Cyprus had to meet its obligations under the European Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive by the end of 2012. Today, 11 years later, the latest action plan brings the completion of projects to meet liabilities in 2030 at a cost of approximately €500 million. Although progress has been made over the years, Brussels has not been satisfied at all and is now warning the Republic of Cyprus that it will proceed with sanctions, effectively triggering the decision for conviction by the European Court of Justice. This will have significant consequences, with the amount of the financial penalty reaching up to €100 million depending on the progress achieved until the decision on sanctions is taken.
Yesterday, the Commission sent a letter of formal notice calling on the Republic of Cyprus to comply with a ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 5 March 2022, regarding the incorrect implementation of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. The process will lead to financial sanctions against Cyprus if there is no correction within two months, which obviously cannot be done despite the steps that have been taken and the actions taken so that municipalities and communities with a population of more than 2,000 inhabitants, which have been included in the National Programme for the Implementation of the Directive, acquire sewerage networks for urban waste water collection and wastewater treatment plants.
The main problem is due to the inability to implement the projects in 31 agglomerations. Based on the timelines, a total of 15 projects will be completed by the end of 2023 and the remaining 16 are estimated to be completed by the end of 2030. So far, only two projects have been constructed in Paliometocho and Kokkinotrimithia, where urban wastewater is now collected and treated. However, the remaining 29 agglomerations still do not comply with EU rules.
Construction work has started in 13 agglomerations, while for the remaining 16 agglomerations compliance is expected to be achieved by 2029. The 13 projects under construction are in Parekklisia, Pyrgos, Kakopetria, Pano Polemidia, Deryneia, Sotira, Xylofagou, Liopetri, Avgorou, Frenaros, Ormidia, Xylotympou and Achna. The 16 projects that have not started are Ypsonas, Kolossi, Trachoni, Episkopi, Dali, Pera Chorio – Nisou, Lympia, Polis Chrysochous, Pervolia, Dromolaxia, Kiti, Meneou, Aradippou, Voroklini, Pyla and Livadia.
That Directive 91/271/EEC requires cities and towns to collect and treat urban waste water appropriately before discharge into the environment. The Court of Justice of the EU ruled in its judgment that, in 31 agglomerations, Cyprus failed to collect all urban waters or ensure that urban waste water entering collecting systems was properly treated before discharge. In order to comply with the ruling, Cyprus has committed to build collection networks or new treatment plants for all settlements.
