EUROPE’S BATHING WATERS CONTINUE TO IMPROVE

Published : May 21, 2013 - Ninety-four per cent of bathing sites in the European Union meet minimum standards for water quality, according to the European Environment Agency's annual report on bathing water quality in Europe. Water quality is excellent at 78 % of sites and almost 2 % more sites meet the minimum requirements compared to last year's report.

Cyprus and Luxembourg stand out with all listed bathing sites achieving excellent water quality. Eight other countries have excellent quality values above the EU average: Malta (97 %), Croatia (95 %), Greece (93 %), Germany (88 %), Portugal (87 %), Italy (85 %), Finland (83 %) and Spain (83 %). This is an improvement on last year's results, continuing the positive trend since bathing water monitoring began under the Bathing Water Directive in 11000.

Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said: "It's encouraging to see the quality of European bathing waters continuing to improve. But more remains to be done to ensure all our waters are suitable for bathing and drinking and that our aquatic ecosystems are in good health. Water is a precious resource and we need to put into practice all the necessary measures to protect it in full."

Jacqueline McGlade, EEA Executive Director, said: “From northern fjords to subtropical beaches, Europe is rich in places to cool down in the summer. Today's report demonstrates that bathing water quality is generally very good, but there were still some sites with pollution problems, so we urge people to check the rating of their favourite swimming place.”

Every year, the European Environment Agency (EEA) compiles bathing water data gathered by local authorities at more than 22 000 sites across the 27 European Union Member States, Croatia and Switzerland, and measuring levels of bacteria from sewage and livestock. More than two thirds of sites are coastal beaches, with rivers and lakes making up the remainder.

Each annual report is based on data from the previous bathing season, so this year's bathing water report is a compilation of data gathered in summer 2012. In spite of the general improvement, this year's report reveals that almost 2 % of bathing sites at beaches, lakes and rivers have poor water quality. The highest proportions of non-compliant bathing sites were in Belgium (12 %), the Netherlands (7 %) and the United Kingdom (6 %). Some of these beaches had to be closed during the 2012 season.

In general, coastal bathing sites score highly, with more than 95 % of EU sites meeting the minimum requirements and 81 % rated as excellent. In comparison, 91 % of bathing waters in lakes and rivers score above the minimum threshold and 72 % have excellent quality.

Storm water overflows, caused when sewers cannot cope with heavy rains, are still a problem in some areas, although better water treatment and fewer raw sewage discharges into the environment have improved water quality. In the early 11000s, only around 60 % of sites had excellent quality water, while 78 % have excellent quality in this year's report. Over the same period, bathing water sites meeting at least the minimum standards have increased from 70 % to 94 %.

Background

Bathing water in Europe needs to comply with standards set in the 2006 Bathing Water Directive, which updates and simplifies previous legislation. It has to be implemented by EU Member States by December 2014. The EU publishes an annual summary report on the quality of bathing water, based on reports that the Member States must submit before the end of the previous year. In this year's report, all 27 Member States as well as Croatia and Switzerland monitored and reported bathing water quality, most of them according to the new provisions.

To monitor the quality of bathing waters, laboratories analyse levels of certain types of bacteria, including intestinal enterococci and Escherichia coli bacteria. These may indicate the presence of pollution, mainly from sewage or livestock waste. Sites are classified as compliant with mandatory values, compliant with the more stringent guidelines, or non-compliant.

Citizens can find out about the water quality at their favourite swimming spot by visiting the EEA's Bathing Water Web Site. The site allows users to download data and check interactive maps. People can also report the state of their local water using the Eye on Earth website.

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Green fiscal reform can create jobs and stimulate innovation across the EU

Published : May 14, 2013 - Increasing some tax rates and removing subsidies on environmentally harmful products and services can boost economic growth if the revenue generated is then used to relieve the tax burden on employment and investment.

Throughout Europe people are clearly very concerned that solutions to the crisis should be fair, so it is apt to make polluters pay the costs that they currently impose on the rest of society.

The findings come from a series of studies from the European Environment Agency (EEA) looking at the potential for fiscal reform in four EU countries affected by the current economic crisis.

Proposals for environmental fiscal reform received a positive reaction when presented to government representatives in Portugal recently, the latest country to be analysed by EEA. Since 2010, similar analyses have been undertaken and presented for Spain, Italy and Ireland.

Environmental fiscal reform (EFR) can encourage growth by reducing taxation on labour and investment – for example, income tax and corporation tax – and shifting the tax burden to the production and consumption of environmentally-harmful goods and services. Another feature of EFR is removing harmful subsidies, for example, those given for fossil fuels, and using the revenues saved to stimulate renewable energy and resource-efficient technologies.

Studies have demonstrated that environmental taxes can achieve environmental objectives at the same time as raising revenues. Modelling shows that they also have a less negative effect on GDP compared to other types of taxes, such as direct taxes, for example income tax, or indirect taxes such as value added tax. This crucial feature of environmental taxes means countries could use them to support either fiscal consolidation or to reduce other taxes.

Environmental taxes can change behaviour, encouraging consumers to redirect their consumption towards less taxed commodities. Such incentives would likely create both low and highly skilled jobs, for example in the recycling and energy efficiency sectors. The shift in taxation can also stimulate innovation in the longer term.

Jacqueline McGlade, EEA Executive Director, said: “European governments are looking for effective ways to create sustainable growth. Environmental fiscal reform is an idea whose time has come. Throughout Europe people are clearly very concerned that solutions to the crisis should be fair, so it is apt to make polluters pay the costs that they currently impose on the rest of society.”

Potential in Portugal

Portugal had the highest share of environmental taxes as a percentage of GDP of any Member State in the late 11000s. By using environmental tax approaches currently implemented in other EU Member States, Portugal could revert to this level, raising additional revenue of €3 billion.
Opportunities for Portugal include taxing diesel and petrol cars equally, and bringing in new taxes on a variety of goods including drinks packaging, shopping bags and pesticides. Further revenue raisers could include air travel taxes, an air pollution charge for heavy-goods vehicles and a royalty for old hydropower and other natural resources.
Environmentally harmful subsidies could be cut, the report says. Portugal spends more than most other Member States on subsidising private company cars. Portugal could also cut more than € 200 million of other environmentally-harmful subsidies, the report says.
Environmental taxation and the removal of environmentally harmful subsidies have been repeatedly emphasised as potentially integral parts of the European Semester. The measures can contribute to a wider fiscal consolidation process in Member States, while helping to restructure economies in line with resource-efficiency objectives.