(ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, 23 MAY - The sea waters of Cyprus,
Malta, Croatia and Greece meet the highest standards in Europe.
These are the outcomes of a report by the European Environment Agency: these four countries rank first in the EU list, with over 90% of bathing waters meeting the most stringent standards and the remaining part meeting minimum standards. Also Spain, Italy and Portugal received an excellent rating, with over 80% of bathing sites found compliant with the most stringent standards. In general, the state of bathing waters in the EU improved: overall, 92.1 percent of bathing waters in the European Union meet minimum water quality standards set by the European directive. ''We must therefore continue our work'', Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said, ''to ensure our waters are appropriate.'' ''In several countries,'' the Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, Jacqueline McGlade, said ''the problem of pollution related to agriculture and waste water has not been solved yet and, therefore more efforts must be made to ensure safe and clean water for our citizens''. The report found 77.1% of sites have water of excellent quality, that is, complying with the toughest standards, an improvement of 3.5% on the previous year's data. Approximately 93.1% of near-coast bathing waters was classified of ''sufficient'' or compliant with the less stringent standards, an increase by 1%. Less that 2% of bathing waters was found not to comply with standards at all. (ANSAmed).
These are the outcomes of a report by the European Environment Agency: these four countries rank first in the EU list, with over 90% of bathing waters meeting the most stringent standards and the remaining part meeting minimum standards. Also Spain, Italy and Portugal received an excellent rating, with over 80% of bathing sites found compliant with the most stringent standards. In general, the state of bathing waters in the EU improved: overall, 92.1 percent of bathing waters in the European Union meet minimum water quality standards set by the European directive. ''We must therefore continue our work'', Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said, ''to ensure our waters are appropriate.'' ''In several countries,'' the Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, Jacqueline McGlade, said ''the problem of pollution related to agriculture and waste water has not been solved yet and, therefore more efforts must be made to ensure safe and clean water for our citizens''. The report found 77.1% of sites have water of excellent quality, that is, complying with the toughest standards, an improvement of 3.5% on the previous year's data. Approximately 93.1% of near-coast bathing waters was classified of ''sufficient'' or compliant with the less stringent standards, an increase by 1%. Less that 2% of bathing waters was found not to comply with standards at all. (ANSAmed).
