The European Commission has called on Romania and eight other EU member states to reduce air pollution or face sanctions.

Ministers from the nine countries convened in Brussels on Tuesday upon the invite of Commissioner for Environment Karmenu Vella, in a final effort to find solutions to address the serious problem of air pollution in the European Union.

The 9 Member States, namely the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and the United Kingdom, face infringement procedures for exceeding agreed air pollution limits. At the meeting, Commissioner Vella called on Member States to finalize their submissions by end of next week on how they intend to comply with EU law on air quality or else face legal action, according to an EC press release.

“This Commission has consistently said that it wishes to be 'big on the big things'. And it doesn't get bigger than the loss of life due to air pollution […] As much as protecting our citizens is a key priority for President Juncker and the entire College of Commissioners, in Member States this need to become a key priority of the entire governments, of all Ministers concerned: be it Ministers for transport, energy, industry, agriculture or finance. Our shared credibility depends on it,” Commissioner Vella said after the meeting.

editor@romania-insider.com