The commission has sent a warning to the two countries.
Two Nordic countries will soon have to put in place infrastructure for
collecting and treating urban wastewater to avoid facing sanctions from
the European Commission.
Finland and Sweden, under the European Union’s urban wastewater
treatment directive, are bound to collect and treat their urban
wastewater.
Member states were required to set up systems for collecting and
treating wastewater by December 2005, especially for areas with a
population ranging from 2,000 to 15,000.
But the commission, which acts as the executive arm of the 27-nation
bloc, has found that a number of European Union member states have not
fully complied with the treatment requirements.
After assessing data from member states, 26 areas in Finland and 17 in
Sweden were found not complying with the directive.
The commission has sent a warning to the two countries.
Similar actions have been taken against Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal,
France and Germany in November 2009.
Finland and Sweden’s failure to respond and comply with the
commission’s directives would force the latter to file complaints
before the European Court of Justice.
"Untreated urban wastewater can endanger the health of European
citizens and the environment and this is the case even when the
wastewater comes from smaller towns,” said Stavros Dimas, the E.U.’s
environment commissioner.
“The level of protection agreed at E.U. level can be reached only if
member states comply with the rules," he said.
For areas with over 10,000 inhabitants which discharge into areas that
are designated as sensitive under the directive, the deadline expired
in December 1998.