ANKARA

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), on Thursday ruled that France has not complied with the nitrogen dioxide limit values for almost 10 years.

"France has systematically and persistently exceeded the annual limit value for nitrogen dioxide since Jan. 1, 2010," the EU court said in a statement.

The Commission initiated "infringement proceedings" against France in 2014, as level of nitrogen dioxide limit was higher than it should be in some zones of the country in 2010, the statement added.

"[...] Although it had adopted plans relating to air quality and/or other measures aimed at reducing nitrogen dioxide emissions, it had failed to meet its obligation to ensure that the exceedance period would be as short as possible," it added.

As one of a group of highly reactive gases, nitrogen dioxide gets in the air from the burning of fuel. Breathing air with a high concentration of nitrogen case can irritate airways in the human respiratory system, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.