Press Release: France: Commission pursues legal action for failures to respect six environment rulings of the European Court of Justice

The European Commission decided on 12 January 2005 to pursue legal action against France in six separate cases where France has failed to comply with judgments of the European Court of Justice. These cases concerned EU laws on nature conservation, public access to environmental information, water protection, waste and genetically modified micro-organisms. France could face fines if it fails to bring its laws and practices into line. By not correctly implementing the European environmental laws in question, France was hindering efforts to conserve Europe's wealth of plant and animals species and undermining initiatives to better manage risks to the environment and human health.