(Adds government's reaction)

95.4 per cent of bathing water sites in Malta meet strict EU guide values although the quality of bathing water across Europe declined slightly between 2009 and 2010.

The survey was issued on the same day that the EU warned Malta and other countries that they have two months to transpose EU rules laying down criminal penalties against sea pollution and other environmental offences. The directive Directive on criminal law measures to protect the environment should have been introduced in national law by 26 December 2010. However, 10 countries (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia) have so far failed to do so.

According to the annual Bathing Water Report from the European Environment Agency and the European Commission all of bathing water sites in Cyprus meet the guidelines, followed by Croatia (97.4 per cent) and Malta.

The study compares water quality in more than 21,000 coastal and inland bathing sites across the EU-27.

The Commission has also adopted new signs and symbols that will be used to inform the public on bathing water classification and on bathing restrictions.

Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said:

"I am glad to see that the quality of Europe's bathing waters remains high, although there is room for improvement. Clean water is a priceless resource, and we should not take it for granted. I would encourage member states to ensure we turn the slight decline we experiencing last year into an upward trend."

Professor Jacqueline McGlade, executive director of the European Environment Agency, said:

"Clean water for swimming is very important for EU citizens, and this information will allow them to demand the highest quality water in lakes, rivers and beaches. Public participation is essential for the continued monitoring of Europe's bathing water, especially as the effects of climate change become more visible."

The report provides a comprehensive overview of the quality of bathing water in EU states throughout the 2010 bathing season, so swimmers can find areas where water quality is expected to be good during 2011. It also shows trends in bathing water quality since 1990.

The analysis brings together data from more than 21,000 designated bathing waters across Europe, approximately 70 per cent of them coastal sites and the rest inland bathing waters. Sites are classified as compliant with mandatory values, compliant with the more stringent guide values, or non-compliant.

The EU’s directive which Malta still had to adopt, is aimed at ensuring that criminal law measures are available in all member states to react to serious breaches of EU rules on environmental protection.

The directive includes a list of breaches  where pollution would be considered a criminal offence. 

The directive requires Malta to ensure that the criminal offences are punishable with "effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties."

The government said in a reaction that it was in the process of transposing the provisions of the directive into the criminal code.

"The amendments have been drafted and will be debated in Parliament in the near future," it said.

http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water/status-and-monitoring/state-of-bathing-water-1

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-bathing/index_en.html