European Commission Asks EU Court To Fine Greece For Water Pollution

The European Commission on Thursday asked the EU’s highest court, the European Court of Justice, to fine Greece over water pollution due to agricultural activity.
Referring to a previous court ruling on the issue of nitrate pollution in Greek waters, the Commission noted in its announcement that ”four years later, the problem is still not fully resolved in Greece.”
The European Court of Justice ruled in 2015 that Greece had failed to fully protect its waters from nitrate infiltration, and had thus violated EU environmental laws.
In massive doses, nitrate inside the human body can lead to a condition called methemoglobinemia. This deactivates hemoglobin, which is responsible for carrying oxygen throughout the human body via red blood cells.
The European Commission asked the court to impose a fine of €2,639 per day to the nation of Greece, if its authorities do not act quickly to properly protect the nation’s waters from the chemical.
The European Court of Justice is the supreme court of the European Union and it is responsible for the implementation of EU laws in all the nations across the Union.