The Commission said it had decided to bring a case against Poland before the Court of Justice of the European Union for exceeding NO₂ levels set under the bloc’s air quality directive.
According to the Commission, NO₂ concentrations in the Krakow and Upper Silesia agglomerations have been too high for 15 and 14 years respectively. “Despite this persistent and systematic non-compliance, Poland has not taken appropriate action,” the Commission said.
EU rules require member states that exceed limit values to adopt and implement measures designed to shorten the period of non-compliance.
The referral comes after the European Union in October 2024 adopted an updated Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD) on air quality and clean air for Europe, aligning EU standards with World Health Organization recommendations.
The new directive lowers the annual limit for fine particulate matter PM2.5 from 20 to 10 micrograms per cubic meter and cuts the annual NO₂ limit from 40 to 20 micrograms per cubic meter. It also introduces a daily limit for PM2.5 of 25 micrograms per cubic meter.
Member states will also be required to set up “super-stations” to monitor pollutants such as ultrafine particles, soot and ammonia in both urban and rural areas.
The new AAQD replaces and consolidates previous EU air quality laws into a single legal act.
(jh)
Source: PAP, RMF24