The EU's Environment Commissioner, Karmenu Vella, has announced that the UK along with eight other EU states, have until Friday 9 February 2018 to show how they will comply with EU air pollution laws or they will face the European Court of Justice.
At a mini-summit in Brussels, the Commissioner warned Ministers that "drastic measures" would be needed to avoid court referrals next week. He said: "Deadlines for meeting these obligations have long since elapsed and some say we've already waited too long. But we can delay no more. We urge member states to address this life-threatening problem with the urgency it deserves."
The UK has been in breach of Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe since 2010, however, it could take as long as two years before a case reaches the court. In Brussels' view, the UK would still be liable to pay court fines handed down for offences committed when it was an EU member.
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) commented: "We continue to actively engage at a European and international level to tackle air pollution."
Labour's European environment spokesman, Seb Dance, said: "The situation is becoming embarrassing for a government supposedly committed to a so-called "green Brexit"." Adding that the threat of legal action: "goes to show that the British government cannot be trusted to tackle air pollution on its own. Who is going to protect British citizens' right to clean air if we leave the EU?"
The other states facing possible court cases for breaches of air quality law include Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
