EnviMin: Nothing could stop Bucharest Mayor to enforce measures in Plan regarding air quality

Bucharest has a Plan regarding air quality, voted in the General Council, thus nothing could stop the General Mayor of Bucharest to enforce those measures and Bucharesters not need to breathe the same poison each day instead of clean air, said, on Wednesday, at Digi 24 private TV broadcaster, the Environment, Waters and Forests Minister, Costel Alexe.

"I sent, since yesterday, invitations to the mayors of Bucharest, Brasov and Iasi for January 20 to discuss at the ministry what the local public administrations should do. They are the ones who normally should implement the measures in these plans regarding air quality, so that Romania not need to pay fines in Brussels following the infringement procedure regarding air quality. I don't make politics with Mrs. Firea (the General Mayor of Bucharest, Gabriela Firea - e.n.) because I am here to defend the safety and health of the citizens (...) The Plan regarding air quality in Bucharest was voted in the General Council and just a single local councilor from the National Liberal Party [PNL] was against, the others voted for it. So long as we have a plan with some measures that should have been implemented, nothing could have stopped Mrs. Firea to enforce those measures, so that Bucharesters not need to breathe every day her incompetence," Alexe stated.

Recently, the General Mayor of Bucharest, Gabriela Firea, claimed, in a press release, that she has taken measures regarding the improvement of air quality in the city, but believes that she cannot recoup in 36 months what has not been done in decades. The mayor mentioned, at the same time, that "the general councilors from PNL and USR [Save Romania Union] who have opposed by vote the Integrated Air Quality Plan are those who are now commiserating with the fate of Bucharesters".

The European Commission decided, on May 17 2018, to send France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania and the UK in front of the EU Court of Justice for not respecting the limit values agreed for air quality and for not adopting appropriate measures to limit as much as possible the periods these values are exceeded, a press release informed.