14.5.2011

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 145/8

(Case C-68/11)

2011/C 145/10

Language of the case: Italian

Parties

Applicant: European Commission (represented by: A. Alcover San Pedro and S. Mortoni, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Italian Republic

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:

—declare that, by exceeding for a number of consecutive years the limit values for PM10 particles in ambient air throughout Italian territory, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 5(1) of Council Directive 1999/30/EC (1) of 22 April 1999 relating to limit values for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter and lead in ambient air (now Article 13(1) of Directive 2008/50/EC (2) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe;

—order the Italian Republic to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Under Article 5(1) of Directive 1999/30, Member States are to take the measures necessary to ensure that concentrations of PM10 in ambient air do not exceed the limit values laid down in Section I of Annex III to that directive as from the dates specified therein. The relevant date in the present context is 1 January 2005.

The assessment made by the Commission in the annual reports for the years 2005 to 2007 revealed that the limit values for PM10 particles had been exceeded in a great number of urban zones and agglomerations. Moreover, the most recent data forwarded by Italy, which relate to the year 2009, indicate that the exceeding of daily and/or annual limit values has continued in 70 zones at least.

It follows that Italy has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 5(1) of Directive 1999/30 in terms both of zones and of years.

(1) OJ 1999 L 163, p. 41.

(2) OJ 2008 L 152, p. 1.