The Court of Justice of the European Union, CJEU, condemned Spain for pollution in Barcelona and Madrid.
And it is all due to the systematic non-compliance with EU air quality standards in the Spanish capital and the Barcelona metropolitan area.
Annual safety limits for exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) have been repeatedly exceeded in these cities.
The increase in these limits has been recorded in the midst of urban agglomerations in areas where approximately 7.5 million people (15% of the country’s total population) reside.
Since 2010, the annual limits for this harmful substance associated with combustion vehicles have been repeatedly exceeded.
Although the condemnation known so far does not entail a sanction, if non-compliance persists, the European Commission will once again take Spain to court.
In this scenario, they could ask for a fine to be applied to the country, as they have had to do by paying 74.85 million euros for not treating their wastewater properly.
Pollution in Madrid and Barcelona
And it all started when in 2008 the Commission adopted the air quality directive in which the new NO₂ limits that cannot be exceeded were determined.
Since these limits came into force in 2010, Madrid and the municipalities of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (including the capital of Catalonia and surrounding municipalities) have failed to comply with the regulations.
In fact, in 2015 Brussels opened a file to Spain for the same reason, but it was stopped because in the two Spanish cities anti-pollution plans were implemented.
Among the plans implemented is the implementation of Low Emission Zones. In these areas, entry is restricted to the most polluting vehicles.
However, when José Luis Martínez-Almeida (PP) won the elections in Madrid in 2019, it was announced that such zones would be suspended in this city.
The Commission therefore decided to reactivate the case and to refer Spain to the Court of Justice of the EU, which has just handed down a condemnatory judgment.
The Court of Justice of the European Union analyzed that during the years 2010 and 2018, “Spain did not ensure that the nitrogen dioxide limits were controlled”.
Additionally, the CJEU indicated that:
“Spain has not ensured that air quality plans implement adequate measures to prevent the limit values set for NO₂ from being exceeded.”
Although the competences are municipal, the ruling itself condemns Spain, against which the Commission can act directly.
However, should a financial penalty be imposed in the future, the Government could pass the fine on to the responsible Administrations.
