Index – Abroad – A new law has been adopted: you can receive compensation if your health is damaged as a result

Air pollution is a serious problem in many big cities, including Budapest. According to one estimate, it causes the premature death of 300,000 people in Europe every year.

According to Reuters, the new law, which was adopted after the World Health Organization (WHO) also tightened its regulations last year to prevent deaths, is intended to improve this. Regarding the law, Virginijus Sinkevicius, the Commissioner for the Environment of the European Union, said that

in the next ten years, the mentioned number of 300,000 may decrease by 70 percent thanks to stricter EU rules.

Pursuant to the law, starting from 2030, stricter limits and target values will be set for several pollutants that seriously endanger human health. The new rules also make the currently fragmented air quality indicators in the EU comparable, clear and publicly available.

Furthermore, it was also stipulated that at the national level, in case of violation of the new rules

can take legal action and receive compensation for EU citizens if it is proven that their health has been damaged by air pollution.

In the European Parliament, the law was adopted with 381 yes votes, 225 against and 17 abstentions. For its entry into force, the approval of the European Council, which brings together the heads of state and government of the EU member states, will be necessary (at the same time, the representatives of the council and the parliament concluded a conditional political agreement regarding this law in February – in other words, it is unlikely that the proposal will not pass).

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