Air Quality Directive (AQD)

For the rest, EU only considered the application of measures to reduce the emission of air pollutants for large industrial installations which means that small or medium-sized industrial installations are only subject to air emission restrictions according to national law - where such restrictions exist. For these large industrial installations, the general approach taken by EU in Directive 2010/75/EC was that installations had to comply with the best available technique not entailing excessive costs.

For the different types of installations that are covered by Directive 2010/75/EC, guidance documents on industrial processes are elaborated by experts of national and EU public authorities, industry representatives and environmental organizations. Conclusions are formally adopted by EU and shall, in principle, serve as a basis for the emission limit values that are fixed in permits which national authorities grant to an individual installation. These permits, granted by national, regional or local authorities, have to contain emission limit values for a number of EU-wide fixed substances (Article 14 and Annex II, Directive 2010/75/EC).

Furthermore, emission limit values shall be fixed for other polluting substances which are likely to be emitted in significant quantities from the installation concerned. Again, numerous transition and derogation provisions ensure that sufficient flexibility is available to national authorities, in order to take into considerations local conditions, the general situation of air pollution, the installation's size, location, age and economic situation. This makes it possible, for example, that two industrial installations, situated in a short distance from each other, are subjected to rather different conditions as regards air pollution emission limit values.