Greece facing millions of euros in fines over waste-water treatment

The European Commission is seeking to slap Greece with a fine of more than 16 million euros for failure to comply with waste-water treatment regulations at the Thriasio Plain in western Attica. Greece will also face additional fines for every day that it fails to get the facilities serving the towns of Elefsina, Aspropyrgos, Magoula and Mandra up to scratch.

The European Court of Justice is expected to uphold the Commission's recommendation as 12 years have passed since Greece's first conviction for violating environmental rules, particularly with regard to the quality of water discharged into the Gulf of Elefsina, declared a "sensitive area" in 1999, a year after the Commission issued regulations concerning urban waste-water treatment.

After the first conviction in 2004, Greek authorities assured the Commission that biological treatment plants and the bulk of the water...