The latest Scoreboard report shows mixed progress in transposition. There is a widening gap between countries implementing Internal Market legislation on time, and those lagging behind. Greece in particular has fallen back to its November 1997 level, when the first Scoreboard report was published. France has accumulated the longest delays, on average 18 months compared to just 6 months for Denmark which shows the lowest figure. Luxembourg, Austria, Italy, Belgium who have been some of the worst performers in the past have come to grips with the problem and are now showing consistent improvement.
Most delays relate to the implementation of recent Directives.
Some 60 per cent of those whose deadline for implementation expired in 1998 have still not been fully implemented by all Member States, for 1999 the figure is 90 per cent. Luxembourg has however improved from its November 1999 performance. The problems of uneven and delayed implementation of Internal Market rules will be keenly felt in the information society services area. None of the Directives regarding Information society services that have come into force in recent years has been implemented by all Member States in full. Information society services do not recognise borders and therefore legal uncertainty on the applicable rules can hamper businesses' growth and the take up of information services in general.