Minister: Madrid can't dodge pollution rules

Environment Minister Rosa Aguilar yesterday launched an attack on Madrid City Hall's lack of enthusiasm for tackling the "dreadful air quality" in the capital. "It is not acceptable to deploy tricks," said the minister in reference to Madrid's ruse of moving monitoring stations to green areas and shutting others down entirely to cover up the city's growing pollution problem.

"I find it worrying that [...] their only recourse is to ask for a moratorium," said Aguilar. Madrid city environment chief Ana Botella called for an EU moratorium last month on particle limits, admitting that "to meet the limits we would have to reduce traffic by 50 percent, and that's not possible." "When somebody doesn't do the job they are supposed to do they cannot dodge the issue and not assume responsibility," Aguilar countered.

Environment group Ecologists in Action is preparing a criminal complaint against City Hall for exceeding agreed particle limits. "Madrid has not taken any measures for years and that is unacceptable," said spokesman Paco Segura.