EU’s environmental red tape ‘could bankrupt’ authorities
Author: The MJ |
New European Union (EU) environment regulations ‘risk bankrupting councils’, if they are not properly implemented, UK councillors have warned Brussels.
Europe recently drafted its latest Environmental Action Plan (7EAP) covering a wide range of potentially-binding regulations for air pollution, water cleanliness, landfill tax, flood defence management and even sunbathing.
Under the Localism Act, the UK Government can now pass directly on to councils fines levied on EU member states, if they breach environmental standards.
But, the Local Government Association warned this week, ‘this means getting EU legislation and its implementation right is critical’ so that future standards are achievable.
UK-based authorities have an opportunity to feed into proposed environmental requirements through Brussels’ Committee of the Regions (CoRs), representing councils in the 27 EU member states.
Cllr Nilgun Canver, a member of Hackney LBC, who helped draft the committee’s response to EU proposals, stressed the need for Brussels’ legislators to listen to councils’ concerns.
Cllr Canver said: ‘What sounds good on paper in Brussels must be workable on the ground in our communities.
‘Having to pay millions of pounds in fines because of unworkable environmental targets could throw already-stretched budgets into disarray.’