Italy, 325 million in fines over a decade for inaction on Terra dei Fuochi cleanup

Brussels – Since 2015, Italy has paid fines of more than €325 million for failing to build the necessary infrastructure to treat municipal waste produced in Campania. That’s the gigantic figure the European Commissioner for the Environment, Jessica Roswall, indicated in response to a parliamentary question tabled by five Five Star Movement MEPs.

The math is simple: ten years ago, the Court of Justice of the European Union imposed on Italy the payment of a daily fine of €120 thousand for the disastrous situation in the Terra dei Fuochi, that territory between the provinces of Naples and Caserta, worn down by illegal dumps and the uncontrolled abandonment of waste of all kinds. In 2021, given the progress in incineration capacity recorded in the region, the fine was reduced to 80,000 per day. In total, Italy paid €325,760,000.

Roswall assures Pasquale Tridico, Danilo Della Valle, Valentina Palmisano, Mario Furore, and Dario Tamburrano, the five 5 Star MEPs who have asked for updates on the matter, that the European Commission “is closely monitoring the implementation of the ruling and the payment of the penalty.” At this moment,” the commissioner stressed, “discussions are ongoing on the landfill capacity and the organic fraction in the region,” and Brussels will “continue to intervene to ensure that the Italian authorities take all necessary measures to comply with the Court’s ruling.”

In her written response, Roswall also points out that the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) allows for investments in decontamination and soil remediation, rehabilitation of industrial sites, and reclamation of contaminated land, including old and illegal landfills, provided that such investments do not increase the capacity of existing landfills. The European Commission has approved the Campania Regional Program 2021–2027, which allocates about €35 million for remediation and environmental protection of areas affected by waste abandonment and illegal disposal.

“European funds for reclamation are there, but Italy has never used them seriously. Instead of investing to restore the land and save lives, fines are paid. This is the emblem of a double failure: environmental and political,” is Della Valle’s bitter comment.

Last January 30, the European Court of Human Rights had also condemned Italy, whose government “has not shown that the Italian authorities have addressed the problem of the Terra dei Fuochi with the diligence due by the gravity of the situation.”