In the fight against air and water pollution, the EU Commission is proposing limit values ​​that are in some cases considerably stricter.

According to the will of the EU authority, the annual limit value for fine dust should be reduced by more than half by 2030.

The Commission wants to reduce the pollution caused by fine dust with a particle size of up to 2.5 micrometers from 25 to 10 micrograms per cubic meter.

Werner Mussler

Business correspondent in Brussels.

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With the proposals presented by Vice President Franz Timmermans and Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevičius in Brussels on Wednesday, the EU requirements come closer to the recommendations of the World Health Organization, but do not fully implement them.

The WHO has recommended only 5 micrograms since 2021.

By 2050, the Commission wants to reduce emissions of all pollutants to zero.

The proposal does not contain any specific measures.

Rather, the Commission sets air quality standards that must be implemented everywhere.

The EU authority wants to leave it up to the member states with which means they want to achieve the limit values.

The Commission also wants to significantly expand the rights of citizens who have become ill as a result of air pollution.

They should be entitled to compensation if they violate EU regulations.

In addition, they should also be given the right to join collective claims for damages by non-governmental organizations.

High health costs from pollution

In two other draft laws, the Commission also wants to better protect groundwater and waste water from pollution.

The existing list of water pollutants, which must be controlled more precisely in surface water and groundwater, is to be expanded by 24 substances.

Among them are various antibiotics and other drugs, the plasticizer bisphenol A, various pesticides such as glyphosate, and per- and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds (PFAS).

The EU authority justifies the proposals with the fact that a high concentration of pollutants continues to cause major damage to health and the associated high costs.

Sinkevičius said air pollution is responsible for around 300,000 premature deaths annually.

With the stricter guidelines, 70 percent of these cases could be avoided over the next ten years.

The proposals are now being discussed by the European Parliament and the Member States.

Timmermans called on them to negotiate quickly.

However, the CDU MEPs Peter Liese and Norbert Lins criticized that the proposal came at the wrong time in view of the war in Ukraine.

The EU must set priorities, said Lins.

Liese emphasized that the air had become "a lot better" in the past 25 years.

Green MEP Michael Bloss, on the other hand, complained that the Commission still wants to “allow lax air quality standards that are well below what is considered healthy”.