The European Commission calls on Belgium and Croatia to comply with the key provisions of EU law on noise (Directive 2002/49/EC), by adopting noise maps showing noise exposure within bigger urban areas, along main railways, main roads and of major airports.
In February 2017, EC sent Belgium the first notice on the matter, and since then, it has made limited progress. Strategic noise documents are still missing in the Walloon region, and the Commission is also concerned about the review procedure of the action plan for the Brussels agglomeration as it did not involve the public. Belgium has two months to reply to the arguments raised by the Commission, otherwise, EC may decide to send a reasoned opinion.
Also, in February, Croatia received a letter of formal notice and failed to provide complete information on the strategic maps for all major railways as well as for 70 roads. Currently, the country has still not developed strategic noise maps for 91 major roads. In addition, Croatia did not consult the public on action plan proposals for the urban areas of Split and Rijeka, 91 major roads and 6 major railways. Due to this limited improvement, the Commission decided to send a reasoned opinion. If Croatia fails to act within two months, the case may be referred to the Court of Justice of the EU.
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