Croatia has two months to solve the problems.
The European Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to Croatia on the directive on plastic shopping bags and has also called for the full implementation of the European Union regulations on air traffic, reports Večernji List on October 5, 2017.
The Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to Croatia and Romania because the two countries have not yet notified the Commission about measures which they have undertaken with the goal of implementing the directive on plastic bags.
Both countries now have two months to reply to the Commission’s submission. If a satisfactory response is not received, the Commission may launch legal proceedings against the two member states at the Court of Justice of the European Union.
In November 2016, the European Union adopted a directive aimed at reducing the use of lightweight plastic shopping bags. The EU member states were allowed to use a proposed list of measures to decide on their own how they would achieve the demanded goal. Among other possible steps, they can introduce a fee for the use of such shopping bags, and they can also set national targets to reduce the use of these bags so that, by the end of 2019, their consumption would be reduced to a maximum of 90 bags per person, and by 2025 to a maximum of 40 bags.
It is also possible to introduce a total ban on such shopping bags.
In the other case, the European Commission has asked Croatia to implement the regulations in the area of aviation safety fully. According to the air traffic safety regulations, EU member states must regularly update their national legislation which defines organisational structures, responsibilities and mechanisms for monitoring activities at domestic airports in relation to air carriers and subjects related to the air traffic safety.
Croatia has not yet done so, but the European Commission states that this is an administrative issue which is not related to possible safety shortcomings. The Croatian authorities now have two months to resolve this issue. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Translated from Večernji List.
