NEWS

EU sues Greece over its waste

The European Commission yesterday took Greece to the European Court of Justice for failing to ensure the proper treatment of wastewater in 24 towns and cities. Effective water treatment should have been implemented by Greece by the end of 2000, the Commission noted in a statement, adding that untreated waste water poses a public health risk. But Greece’s facilities are still inadequate even though Greece «is eligible for and has received considerable EU funding,» the Commission said in a statement. The areas deemed to fall short of EU standards include the island of Zakynthos, Iraklion on Crete, central Thessaloniki and several small towns in eastern Attica. According to European Union regulations, towns and cities of more than 15,000 inhabitants are obliged to have sewage systems for collecting their wastewater as well as facilities for subjecting the water to biological treatment before discharging it into the sea or fresh water.

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