See also EEB
reaction to that point in our letter to national
ministers:
Belgium calls for
stricter EU air quality rules
The Belgian
government wants the EU to set more ambitious limits on air pollutant emissions,
according to a note published by the Council of Ministers on
Monday.
Existing
emission standards are "out of balance" with air quality standards, said Denis
Van Eeckhout, a diplomat at Belgium's EU embassy in Brussels. The region needs
to take a more coherent approach instead, he told ENDS.
Although
significant improvements have been made, a recent European Environment Agency
(EEA) report
has shown 80% of citizens still breathe air that does not comply with World
Health Organization (WHO) standards.
The only way
to address this is to strengthen EU legislation, says the Belgian note. The WHO
standards
are more stringent than the ones in place in the EU.
New rules on
solvent emissions, road vehicles and small combustion plants may be among the
outputs of the review
of EU air quality policy next year.
But if new
legislation proves unsatisfactory, Belgium raises the prospect of taking
unilateral action, which could impose disproportionate costs on industry. On the
other hand, more stringent EU controls boost innovation and
competitiveness.
Belgium's
approach contrasts with the UK, which according to Mr Van Eeckhout is seeking to
reduce air quality ambitions in order to cut the risk of being taken
to court by the European Commission. "That's not our message," he
said.
Follow
Up:
The note
will be presented to environment ministers on 25 October
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