The European Commission has stepped up legal action against six countries for their air pollution levels.
France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania and the UK have all been referred to the EU Court of Justice for breaking the agreed air pollution limits and for not taking enough concrete action to address this, despite warnings.
Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the UK are also facing legal action for ignoring EU legislation that prevents car manufacturers from breaking the law with tactics such as using ‘defeat devices’ to hide the true levels of a vehicle’s emissions.
As well as pursuing these legal challenges, the Commission has also outlined the practical support it can offer to all EU countries to help them to clean up their air quality. It has also pledged to strengthen its work with national, regional and local authorities on traffic emissions.
We welcome these steps towards protecting European citizens from air pollution, which is a key recommendation of our Healthy Lungs for Life campaign. Healthy Lungs for Life focuses on the importance of having air that is free from pollution, passive smoke, dangerous gases and other toxins that can affect the airways.
