Commission v. Italy: Managing Waste Management in Italy

• Published date: 01 April 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12106
• Author: Melita Carević
• Date: 01 April 2015

Case Note

Commission v. Italy: Managing Waste Management

in Italy

Melita Carevic´*

In the recently decided case C-196/13 (Commission v.

Italy), the Court of Justice of the European Union has

imposed upon Italy record financial sanctions for its

breach of European Union environmental law. The

judgment, reached through the enforcement proceed-

ings under Article 260.2 of the Treaty on the Function-

ing of the European Union, followed a 2007

infringement ruling establishing that Italy had gener-

ally and persistently failed to fulfill its waste manage-

ment obligations. The present case raises several

interesting questions, such as how much progress does

a Member State need to make to remedy a general and

persistent failure of its obligations, and how to deter-

mine the appropriate amount of financial sanctions

for such a breach. This case note analyzes the factual

and legal background to the case and argues that,

given all the circumstances, the Court’s judgment can

hardly be seen to be surprising.

INTRODUCTION

In December 2014, the Court of Justice of the European

Union issued a record fine under Article 260.2 of the

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union

(TFEU):1a lump sum of €40 million and a penalty

payment of €42.8 million due every six months during

which the breach of European Union (EU) law persists.

What makes the Court’s ruling stand out even more is

the fact that the capital fine, big enough to cause distress

to any Member State’s budget, was imposed for a breach

of EU environmental law – more precisely, waste man-

agement laws. Given the circumstances that led to the

Court’s verdict, this judgment is nevertheless hardly

surprising. The judgment reflects long-lasting problems

regarding waste management that have troubled Italy

for several decades2and that have already resulted in

two dozen similar judgments and financial sanctions

against it.3

BACKGROUND TO THE DISPUTE

The case, submitted under Article 260.2 TFEU, con-

cerns the failure of Italy to implement the Court’s

judgment in case C-135/05 (Commission v. Italy)

delivered in 2007.4In that judgment, the Court found

Italy to be in breach of its waste management obliga-

tions under a set of EU environmental laws, including

Directive 75/442 on waste,5Directive 91/689 on haz-

ardous waste6and Directive 1999/31 on the landfill of

waste.7

The 2007 judgment, delivered under the infringement

procedure and based on Article 258 TFEU, declared

that violations occurred on five separate points. First,

Italy had failed to ensure that the recovery and the

disposal of waste took place without endangering

human health and the environment, and failed to pro-

hibit the uncontrolled dumping of waste. Second, it

had failed to ensure that waste was handled by under-

takings that operate in accordance with Directive

75/442. Third, it had failed to ensure that undertak-

ings carrying out waste-disposal operations had

obtained the necessary permit from the competent

authority to do so. Fourth was the failure to ensure

that the discharge of hazardous waste was recorded

and identified on each relevant site. Finally, Italy had

failed to ensure that a so-called ‘conditioning plan’,

according to which the continuation of landfill

* Corresponding author.

E-mail: melita.carevic@pravo.hr

1Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, [2010] OJ C83/47

(‘TFEU’), Article 260.2.

2I.K. Panoussis and H.H.G. Post (eds.), Waste Management in Euro-

pean Law: The Example of Naples and Campania (Eleven Interna-

tional, 2014).

3CJEU, Case C-196/13, European Commission v. Italian Republic

and Case C-378/13, European Commission v. Hellenic Republic,

Opinion of Advocate General Kokott delivered on 4 September 2014,

at paragraph 188.

4CJEU, Case C-135/05, Commission of the European Communities

v. Italian Republic, [2007] ECR 03475.

5Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on Waste, [1975] OJ L442/1,

as amended by Directive 91/156/EEC of 18 March 1991, [1991] OJ

L78/32.

6Directive 91/689/EEC of 12 December 1991 on Hazardous Waste,

[1991] OJ L377/20.

7Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the Landfill of Waste,

[1999] OJ L182/1.

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Review of European Community & International Environmental Law

RECIEL 24 (1) 2015. ISSN 2050-0386 DOI: 10.1111/reel.12106

© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.

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