The concentration of nitrous oxide in Athens has been “continually and persistently” higher than the limits set out in the Ambient Air Quality Directive, the European Commission has said as it referred Greece to the European Court of Justice.

Spain has failed over a prolonged period to protect groundwater resources in the Doñana UNESCO-listed wetland in the south of the country from depletion by intensive agricultural irrigation and drinking water demand, the European Court of Justice has ruled.

The European Commission is referring three member states to the European Court of Justice for repeated failures to meet EU green rules, it announced on Wednesday as part of its regular infringements package.

Germany, Slovakia, Poland and Slovenia all face legal action at the Court of Justice of the EU for failing to comply with environmental rules ranging from air quality to nature conservation, the European Commission has said.

The European Commission will refer Bulgaria to the European Court of Justice for failing to comply with a 2017 ruling that found it had breached its obligations under the EU’s Ambient Air Quality Directive.

The European Commission must act quickly against the “ruthless greed and large-scale corruption” driving the destruction of some of Europe’s last remaining primary forests in Romania, according to a cross-party group of MEPs.

Italy has failed to tackle illegally high levels of air pollution, breaching its obligations under the Ambient Air Quality Directive, the EU Court of Justice has ruled.

The European Commission will file a case at the European Court of Justice against the French government over its “systematic failure to meet EU rules” on air pollution for more than decade.