# C_2023216EN.01002702.xml

| 19.6.2023 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 216/27 |
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19.6.2023

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 216/27

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Action brought on 31 March 2023 — European Commission v Kingdom of Belgium

(Case C-215/23)

(2023/C 216/37)

Language of the case: Dutch

Parties

Applicant: European Commission (represented by: P.-J. Loewenthal, U. Małecka, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Kingdom of Belgium

Form of order sought

The Commission claims that the Court should:

| — | declare that the Kingdom of Belgium, in not adopting the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Directive (EU) 2019/1024 (1) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on open data and the re-use of public sector information and in not immediately communicating those measures to the Commission, has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 17 of that directive; |
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declare that the Kingdom of Belgium, in not adopting the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Directive (EU) 2019/1024 (1) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on open data and the re-use of public sector information and in not immediately communicating those measures to the Commission, has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 17 of that directive;

| — | order the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the Commission a lump sum which corresponds to the level of the following two amounts: (i) a daily amount of EUR 2 520, multiplied by the number of days between the day after the expiry of the time limit for transposition fixed in Directive (EU) 2019/1024 and the day on which the infringement is rectified or, in the absence of rectification, the day on which the present judgment is rendered, or (ii) a minimum lump sum in the amount of EUR 2 352 000; |
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order the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the Commission a lump sum which corresponds to the level of the following two amounts: (i) a daily amount of EUR 2 520, multiplied by the number of days between the day after the expiry of the time limit for transposition fixed in Directive (EU) 2019/1024 and the day on which the infringement is rectified or, in the absence of rectification, the day on which the present judgment is rendered, or (ii) a minimum lump sum in the amount of EUR 2 352 000;

| — | in the event that the infringement persists until the date of delivery of the judgment in the present case, order the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the Commission a periodic penalty payment in the amount of EUR 13 608 per day from the day of delivery of the judgment in this case until the date on which that Member State fulfils its obligations under the directive, and |
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in the event that the infringement persists until the date of delivery of the judgment in the present case, order the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the Commission a periodic penalty payment in the amount of EUR 13 608 per day from the day of delivery of the judgment in this case until the date on which that Member State fulfils its obligations under the directive, and

| — | order the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the costs. |
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order the Kingdom of Belgium to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Pursuant to Article 17(1) of Directive (EU) 2019/1024, the Member States were required by 17 July 2021 at the latest to adopt the national measures necessary to transpose that directive and to communicate them to the Commission.

According to the Commission, the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations under the abovementioned provision by not having adopted the required transposition measures for the Walloon Region, the French Community and at federal level on time, or at least by not having immediately communicated those measures to the Commission.

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(1)  OJ 2019 L 172, p. 56.

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