Dirty water will not wash with EU
Greece found itself in more hot water with the European Commission yesterday over environmental offenses, just one day after receiving a warning for hiding data on suspected polluted beaches. The European Commission sent a first warning to Greece yesterday for failing to take measures to build a collecting system for urban waste water from the Thriassio plain, west of Athens, and for not treating the water before it is discharged in the Elefsina Gulf. «Discharging urban waste water without the proper treatment constitutes a danger to both health and the environment,» said Commissioner Stavros Dimas. Untreated waste water flowing into rivers and seas can create the conditions for algae and other plants to grow – plants that take up oxygen needed by fish. The Commission has offered to co-fund the construction of a waste water collecting system – scheduled for completion by 2009 – but the government has yet to call the tender procedure for the project. Brussels also warned Greece yesterday over its failure to offer legal protection to the Mesolongi lagoon in western Greece, considered to be an important wetland for birds. «This (protective) regime should ensure both the survival and reproduction of the protected bird species… as well as the breeding, molting and wintering of migratory species,» the Commission said. The EC this week launched a barrage of legal proceedings against states in the 25-nation bloc over violations in energy, transport, telecommunications, tobacco advertising and gambling. Yesterday’s warnings for Greece come after Thursday’s action in which the EC accused the government of removing 203 beaches from its official lists, implying that authorities are allowing bathers to swim in polluted waters. Apart from risking further legal action, Greece runs the risk of losing «considerable» EU funding if it does not comply with directives, according to Dimas. In 2000, Greece became the first EU member to be fined for not adhering to the bloc’s environmental laws.
