SPAIN: contaminant enterprises must pay

According to the Minister of the Environment, who also announced that the bill is completed, this is a very important legal gap that Spain must overcome. This law will mean the transposition to the Spanish legal system of the European provision on prevention and control of contamination (Directive 2004/35/EC), which will notably increase the requirements enterprises will have to meet in this field. But the Spanish legal text will also introduce a number of changes in relation to this Directive. Thus, the Spanish text could include the creation of a Governmental fund for the reparation of environmental damage, which in certain cases would finance the rehabilitation of goods of public ownership. Another novelty is that Spanish authorities will require those enterprises involved in the economic activities detailed in Annex III of the European Directive to present a financial guarantee that ensures they will be able to cope with any costs derived from the principle of environmental liability. Both the European and the Spanish text include objective liability arising from those economic activities mentioned above and subjective liability arising from any professional activity not included in that Annex. www.mma.es/portal/secciones