Case C-377/25: Action brought on 5 June 2025 – European Commission v Slovak Republic
Date: 2025-06-05
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: eutrophication, infringement of EU law, national implementing measure, pollution control measures, regions of Slovakia, wastewater, water treatment








C_202503880EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/3880


21.7.2025






Action brought on 5 June 2025 – European Commission v Slovak Republic


(Case C-377/25)

(C/2025/3880)
Language of the case: Slovak

Parties


Applicant: European Commission (represented by: R. Lindenthal, E. Sanfrutos Cano, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Slovak Republic

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the court should:






—


Declare that, by failing to ensure that in 17 agglomerations (the agglomerations SKA6010518 Slovenská Ľupča, SKA7030565 Spišská Belá, SKA7040568 Spišské Podhradie, SKA7060573 Hôrka, SKA8010608 Gelnica, SKA8080636 Dobšiná, SKA3070373 Oslany, SKA8100646 Rudňany, SKA3060344 Udiča, SKA6030527 Nemecká, SKA2020267 Šoporňa, SKA2010249 Lehnice, SKA 4010068 Kolárovo, SKA8100647 Spišské Vlachy, SKA4020409 Tlmače, SKA6080543 Tornaľa and SKA4030417 Veľké Zálužie), urban waste water entering collecting systems was before discharge subject to secondary treatment or an equivalent treatment, the Slovak Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 4(1) and (3) of Directive 91/271 (1) in conjunction with section B of Annex I thereto;










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Declare that, by failing to ensure that in 9 agglomerations (the agglomerations SKA 4010068 – Kolárovo, SKA8060623 – Moldava nad Bodvou, SKA6080165 – Revúca, SKA8110228 – Trebišov, SKA6100168 – Veľký Krtíš, SKA8060219 – Čaňa, SKA5020100 – Krásno nad Kysucou, SKA7040179 – Levoča and SKA5080132 – Ružomberok), urban waste water entering collecting systems was before discharge into sensitive areas subject to more stringent treatment than that described in Article 4, the Slovak Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 5 of Directive 91/271 in conjunction with section B of Annex I thereto;










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Order the Slovak Republic to pay the costs.





Pleas in law and main arguments

Under Article 4(1) of Directive 91/271, the Member States are to ensure that urban waste water entering collecting systems is before discharge subject to secondary treatment or an equivalent treatment. That obligation applies to agglomerations with a population equivalent (p.e.) of more than 2 000. Under Article 4(3) of the directive, discharges from urban waste water treatment plants from the agglomerations concerned must satisfy the relevant requirements of section B of Annex I to the directive. In Slovakia there are in total 356 agglomerations with a p.e. of more than 2 000. According to the Treaty of Accession to the European Union, out of those 356 agglomerations, 258 had to satisfy Article 4 of the Directive by 31 December 2012 at the latest. Therefore, by 31 December 2012 at the latest, all urban waste water from the 258 agglomerations defined in specific lists in the context of the assessment was to be collected, treated and transferred to one or more treatment plants or to systems in which it was to be treated before being discharged into the collecting system, and the discharge of treated urban waste water is to satisfy the requirements in section B of Annex I to Directive 91/271.
Under Article 5(2) of Directive 91/271, Member States are under an obligation to ensure that urban waste water entering collecting systems is before discharge into sensitive areas to be subject to more stringent treatment than that described in Article 4, so far as concerns discharges from agglomerations with a p.e. of more than 10 000. Article 5(3) of the Directive requires that discharges from urban waste water treatment plants into sensitive areas must satisfy the relevant requirements of section B of Annex I to the Directive. The Slovak Republic, under Article 5(1) of the Directive, identified the whole of its territory as a sensitive area under the criteria set in Annex II, due to the risk of eutrophication (sensitivity to nitrogen and phosphorus). Therefore, pursuant to the Treaty on Accession to the European Union, all agglomerations in Slovakia with a p.e. of more than 10 000 also had to comply with Article 5(2) of the Directive by 31 December 2010 at the latest.
The Slovak Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 4(1) and (3) of the Directive with regard to the abovementioned 17 agglomerations, and failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 5 of the Directive with regard to 9 agglomerations.


(1)  Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste-water treatment (OJ 1991 L 135, p. 40).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/3880/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)