The Court of Appeal in Brussels confirmed on Tuesday that the Flemish government does indeed have to pay penalties for not respecting European regulations on air pollution, as was initially ruled this past December.
The court set the official amount at €850,000, or the sum of €1,000-per-day fines for each day that Belgium failed to produce a better plan to tackle its air pollution problems.
"We are not going to court to get fines but to remind policymakers of their duty and force change," Joeri Thijs, Mobility expert at Greenpeace, said in a statement.
The organisation said it will use the €850,000 in penalty payments to establish a fund for supporting local projects that result in better air quality and a healthy living environment. "The government is not protecting us enough, so we are stepping up."
Tweet translation: "Apparently, you have to keep on litigating to enforce environmental and health regulations. The Court of Appeal confirms penalty payments to be paid by the Flemish government for failing air quality policy: already at least €850,000. And still no ambitious plan on the table."Je moet blijkbaar blijven procederen om milieu- en gezondheidsregels af te dwingen.🤦
Hof van Beroep bevestigt dwangsommen #VlaReg wegens falend luchtkwaliteitsbeleid: al minstens 850.000€. En nog steeds geen ambitieus plan op tafel.🤷@Zu_Demir 👉https://t.co/YiwK7OYO4G pic.twitter.com/MAjL80Z41W — Joeri Thijs (@JoeriThijs) May 24, 2022