UK taken to Europe's highest court over air pollution
by Damian Carrington Environment editor from on (#3QE5X)
European court of justice can impose multimillion euro fines if the UK and five other countries do not address the problem
The UK and five other nations have been referred to Europe's highest court for failing to tackle illegal levels of air pollution.
The European court of justice (ECJ) has the power to impose multimillion euro fines if the countries do not address the problem swiftly. The nations - the UK, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Romania - had been given a final warning by the European commission in January. Toxic air results in more than 400,000 early deaths across Europe each year.