European Court of Justice: No compensation for air pollution

Anyone who has become ill because of polluted air cannot claim compensation from the state. That was decided by the European Court of Justice. However, EU countries may be liable under national rules.

According to European law, EU states do not make themselves liable to their citizens for damages if they allow air pollution and health problems result from it. This was decided by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

European air quality directives do not give individuals rights that could lead to damages, the judges in Luxembourg said.

Frenchman demands compensation from the state

The background is the lawsuit of a Parisian. He is demanding 21 million euros in damages from the French state because the increasing air pollution in the Paris metropolitan area has damaged his health. In his opinion, the state must be liable because it has not ensured that EU-wide limit values ​​are observed.

The Advocate General at the ECJ, Juliane Kokott, followed this view in her opinion a few months ago. However, the ECJ did not share the opinion of its expert and now denied a claim for damages.

ECJ: Clean air plan as a measure that can be contested

The existing air quality directives oblige the EU states to ensure clean air. However, these served the general purpose of protecting human health and the environment as a whole. Individuals would not be assigned any rights as a result. Therefore, the state does not have to compensate its citizens, it was said in justification.

However, EU countries may be liable under national rules. The ECJ expressly did not rule this out. The judges also recalled that individuals can sue in national courts for the authorities to take action against air pollution. This includes, for example, an air pollution control plan.

Both France and Germany have already been reprimanded by the ECJ in the past because the limit values ​​for the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide were exceeded.

(Case C-61/21)