Judgment_paragraph 37 · European Commission v Hellenic Republic (C-378/13)

37The Commission asks the Court to take account of the seriousness of the infringement established, its duration and the need to ensure that the penalty has as deterrent effect. As regards the seriousness of the infringement established, the Commission maintains that account should be taken of the importance of the rules infringed and the harmful consequences, for the environment and for human health, of that infringement. It notes that the progress made in terms of reducing the number of illegal landfills constitutes a mitigating factor, but that the remaining uncertainty as regards full compliance with the judgment in Commission v Greece (EU:C:2005:592) constitutes an aggravating factor. According to the Commission, the application of a coefficient for seriousness of 9, on a scale of 1 to 20, is therefore appropriate in the circumstances. Referring to the judgment in Commission v Belgium (C‑2/90, EU:C:1992:310, paragraph 30), the Commission recalls in that regard that the Court has held that waste is matter of a special kind and that accumulation of waste, even before it becomes a health hazard, constitutes a danger to the environment, regard being had in particular to the limited capacity of each region or locality for waste reception.