CIReN delves into one of the most pressing issues concerning environmental protection and public health. It fact-checks the government narrative around the recent European Commission’s decision to refer Cyprus to the Court of Justice of the EU over the improper closure and waste management at the Vati and Kotsiatis illegal landfills.
Cyprus was ordered to shut down both sites in 2013 and although it stopped sending waste there in 2017, neither Vati or Kotsiatis have been properly sealed off. To date, rubbish is still there leaking toxic substances and rotting waste is contaminating the surrounding area.
CIReN investigates and scrutinizes the position of the Cypriot government and issues its verdict.
Fact-Check: “Cyprus is sticking to its timetables and demonstrating its commitment to sustainable development and environmental protection.”
Announcement by the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment
7 May 2025
Is that true?
Illegal landfill sites pose a serious threat to public health and the environment, as they pollute the soil, groundwater, and air. The uncontrolled decomposition or burning of waste releases toxic substances and dangerous gases, such as methane.
For this reason, the European Union requires the closure and environmentally safe rehabilitation of these sites as a fundamental condition for compliance with EU law and the implementation of a modern, sustainable, and safe waste management policy.
On 2 May 2025 the European Commission decided to refer Cyprus to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for failing to comply with a Court ruling on EU waste rules.
On 7 May 2025, the Cypriot government, in an announcement by the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, claimed that as of August 2024 it is implementing a comprehensive action plan and adhering to strict timetables to stop being in breach on waste issues.
THE CLAIM
The government of Nikos Christodoulides claims that:
“It is implementing a comprehensive plan to ensure that Cyprus ceases to be in violation and no longer holds a negative record in waste management matters.”
Cyprus has been “deviating for years,” but the issue now “constitutes a priority” for the current administration.
The plan was approved by the Council of Ministers in August 2024 and includes a series of projects and infrastructure upgrades “within a defined timeline.”
“With the approval and faithful implementation of this plan and timeline, the government is demonstrating Cyprus’ firm commitment to sustainable development and environmental protection.”
Regarding the specific issue of rehabilitating illegal landfill sites, the Christodoulides government asserts that:
“It informed the European Commission in September 2024 of the actions being taken for this purpose, along with a specific timeline, which is being adhered to.”
For the rehabilitation of the Kotsiatis landfill, the government states: “The completion of works is expected by October 2026.”
For the rehabilitation of the Vati landfill, it claims: “Works are expected to begin in early 2026 and be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2029.”
“In the immediate future, we will update the Commission on the comprehensive plan we have been implementing since August 2024.”
THE FACTS
The Cypriot government has been in violation of the Directive on the Landfill of Waste (Directive 1999/31/EC) since the very first day of its accession to the European Union—a period of 21 years.
While some Member States, such as Poland, Latvia, and Romania, were granted specific transitional periods to meet certain requirements of the Landfill Directive, no such provisions were extended to Cyprus in the Accession Treaty of 2004.
Therefore, Cyprus was obligated to adhere to all aspects of Directive 1999/31/EC, including the closure and rehabilitation of non-compliant landfills, from the moment of its accession to the EU. Its failure led to its conviction by the CJEU in 2013.
Despite the CJEU ruling, the Republic of Cyprus continued its non-compliance.
On 28 April 2017, the European Commission issued a letter of formal notice to Cyprus. At that point, Cyprus finally decided to cease operations at the two uncontrolled landfill sites in question.
However, despite the fact that no waste has been sent to the Kotsiatis and Vati landfills, these sites have not been closed nor rehabilitated as required under the Landfill Directive, according to the Commission.
The Commission argues that the government “has postponed compliance timetables multiple times,” even after receiving the letter of formal notice in 2017— eight years ago.
On 2 May 2025, the European Commission decided to refer the case back to the CJEU, this time requesting the imposition of financial penalties.
The current government under Nikos Christodoulides took office in March 2023.
In its statement on 7 May 2025, it claims to be “genuinely committed to ending violations of EU waste legislation”, describing the issue as a “priority”.
It refers to an action plan approved by the Council of Ministers in August 2024, which includes specific timelines; however, no public announcement was made at that time.
The action plan with specific timelines, as cited by the government, was drafted 18 months after it took office.
According to its statement, the government informed the European Commission one month later, in September 2024.
The timelines submitted were not made public.
The issue of compliance timelines with EU law, specifically regarding the Vati and Kotsiatis landfills, was raised in March 2024 by Green Party MP Charalambos Theopemptou in a parliamentary question addressed to the competent minister.
On 5 December 2024, in her response to Theopemptou, the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Maria Panayiotou referred to the following timelines:
The rehabilitation works at the Kotsiatis landfill were “expected to be completed early in the second half of 2025.”
The rehabilitation works at the Vati landfill were “expected to start in the first half of 2026 and last 37 months,” meaning completion was projected for the first half of 2029.
However, in its most recent announcement (7 May 2025), the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment presented revised timelines:
For Kotsiatis, completion is now expected in October 2026, indicating a delay of more than one year.
For Vati, works are now expected to start in early 2026 and be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2029, already showing at least a three-month delay compared to the original estimate.
The government of Nikos Christodoulides claims that the broader issue of ending violations of EU waste legislation is a priority.
However, beyond the Landfill Directive, the Cypriot government is also violating several other EU directives. Notably, it is in breach of the closely related Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC).
In December 2021, the European Commission issued a letter of formal notice (INFR(2021)2217), and due to Cyprus’ failure to comply, it followed up with a reasoned opinion in December 2024—the final step before referring the case to the CJEU.
Cyprus has not ensured that waste is properly treated before being landfilled. The Commission identified deficiencies at three landfill sites, which also reflect insufficient capacity to treat waste.
In July 2024, the European Commission has initiated the infringement procedure (INFR(2024)2131) against Cyprus in two other related Directives, namely the Directive (EU) 2018/852 and the Directive (EU) 2024/884 for failing to meet the recycling targets established by these directives.
The Commission’s assessment indicated that Cyprus did not achieve the required recycling rates for packaging materials and electrical and electronic equipment waste.
At the same time, the Cypriot government is failing to implement EU law in other related environmental areas, such as the following:
Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC):
Cyprus has failed to ensure that all urban wastewater is collected and treated appropriately before discharge. A 2020 CJEU ruling identified non-compliance in 31 agglomerations. While progress has been made in some areas, many still lack proper wastewater treatment facilities, leading to environmental and health risks.
On 19 April 2023, the European Commission issued a formal notice to Cyprus, urging the country to implement the 2020 CJEU ruling effectively. The Commission expressed concerns over the slow progress and set a deadline for compliance. Failure to meet the stipulated deadlines may result in the Commission referring the case back to the CJEU, with a proposal to impose financial sanctions on Cyprus for continued non-compliance.
Cyprus is currently facing multiple EU infringement procedures in the areas of air quality, climate, and energy:
- Air Quality (Directive 2016/2284): In January 2023, the European Commission launched proceedings against Cyprus for exceeding emission limits for five key air pollutants. A reasoned opinion was issued in November 2023, confirming the country’s failure to meet its national emission reduction commitments.
- Climate & Energy – NECPs: In November 2024, the Commission sent a formal notice to Cyprus for not submitting its final updated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), a key requirement under the EU Governance Regulation.
- Aviation Emissions – ETS Directive (2023/958): Recently, in May 7 Cyprus also received a reasoned opinion for failing to transpose the EU Emissions Trading System Directive for aviation, which targets greenhouse gas reductions in the sector.
These actions highlight Cyprus’ persistent compliance gaps in key EU environmental and climate obligations.
Based on recent case law concerning a landfill case against Croatia, CJEU imposed a lump sum fine of 1,000,000 euros and a daily penalty of 6,500 euros for continued non-compliance starting from 7 March 2025. However, the amount of the fine could be different—and potentially heavier—for Cyprus, given that Croatia joined the EU nine years after Cyprus, in 2013.
Based on the above facts:
- The Cypriot government fails to demonstrate a genuine commitment to sustainable development and environmental protection.
- Quite often, the opposite is true: it violates key EU directives, resulting in convictions by the CJEU or facing the final stages of infringement procedures and the imposition of fines.
- Despite repeated warnings, it continues to fail to comply with several critical issues related to environmental protection and sustainability.
- Specifically regarding the landfills in Kotsiatis and Vati, Cyprus has already been convicted by the CJEU, and the European Commission is now requesting financial penalties.
- Cyprus’ persistent refusal to comply poses a threat to both human health and the environment.
- The claim that the Cypriot government is faithfully adhering to timelines is misleading.
- Cyprus has violated every compliance deadline it has promised over the years.
- It has received multiple extensions and warnings. In particular, regarding the illegal landfills in Vati and Kotsiatis, the Cypriot government has failed to comply since 2004—that is, for 21 years.
- By the time the Christodoulides government announced an action plan, 18 months had elapsed since they stepped into power. With their own timelines specifying a one year delay for Kotsiatis and a three-month delay for Vati, this amounts to delays amounting to 30 months for Kotsiatis and at least 21 months for Vati.
- The most recent timelines, disclosed in December, are not being met. Just four months later, there are already deviations.
- The new timelines now announced were deemed insufficient. The European Commission spokesperson, Maciej Berestecki, stated to CIReN that: “Given the duration of the infringement, further delays are not acceptable.”
- The Ministry of Agriculture’s statement on 7 May 2025 completely omits the fact that Cyprus is now at risk of financial penalties.
- The argument that Cyprus has ‘been deviating for years’ is hollow, because it is the governments that have breached EU law, while citizens bear the cost—to the detriment of the environment and public health, and soon in the form of monetary fines.
- The European Union treats member states based on the principle of governmental continuity. And notably, Nikos Christodoulides, the current head of government, served in key positions in both terms of the previous Anastasiades government as Spokesman (2014- 2018) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2018 – 2022).
Kostas Kadis, who is now the EU Commissioner for Fisheries served as Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment from 2013 to 2018. Though waste management was his portfolio, today Kadis is a member of the same European Commission which is referring Cyprus to the CJEU and could lead to a financial penalty.
Greens Party MP Charalambos Theopemptou argues that Cyprus is facing the threat of financial penalties “because no one ever seriously addressed proper waste management, and the successive governments pretended that everything was under control.” He also notes that Cyprus is facing “eleven infringement procedures” in related areas and warns that “the next referral of Cyprus to the CJEU by the Commission for financial sanctions will concern the sewerage systems we promised to build but never did.”
The Verdict: Misleading
A review of the factual record shows that the claims made by the Cypriot government are misleading, particularly on the issue of non-compliance with EU waste legislation, and more broadly, on its level of commitment on environmental protection.
The facts reveal a persistent pattern of delays, which continues to hinder Cyprus’ alignment with European Union environmental law, posing tangible risks to public health and the environment.
For many years, Cypriot authorities have been setting new timelines.
The approach of the current administration has not changed, even though 21 years have passed since EU accession. At the midpoint of its term, it displays the same systemic failures: procrastination, delays, and unmet timelines.
The outcome of this ongoing non-compliance is reflected in:
- Convictions by the CJEU,
- Ongoing infringement proceedings by the European Commission,
- And the threat of significant financial penalties.
This project is supported by the European Media and Information Fund (EMIF). The sole responsibility for any content supported by the European Media and Information Fund lies with the authors and it may not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.
