Government of Flanders must pay 850,000 euro penalty to Greenpeace for failing air policy

The Flemish government must pay environmental organisation Greenpeace a penalty of 850,000 euros, because the "Luchtbeleidsplan", which was drawn up after a judgement by the Brussels Court of First Instance, does not meet the requirements of that judgement. Greenpeace reported this on Tuesday.

Greenpeace had sued the Flemish government in 2017, because it believed that the Flemish Region was doing too little to monitor air quality in Flanders by not passing on correct and complete information on this to the European Union and therefore an air remediation plan was needed. In October 2018, the Brussels Court of First Instance ruled in Greenpeace's favour and obliged the government to draw up an air quality plan within one year of the notification of the judgement. This was subject to a penalty payment of 1,000 euros per day.

Quality plan

The Flemish Region drew up an air quality plan on time but, according to Greenpeace, the plan did not meet the requirements imposed by the court. Therefore, in early November 2019, the organisation sent a bailiff to the office of Flemish minister of Environment and Energy Zuhal Demir (N-VA) to demand the penalty payments that the court had provided.

The Flemish Region opposed this, but the Brussels attachment judge ruled that the plan did indeed not comply with the requirements of the ruling, and that the penalty payments were due. The ​ Government of Flanders appealed against the judgment of the judge, but the Brussels Court of Appeal also ruled that the "Luchtbeleidsplan" was inadequate and that the Government of Flanders must indeed pay the penalty.

Since then, the court still had to determine the exact amount of the periodic penalty payments, and has now set this at 850,000 euros.

"With that money we will set up a fund to support local projects for better air quality and a healthy living environment", says Greenpeace.

(TOM)

#FlandersNewsService

© BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND