The European Commission has decided to pursue infringement proceedings against Finland in two separate cases under EU environment law. Firstly, the Commission will refer Finland to the European Court of Justice over shortcomings in its efforts to halt a decline in the flying squirrel (Pteromys volans) population. This species is strictly protected under the EU´s Habitats Directive and Finland is the only place in the EU where it is found. In another case, the Commission has sent Finland a final written warning for failing to clean urban wastewater as it should do under EU water protection law. By failing to take all the necessary measures to reduce the excessive presence of nutrients in urban wastewater, Finland contributes to the over-enrichment of its seas. In particular, the Archipelago Sea and Gulf of Finland, which form parts of the Bothnian Sea, as well as the Baltic Sea itself, are adversely affected by excessive discharges of nitrogen. This nutrient promotes the undesirable proliferation of phytoplankton and harms the local marine ecology. The EU´s Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive requires that nitrogen be removed from urban wastewater discharges from towns and cities with populations of more that 10,000. The Commission considers that Finnish towns which discharge urban wastewater into the Baltic Sea do not adequately extract nitrates from urban wastewater. Similar action is being taken against Sweden. Más información