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The European Commission has had enough. Back in 2013, the European Court of Justice found that Cyprus had violated EU waste rules at two landfill sites in Kotsiatis and Vati. These dumps were polluting the environment and putting public health at risk, especially by contaminating groundwater. Since then, the country has missed one deadline after another for properly shutting them down and restoring the land.
Fast forward to today: despite shutting the sites in 2019 and promising to rehabilitate them, nothing much has changed. According to Kathimerini's George Kakouris, the EU is now pushing for financial penalties, warning Cyprus that it can’t keep stalling forever. Officials in Nicosia scrambled to respond, announcing a fresh set of plans: restoration work on Kotsiatis is now set for completion in October 2026, and on Vati by mid-2029, if all goes smoothly.
Twelve years after a damning EU court ruling, Cyprus is still dragging its feet on cleaning up two major illegal landfill sites, and now it’s at serious risk of being fined
But that’s a big “if.” Vati’s rehab has already been delayed again due to new problems discovered near sewage tanks at the site. This forced authorities to redo their studies and restart planning. The government says it’s keeping Brussels updated and hopes this renewed effort will help avoid fines, especially since the European Court usually takes about 18 months to reach a decision.
Meanwhile, Cyprus is still under pressure on other environmental fronts. Two more EU infringement procedures are open, one from 2021 and another from late 2024, both concerning how the country handles waste. In December 2024, Cyprus received what’s known as a “reasoned opinion,” which is the final warning before another trip to the EU court, for failing to treat waste properly before landfilling and not having a proper waste management network in place.
It’s not just the Kotsiatis and Vati sites causing headaches. In total, there are 71 illegal or uncontrolled waste dumps across the island that need fixing. The government now claims it’s stepping up, with a national plan launched last August that includes upgrading current waste infrastructure and building new facilities on a fixed timeline.
Work is underway on 23 landfills in the Nicosia district, with completion expected by October 2025. Kotsiatis is part of this. In Limassol, things are moving more slowly, tenders for restoring 19 landfills there will go out in June, with work set to begin in late 2025 and finish by early 2027.
For Vati, and 27 other small sites whose waste will be transferred there, the plan is to start work in 2026 and finish by mid-2029. But again, delays are possible, as the ministry admits that new issues are still cropping up, especially around Vati.
The broader picture is clear: Cyprus faces a race against time, not just to avoid more EU court cases and fines, but to finally align with Europe’s waste rules and bring its environmental practices into the 21st century. Whether it can follow through remains to be seen.
