Member States?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(16 October 2003)

The Commission disagrees with the position that the standard of 50 milligram (mg) per litre of nitrates set by the Nitrates Directive (2), which is one of the criteria to identify vulnerable zones, is out of date and that for health reasons, nitrates in water should exceed that limit.

The recent revision of Council Directive 80/778/EEC of 15 July 1980 on the quality of water intended for human consumption (3), Council Directive 98/83/EC of 3 November 1998 (4), which reviewed the parametric values in accordance with the latest available scientific knowledge (e.g. World Health Organisation (WHO) Guidelines, Scientific Committee on Toxicology and Ecotoxicology), confirmed for nitrates the previous limit value of 50 mg per litre.

The precautionary value of 50 mg per litre is essential to prevent health effects, such as methaemoglobi naemia in infants. This disease, linked to high nitrate levels in drinking water, still exists both in Eastern Europe (hundreds of cases) and in the United States, and the relatively low incidence in the countries of Western Europe is in relation to the enforcement of strict limit values on nitrates over the last 20 years.

The Commission is not planning to propose amendments to the Nitrates Directive at present, as it is convinced that its full implementation is crucial to reduce the impact of nutrients from agricultural sources on European waters. More than 20 % of European groundwaters are facing excessive nitrate concentrations and at least 30-40 % of rivers and lakes show eutrophication symptoms or bring high nitrogen fluxes to coastal waters and seas: it is estimated that agriculture is responsible for 50 to 80 % of the nitrogen input to European waters (5).

In this context the Commission is fully committed to ensure that the Nitrates Directives, aimed at reducing and preventing the pollution from agricultural sources, is correctly implemented in the Member States with a set of actions, first of all putting legal pressure through infringement procedures towards the Member States which do not implement the different steps of the Directive.

Significant efforts are also devoted by the Commission to support a better knowledge on pressures and environmental status of European waters through regular monitoring and reporting exercises, and to promote the exchange of technical information between the Member States on agricultural practices and their impact on nutrient losses and on tools for measuring, modelling and forecasting their impact on water quality.

(1) OJ L 375, 31.12.1991, p. 1.

(2) Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources.

(3) OJ L 229, 30.8.1980.

(4) OJ L 440, 5.12.1998.

(5) Implementation of Council directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources. Synthesis from year 2000 Member States reports, p.43.