"We have seen a real step backwards over the last two years," Greenpeace Italy's operational director, Domitilla Senni, told AFP.

According to Sara Fioravanti, a lawyer for the conservation organisation WWF, Italy currently has cases pending for over 170 alleged violations of environmental norms, making it "the bad student of Europe".

Senni criticised a loosening of checks on how toxic waste is disposed of and a proposed law which would allow hunting in protected areas.

"We count on European pressure and public opinion, which is increasingly sensitive about these issues, to put an end to these particularly Italian problems," she said.

A dozen major environmental organisations issued a statement expressing their hope that Italian environmental policies "don't set a fashion in Europe", as Italy assumes the six-month tenure of the European Union's rotating presidency.

It is no coincidence, they said, that there is no mention of the environment in the priorities laid out by Berlusconi at the start of the presidency.

However, EU environment ministers are due to meet at the central Italian town of Montecatini in the Tuscan hills from July 18 to 20.

The agenda there will include helping the 10 EU accession countries catch up with the rest of the EU in terms of environmental protection, and making the most of new technologies to ensure that economic development protects the environment.

TERRA.WIRE