July 25 (SeeNews) - The European Commission said on Thursday that it has decided to send letters of formal notice to Croatia and Romania regarding the two countries' systemic failure to monitor air pollution as required by EU legislation on ambient air quality.
"Although Romania has been carrying out an overhaul of its air quality monitoring network, many gaps remain concerning the appropriate number and type of air quality sampling points," the EU institution said in a monthly infringement decisions package.
In Croatia, shortcomings in the national legislation include incorrect enactment of definitions of ‘ambient air' and ‘contributions from natural sources', which influence the scope of application of the EU directive.
Croatia's legislation also fails to enact data quality objectives for fine particulate matter measurements in rural areas, and lays down less stringent requirements with respect to the number of sampling points for ozone.
The country also faces issues regarding cooperation with neighbouring non-EU countries in the event of transboundary air pollution, and measures to ensure effective information to the public.
Croatia and Romania have two months to respond to the arguments raised by the Commission, or the EU institution may decide to send a reasoned opinion, which could in turn be followed by referral to court over the issue.