© CNN TURKThe European Court of Justice has proposed that EU citizens can seek compensation from governments if they are harmed by air pollution.The European Court of Justice has proposed that EU citizens can seek compensation from governments if they are harmed by air pollution.
According to the news of Euronews, the Chief Prosecutor of the European Court of Justice Juliane Kokott recommended that European Union (EU) citizens can demand compensation from their governments for damages caused by the level of air pollution.
Juliane Kokott warned that EU governments could be held accountable by the European Court of Justice if they do not fulfill their promises regarding air quality.
This statement came after a citizen living in Paris, the capital of France, demanded 21 million euros in compensation from the government on the grounds that his health had deteriorated due to intense air pollution.
In the lawsuit filed in France, a complaint was made that "the state did not fulfill the EU criteria".
Explaining his views on the case in France, Kokott confirmed that a citizen can be prosecuted against France, although it is difficult to prove a "direct causal link" between serious violations of air quality rules and certain harms to health.
The Attorney General argued that the judiciary should be better protected, especially those living and working in poor communities where air pollution is intense.
Kokott added, however, that member states can avoid the charges against them by proving that air pollution will still occur, even if they adopt timely adequate air quality plans.
While the views of the Chief Prosecutor of the European Court of Justice are not binding, the Luxembourg-based court generally takes these views to a large extent.
The European Court of Justice, in its decision in 2019, ruled that “France has systematically and persistently exceeded the annual limit set for nitrogen dioxide, which must be in the air since 2010”.
In addition, France's Administrative Court sentenced the government of President Emmanuel Macron to pay a record 10 million euros in damages last year for failing to reduce air pollution to a reasonable level.
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