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Slovakia Being Sued by Brussels Over Lack of Waste Processing Plan
Monday 22 March 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Brussels, March 22 (TASR) - Slovakia will be summoned to the EU's Court of Justice over its long-term failure to formulate a strategy on reducing the biodegradable garbage from its waste dumps.
The national strategy report should have been drawn up by May 1, 2004, the day on which Slovakia became part of the EU. "We gave the new member states additional time to prepare, as adjusting the state legislation in accordance with the European directive in question takes time," according to Joe Hennon, spokesman for the Commission on environmental affairs.
"In late 2008, we received a promise from Slovak authorities that all the necessary steps will be taken on their part as soon as possible. However, we have received no such strategic concept from Slovakia to date. We think that waiting six years is enough, although problems also emerged with other member states," Hennon said.
According to a report on the Union's waste management released recently by Eurostat, Slovakia generated the third lowest amount of municipal waste per person of all EU-member countries in 2008, but the country is lagging behind when it comes to the quality of waste processing.
The European Commission will now prepare documentation to support the legal proceedings at the Court of Justice, a process that might take a few months. During this time, Hennon says that Slovakia will have a final opportunity to deliver the document (on how it is going to improve the situation) and have the lawsuit withdrawn.
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