Case C-674/25: Action brought on 20 October 2025 – Commission v Cyprus
Date: 2025-10-20
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: degradation of the environment, enforcement of ruling, environmental protection, judgment of the Court (EU), periodic penalty payment, prevention of pollution, sanction (EU), storage of waste, unauthorised dumping, waste disposal








C_202506129EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/6129


8.12.2025






Action brought on 20 October 2025 – Commission v Cyprus


(Case C-674/25)

(C/2025/6129)
Language of the case: Greek

Parties


Applicant: European Commission (represented by: D. Milanowska and Ν. Athanasiadou, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Republic of Cyprus

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:






—


declare that, by failing to take the measures necessary to comply with the judgment of the Court in Case C-412/12, the Republic of Cyprus has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 260(1) TFEU;










—


order the Republic of Cyprus to pay the Commission a lump sum of EUR 575 per day in respect of the period between the delivery of the judgment in Case C-412/12 and either compliance on the part of the Republic of Cyprus with that judgment, or the delivery of the judgment in the present case, depending on whichever of the two dates concerned is the earlier, with a minimum lump sum payable of EUR 160 000;










—


should the infringement declared in point 1 persist on the date of delivery of the judgment in the present case, order the Republic of Cyprus to make a penalty payment to the Commission in the amount of EUR 5 160 per day as from the date of delivery of the judgment in the present case until the date of compliance, on the part of the Republic of Cyprus, with the judgment handed down in Case C-412/12; and










—


order the Republic of Cyprus to pay the costs.





Pleas in law and main arguments

The Commission claims that the Republic of Cyprus has failed to take the measures necessary to comply with the judgment of 18 July 2013, Commission v Cyprus (C-412/12). In particular, compliance with the judgment of 18 June 2013 in order to come into conformity with Article 14 of Directive 1999/31/EC (1) supposes the closure of all uncontrolled waste disposal sites on the territory of the Republic of Cyprus or the guarantee that these meet the requirements under Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste. Such conformity may be achieved once the uncontrolled waste disposal sites have been rehabilitated and definitely closed in accordance with the requirements under Article 14 of Directive 1999/31/EC, which refers to Article 13 of that directive. However, the Cypriot authorities have failed to proceed with the closure, within the meaning of Article 14 of Directive 1999/31/EC, of the uncontrolled waste disposal sites of Vati in Limassol or of Kotsiatis in Nicosia. The failure to take the measures necessary for the definite closure of the sites in question prolongs the risk of environmental degradation, in persistent breach of Article 14 of Directive 1999/13/EC.


(1)  Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (OJ 1999 L 182, p. 1).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/6129/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)