EU Water Law

It is not possible to take account, in the calculation of the requirements, of the various losses through ammonia evaporation and the extra nitrogen due to deposition. The decisive criterion which the Directive 91/676/EEC lays down for limiting pollution by nitrates from agricultural sources is the amount of nitrogen applied to the land by spreading on its surface, by injection into the land, by placing below the surface of the land or by mixing with the surface layers of the land, and not the amount of nitrogen actually penetrating into the land. As a result, the various losses through ammonia evaporation and the extra nitrogen due to deposition should not be deducted from the quantity of nitrogen supplied to the soil (case C-161/00 Commission v Germany).

Suitable monitoring programmes must be developed and implemented to assess the effectiveness of action programmes (Article 5(6)). One or several codes of good agricultural practice should be implemented by farmers on a voluntary basis. If needed, a programme provides for training and information for farmers in view of promoting the application of the codes of good agricultural practice (Article 4). When any waters in vulnerable zones are affected by pollution from waters from another Member State draining directly or indirectly into them, both Member States shall consult to identify the sources in question and the measures to be taken to protect the affected waters (Article 3(3)).

The implementation of Directive 91/676/EEC is quite insufficient in many Member States, the stakes involved in the common agricultural policy being considerable and the Commission prosecutes the defaulting Member States. However, the second report of the Commission on the implementation of the Directive, which was published in 2002 (COM (2002) 407 final) noted that Member States had finally transposed it and that they have instituted a large surveillance network, established a code of good practices and designated, at least in part, vulnerable zones.