Spanish IPPC law officially proposed

Two years behind target and in the face of EU legal action, the Spanish government on Friday finally approved draft legislation transposing the 1996 integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) directive into national law. The measures still require parliamentary scrutiny but are expected to take effect within months.

The IPPC directive should have been transposed by all EU states by the end of October 1999. At the beginning of this year the European Commission announced court action against Spain and three other member states for failing to comply (EED 19/01/01).