Eleven European Union nations, including Malta, breached ceilings for air ppollution in 2012 despite plans to avert health-damaging smog of the sort that choked Paris this month, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said.

The number rose from 10 in 2011, with the addition of Malta to the list of states above national limits set for at least one of four pollutants from sources including industry and cars.

The government said this afternoon it had noted the shortcomings found by the EEA and the switch from heavy fuel to natural gas in the power station would help get the desired improvements in the sector, together with other measures which needed to be taken urgently.

"Air pollution is still a very real problem," EEA executive director Hans Bruyninckx said in a statement of the national limits that had been meant to be achieved by 2010, pointing to high pollution across parts of western Europe this month.

"We need to improve this situation by making further emissions cuts," he said. Last week, Paris imposed a partial driving ban and made public transport free to combat high levels of smog.

Despite the violations, the Copenhagen-based EEA said that EU-wide emissions of each of the four pollutants - sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and non-methane volatile organic compounds - had declined from 2011-12.

Nine EU nations - Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia and Spain - breached their nitrogen oxide limits in 2012, mainly because of persistently high emissions from cars and trucks, the EEA said.

Denmark and Finland exceeded the ammonia limits while Luxembourg was alone in overshooting the volatile organic compound ceiling. All countries met sulphur dioxide targets.

Violations of the limits can in theory end with fines, although none have been imposed.