Greece begins to pay dumping fine

The fine of 24 600 Euros (£15 000) per day was imposed at the beginning of July last year, for a waste site containing industrial refuse and waste from military bases, hospitals, and slaughter houses, situated at the mouth of the river Kouroupitos, on the Akrotiri peninsula, just 200 metres from the sea (see related story). This was the first time that a member state was fined for failure to comply with a previous judgement by the Court of Justice.

It was revealed by the Commission on 20 November that up until that point, not a single Euro of the fine had been paid. However, following a threat by the Commission to withhold aid payments, EUR 1,760 million was paid on 22 December, covering the first three months of the fine, July to September. According to the European Parliament’s Environment Committee, the amount of EUR 620,000 (£394,000) for October is expected to be paid within the coming week.

With regards to the dump, Greece has been working on alternative arrangements for processing the waste and have had plans to close the dump, according to the European Parliament.