Case C-573/19: Action brought on 26 July 2019 — European Commission v Italian Republic
Date: 2019-07-26
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: air quality, atmospheric pollutant, environmental protection, environmental standard, infringement of EU law, national implementing measure, oxide, pollution control, prevention of pollution, regions of Italy








C_2019305EN.01002901.xml










9.9.2019   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 305/29






Action brought on 26 July 2019 — European Commission v Italian Republic
(Case C-573/19)
(2019/C 305/36)
Language of the case: Italian

Parties


Applicant: European Commission (represented by: G. Gattinara and E. Manhaeve, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Italian Republic

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:






1.


order that, because of the systematic and continuous failure to observe the annual limit values for NO2 concentration






—


since 2010, and continuously, in zones IT0118 (agglomeration of Turin), IT0306 (agglomeration of Milan), IT0307 (agglomeration of Bergamo), IT0308 (agglomeration of Brescia), IT0309 (zone A — plain with a high level of urbanisation), IT0906 (agglomeration of Florence), IT0711 (Municipality of Genoa), IT1215 (agglomeration of Rome),










—


from 2010 to 2012 and then again since 2014, continuously, in zones IT1912 (agglomeration of Catania) and IT1914 (industrial land),




a failure which persists, the Italian Republic has failed to meet its obligation under Article 13 of Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe, (1) in conjunction with Annex XI thereto;










2.


order that, by failing to adopt, as from 11 June 2010, appropriate measures to ensure compliance with the limit values for NO2 concentration in the zones referred to in paragraph 1, the Italian Republic has systematically and continuously failed also to meet its obligations under Article 23(1) of Directive 2008/50, both on its own and in conjunction with Section A of Annex XV thereto, a failure which persists;










3.


as a result, order the Italian Republic to pay the costs of the proceedings.





Pleas in law and main arguments



By its first plea in law
, the Commission claims that the data collected regarding NO2 concentration in the air demonstrate a systematic and continuous infringement of Article 13 of Directive 2008/50, in conjunction with Annex XI thereto. In accordance with those provisions, considered jointly, the level of concentration of those substances cannot exceed fixed annual limits. In certain zones, those limits have been exceeded continuously for more than ten years.


By its second plea in law
, the Commission claims that the Italian Republic has failed to meet its obligations under Article 23(1) of Directive 2008/50, on its own and in conjunction with Section A of Annex XV thereto. In the first place, it submits, the air quality plans, adopted following the exceedance of the limit values for NO2 concentration, do not make it possible to comply with those limit values or to limit the exceedance to the shortest period possible. In the second place, many of those plans do not contain the information required under Section A of Annex XV to the directive, the provision of that information being mandatory under the third subparagraph of Article 23(1) thereof.


(1)  Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe (OJ 2008 L 152, p. 1).