The European Commission has decided to refer Greece to the European Court of Justice over poor air quality due to high levels of particulate matter (PM10).
The Commission said Greece has failed to fulfil its obligations “to keep the exceedance period as short as possible” and has not taken adequate measures for the reduction of the PM10 concentrations in the agglomeration of Thessaloniki.
The daily limit values for PM10 concentrations have been legally binding since 2005.
According to the Commission, data provided by Greece confirms the “systematic exceedances” in the agglomeration of Thessaloniki in 14 years since 2005 – i.e. all years with the exception of 2013.
The Commission states: “In 2019, the latest year for which data is currently available, exceedances above the limit value were recorded on 67 days.
“The Commission considers that efforts by the Greek authorities have to date been unsatisfactory and insufficient.”