25th annual report from the Commission on monitoring the application of community law (2007) {SEC(2008) 2854} {SEC(2008) 2855}
Date: 2008-11-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU control, activity report, application of EU law, national implementing measure

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 18.11.2008 
COM(2008) 777 final 

25th ANNUAL REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

ON MONITORING THE APPLICATION OF COMMUNITY LAW (2007) 

{SEC(2008) 2854} 
{SEC(2008) 2855} 

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25th ANNUAL REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

ON MONITORING THE APPLICATION OF COMMUNITY LAW (2007) 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

In  September  2007  the  Commission  adopted  a  Communication  on  'A  Europe  of  results  – 
applying  Community  law'1  stating  that  it  would  "develop  the  focus  of  its  Annual  Report  on 
strategic  issues,  evaluation  of  the  current  state  of  the  law  in  different  sectors,  priorities  and 
programming of future work" to "assist strategic inter-institutional dialogue on the extent to 
which  Community  law  achieves  its  objectives,  the  problems  encountered  and  possible 
solutions".  

This report highlights challenges in the application of law, indicating three main priority areas 
of action: 1) prevention, 2) information and problem-solving for citizens, and 3) prioritization 
in  handling  complaints  and  infringements.  It  further  stresses  the  importance  of  a  strong 
partnership between the Commission and Member States, working in expert groups to manage 
the application of the legal instruments and co-operating pro-actively to resolve problems.  

Further details on the situation in the different sectors of Community law, as well as the lists 
and statistics concerning all infringement cases are contained in Commission Staff Working 
Documents annexed to this report2.  

2. 

CURRENT STATE OF PLAY – ISSUES AND CHALLENGES 

As  guardian  of  the  Treaty,  the  Commission  has  the  authority  and  responsibility  to  ensure 
respect  for  Community  law,  verifying  that  Member  States  respect  Treaty  rules  and 
Community  legislation.  The  rules  of  the  EC  Treaty,  10 000  regulations  and  over  1 700 
directives  in  force  for  27  Member  States  -  make  up  a  substantial  body  of  law.  Issues  and 
challenges in the application of Community law are inevitably many and varied. Certain areas 
face particular implementation challenges which are reviewed in the following sections. 

2.1. 

Complaints and infringements 

The  infringement  process  plays  an  essential  role  in  guaranteeing  the  correct  application  of 
Community law. Around 70% of complaints can be closed before a letter of formal notice is 
sent; around 85% before the reasoned opinion; and as many as 93% before a ruling from the 
Court.  

Comparing 1999-2002 with 1999-2006, the average time taken to process infringements, from 
opening the file to sending the letter of referral to the Court of Justice under Article 226 of the 
EC Treaty, fell from around 28 months to 23. The average time taken to process proceedings 
for failure to notify national measures transposing directives remained at around 15 months. 
The  average  time  taken  on  cases  based  on  complaints  and  own-initiative  actions  fell  from 

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COM(2007) 502, 5.9.2007. 
SEC(2008) 2854 and SEC(2008) 2855. 

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around 39 months to 35 months. In 2007, a second referral to the Court under Article 228 of 
the Treaty was made in seven cases, compared with ten in 2006. 

At  the  end  of  2007,  the  Commission  was  handling  over  3400  complaints  and  infringement 
files.  The  total  number  of  files  increased  by  5.9%  from  2006,  with  a  32.3%  increase  in 
proceedings for failure to notify transposition measures. Complaints accounted for 35.9 % of 
the total, or two thirds of all cases on issues other than late transposition, an 8.7% decrease 
from 2006. The number of new own initiative cases decreased by 9.4%. In January 2007 an 
average  of  99,07  %  of  required  notifications  of  measures  transposing  all  adopted  directives 
had  been  received,  rising  to  99,46  %  by  the  end  of  the  year.  This  compared  with  98,93%, 
rising  to  99,06%  in  2006.  However,  for  directives  with  a  transposition  deadline  in  2007, 
64.55% of notifications were late . 

2.2. 

Petitions 

The  number  of  petitions  to  Parliament  with  information  requested  from  the  Commission 
depends  in  part  on  citizens'  interests.  Even  if  most  petitions  do  not  concern,  or  lead  to, 
infringement proceedings, they provide Parliament and Commission with useful information 
on citizens' concerns. 

Environment  continues  to  account  for  the  highest number, (146 out of around 420  –  on  air, 
water and noise pollution in particular), followed by 89 petitions in employment, social affairs 
and equal opportunity (labour law (30), gender equality (28), free movement of workers and 
social security (25)). 

Over  20  petitions  concerned  public  procurement  (especially  urban  development  projects  in 
Spain)  around  20  were  on  recognition  of  diplomas  (in  particular  tourist  guides  and  ski 
instructors),  15  on  services  and  on  financial  institutions  (intra-Community  payments). 
Petitions led to the Equitable Life Report of the European Parliament. In justice, freedom and 
security, there were more than 30. There were 21 petitions on transport, 16 on taxation and 
customs  union  (most  on  indirect  taxation  of  cars  and  double  direct  taxation)  and  11  on 
agriculture. 

2.3. 

Sector Analysis  

There  continues  to  be  a  significant  complaints  and  infringements  case-load  in  environment, 
internal market, taxation and customs union, energy, transport and employment, social affairs 
and  equal  opportunities  as  well  as  health  and  consumer  affairs  and  justice,  freedom  and 
security, with a rapidly increasing body of legislation of high interest to citizens. 

A summary analysis of key issues in a selection of important sectors follows covering a wide 
range  of  issues.  More  details  are  given  in the  Commission  Staff  Working  Document  on  the 
'Situation in the different sectors'3.  

In agriculture, there are over 2400 legislative measures, mostly regulations. This body of law 
has been reasonably stable, subject to frequent technical up-dating and regular policy review. 
Most of the law is directly applicable, concerning market financial support, managed through 
the  conformity-clearance  mechanism  to  avoid  incorrect  payments  out  of  the  Community 
budget.  This  results  in  any  legal  proceedings  being  brought  by  Member  States  against  the 

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SEC(2008) 2854. 

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Commission,  rather  than  vice  versa.  Management  is  ensured  through  over  140  committees 
and  expert  groups.  Simplification  was  introduced  through  the  Single  Common  Market 
Organisation  regulation  and  by  reforms  in  the  wine  and  fruit  and  vegetable  sectors. 
Difficulties in the application of the cross-compliance system for direct support schemes have 
been  addressed.  Attention  has  turned  to  the  'health  check'  objectives  of  more  effective  and 
simpler  direct  aid,  modernisation  of  market  support  and  the  needs  of  climate  change,  bio-
energy production, water management and biodiversity. 

The  Internal  Market  and  services,  continues  to  give  rise  to  a  wide  range  of  issues  and 
infringement proceedings, such as on cross-frontier investment and health service provision. 
Late  transposition  of  directives  continues  to  be  a  problem,  with  206  infringement  actions 
launched4,  with  widespread  delays  for  markets  in  financial  instruments,  company  law  and 
anti-money  laundering,  professional  qualifications  and  public  procurement.  Recent  figures 
indicate significant improvement yet to be confirmed as a reliable trend. Major efforts need to 
continue in management instruments, for example making good use of the three-tier network 
of  committees  in  financial  services,  and  the  expert  groups  on  company  law  and  anti-money 
laundering. 

Free  movement  of  goods  not  subject  to  harmonisation  involves  a  high  volume  of  detailed 
preventive work and dialogue by Member States and the Commission in the notification and 
review  of  draft  new  technical  rules  on  the  basis  of  Directive  98/34.  It  prevents  issues  of 
compatibility  of  national  regulations  with  Community  law  and  contributes  to  the  clarity, 
effectiveness and, in general, to the drive towards Better Regulation. Most issues are resolved 
within  a  few  months.  This  directive  applies  also  to  national  regulations  concerning 
information society services. 

The  legislative  acquis  on  the  free  movement  of  goods  is  reasonably  stable  apart  from  the 
problem  of  late  transposition,  requiring  227  new  infringement  actions  in  2007.  A  main 
challenge  continues  to  lie  in  the  need  for  regular  technical  updating.  Implementation  of  the 
REACH regulation on chemicals requires priority work over some years on the start-up of the 
agency and the network of contact points. 

In health and consumer protection, late transposition of directives required the launch of over 
330  infringement  actions.  Inspections  as  well  as  other  specific  measures  continue  to  play  a 
key role in ensuring safe food and foodstuffs. Priority attention is being paid to strengthening 
the  network  for  Consumer  Protection  Co-operation  to  ensure  effective  support  for  citizens' 
interests. 

Rapid  development  of  the  acquis  continues  in  transport.  Late  transposition  remains 
problematic.  Continuously  improving  information-exchange  and  problem-solving  with 
Member  States  remain  priorities.  Adequate  progress  is  being  made  on  the  transition  to  a 
Community  regime  on  Open  Skies  with  the  United  States.  The  implementation  of  air 
passenger  rights,  including  those  of  passengers  with  reduced  mobility,  is  likely  to  require 
close  monitoring.  Inspections  continue  to  constitute  a  main  guarantee  of  air  and  maritime 
safety and security.  

EU  legislation  is  also  rapidly  developing  in  the  energy  sector.  Co-ordinated  security  of  gas 
supplies  is  a  key  challenge  as  is  timely  and  correct  application  of  the  third  package  of 

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All figures for 2007 unless otherwise stated. 

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directives  on  the  Internal  Market  for  electricity  and  gas,  while  verification  and  inspection 
missions should continue to monitor respect for the rules on radiation and nuclear safeguards. 

In  customs,  direct  and  indirect  taxation,  the  wide  coverage  of  the  acquis  and  the  limits  of 
harmonisation  lead  to  a  high  volume  of  infringement  proceedings  and  references  for 
preliminary rulings to the Court of Justice on taxation generally, and VAT in particular. There 
is a significant increase in proceedings on non-discrimination in direct taxation. In customs, 
the challenge is to simplify legislation and streamline procedures. . 

In the field of employment, social affairs and equal opportunities, the significant volume of 
infringement proceedings for late transposition has diminished. However, workload remained 
heavy  regarding  social  security,  free  movement,  labour  law  and  equality/anti-discrimination 
The  risk  to  human  health  of  occupational  disease  and  accidents  requires  a  high  level  of 
attention  to  be  given  to  the  health  and  safety  at  work  directives  including  those  on  the 
construction, maritime and mining industries. 

In  Information  society  the  2002  regulatory  framework  for  electronic  communications 
continued to face a significant volume of incorrect implementation and application issues, and 
the  Commission  proposed  a  package  of  instruments  in  order  to  amend  and  complement  the 
existing  framework.  Implementation  of  the  recently  amended  Audiovisual  Media  Services 
Directive may give rise to an increase in complaints. Late transposition of the Public Sector 
Information Directive caused an almost two year delay in conformity assessment. 

The acquis on environment law is broad and ambitious, applies to widely diverse situations in 
Member  States,  is  administered  by  many  different  government  agencies  acting  at  different 
levels  and  gives  rise  to  a  high  level  of  public  interest.  Many  problems  are  due  to  late  and 
incorrect transposition of directives, the former accounting for 125 new infringement actions 
during  2007.  To  these  are  added  the  sectoral  challenges  described  in  detail  in  the 
Communication on 'Implementing European Community Environmental Law'5. 

Efforts  have  been  made  to  simplify  and  modernise  long  standing  laws  for  waste,  water,  air 
and  industrial  emissions,  to  help  Member  States  respond  to  problems  of  application.  The 
Waste Framework Directive was revised to clarify definitions and to consolidate and simplify. 
There  remain  critical  delays  in  the  field  of  waste  management,  mainly  due  to  inadequate 
investment.  Likewise,  further  infrastructure  development  is  required  in  thousands  of  larger 
centres of population to comply with the Urban Wastewater Directive. The Water Framework 
Directive  is  representative  of  a  past  effort  to  simplify  and  consolidate  various  laws.  An 
increased case load is likely as deadlines for the application of various provisions expire.  

Serious  problems  are  evident  in  widespread  non-compliance  with  air  quality  limit  values, 
including for sulphur dioxide and particulate matter in many cities. A major effort has been 
made to simplify and streamline rules on industrial emissions. But there have been extensive 
delays  in  the  issuing  of  permits  for  thousands  of  industrial  installations  and  there  is  an 
ongoing  challenge  to  keep  'best  available  techniques'  and  related  reference  documents 
updated.  Whilst  the  volume  of  infringements  of  the  Environmental  Impact  Assessment 
Directive  remains  high,  if  stable,  there  is  an  increasing  volume  of  cases  under  the  Strategic 
Environmental  Assessment  Directive.  On  climate  change,  full  implementation  of  the 
Emissions  Trading  System,  including  twice-yearly  reporting  obligations,  present  a  major 

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challenge. Progress continues to be made in recognising protected sites under the Birds and 
Habitats directives but further efforts are needed to improve the health of some habitats and 
species. 

On  Justice,  freedom  and  security,  the  acquis  has  been  growing  significantly.  The  main 
challenges  lie  in  ensuring  timely  and  correct  implementation  of  much  recently  adopted 
legislation  together  with  managing  a  high  volume  of  correspondence,  complaints  and  a 
growing infringements case-load. The conclusion in 2008 of the study on the transposition of 
ten immigration and asylum directives may give rise to infringement proceedings, as may the 
development  of  rights  for  third-country  nationals.  The  high  volume  of  enquiries  and 
complaints  on  fundamental  rights,  citizenship  and  free  movement  of  persons  is  likely  to 
continue. 

3. 

PRIORITY ACTIONS 

3.1. 

Action 1: Strengthen preventive measures 

To  ensure  the  effective  application  of  Community  law  in  an  EU  of  27  it  is  important  to 
strengthen  efforts  to  prevent  infringements  from  arising.  Remedial  action  on  identified 
infringements necessarily comes after citizens and businesses have been deprived of the full 
benefit of the Law. A sustained effort is required from the Commission and Member States to 
correct this situation. 

a) 

Improved legislative instruments 

Maximum  effort  is  made  to  ensure  the  clarity,  simplicity,  operability  and  enforceability  of 
legislation.  Increased attention  is being paid to  aspects  of  implementation,  management  and 
enforcement in the development of proposals, at the impact assessment stage and throughout 
the  policy  cycle.  The  impact  assessment  guidelines  are  being  modified  to  ensure  that 
implementation  and  enforcement  options,  as  well  as  the  choice  of  legal  instrument,  are 
thoroughly examined.  

Regulations will be proposed wherever appropriate for technical implementing measures. For 
example,  regulations  have  been  adopted  for  roaming  tariffs,  proposed  for  cosmetics  and 
construction products and are being considered for animal health, biocides and textiles. In the 
motor vehicle sector, framework rules are now implemented through Commission regulations. 
Regulations are used to implement directives for the regulated professions and to implement 
technical standards on eco-design for energy-using products. Regulations have been adopted 
on chemicals harmonisation through REACH and proposed to strengthen mutual recognition 
in the free movement of goods. 

Parliament and Council should contribute to clarity and simplicity of legislation when dealing 
with Commission proposals in co-decision.  

b) 

Preparing the correct implementation of Community Law 

The Commission and Member States are working to improve the transposition of directives. 
The  Commission's  aim  is  to  ensure  that  risk-based  transposition  plans,  identifying  the  work 
required  according  to  the  content  and  likely  difficulty  of  implementation,  accompany 
proposals  for  new  directives  through  the  legislative  cycle.  The  Commission  will  set  up 

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networks of responsible officials in the Member States for transposition of all new directives 
and for on-line exchange of questions and answers. 

Transposition  workshops  are  being  organised  for  many  new  directives  including  regulated 
professions,  insurance,  banking,  securities,  company  law,  accounting  and  auditing  in  the 
Internal  Market.  Transposition  package  meetings  continue  to  be  held  in  different  areas. 
Frequent meetings of the Regulators Group and Contact Committee on the Audiovisual Media 
Services  Directive  help  with  transposition  issues.  The  Industrial  Pollution  Prevention  and 
Control (IPPC) Expert Group is being transformed into the Industrial Emissions Expert Group 
(EIG), with a wider remit on transposition. Six expert group meetings were held in 2007 and 
another six are scheduled in 2008 on the implementation of the Services Directive. 

Extended  transposition  periods  may  be  required  for  more  complex  instruments,  such  as  the 
three  year  period  proposed  for  the  Solvency  II  Directive  on  insurance.  In  particular 
circumstances,  different  elements  of  transposition  may  be  phased-in  to  different  deadlines, 
allowing improved tracking, identification of delays and early remedial action.  

The Commission also works together with Member State administrations and stakeholders on 
the timely implementation and correct enforcement of regulations as through the development 
of improved Member State procedures, a standard complaint form and guidance document on 
the air passenger rights regulation. 

c) 

Conformity  evaluation  of 
application 

transposition  measures  and  preventing  bad 

A  number  of  instruments  are  being  deployed  in  an  effort  to  prevent  non-conformity  of 
Member State law with Community law and bad application of Community law by Member 
State administrations. These include conformity evaluation of transposed texts, committee and 
expert  group  meetings,  inspections,  questionnaires,  implementation  reports,  fact-finding 
missions, advance notification of draft new technical regulations and studies or analyses. 

Conformity  evaluation  is  risk-based,  taking  account  of  experience  of  reliability  of 
transposition, the content of the measure, work done to prepare transposition and stakeholder 
reporting.  

While  conformity  evaluation  plays  a  major  role  in  many  areas  including  environment  law, 
other areas such as animal feed and human food require verification of Member State control 
systems  through  inspections  by  the  Food  and  Veterinary  Office.  Other  forms  of  inspections 
are  also  organised  in  such  fields  as  maritime  and  aviation  safety  and  security  and  nuclear 
safeguards.  

d) 

Active management: the role of committees and expert groups 

Some  260  committees  and  1200  expert  groups  manage  the  acquis,  update  technical 
requirements  and  help  to  identify  the  need  for  legislative  amendment.  They  work  on 
interpretative  guidelines,  codes  of  conduct,  specific  difficulties  and  ways  to  increase 
efficiency  in  the  application  of  legislation.  Major  contributions  are  also  made  by  NGOs, 
business  and  other  stakeholders.  In  agriculture  alone,  256  meetings  of  31  management  and 
regulatory committees and 118 meetings of advisory and expert groups took place in 2007. 38 
guidelines  were  adopted  on  plant  protection  products  while  major  efforts  have  been  made 
through  expert  meetings,  guidance  and  training  on  food  safety.  In  financial  services,  three 

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tiers of committees support the common interpretation and application of the law and improve 
the practical management.  

3.2. 

Action 2: Information-provision and problem-solving for citizens and business 

The  significant  scope  and  volume  of  the  body  of  Community  law  applying  in  27  Member 
States  necessarily  triggers  many  questions,  queries  and  complaints.  Citizens'  and  business' 
interests are served best if solutions are found in a rapid and informal manner. Many issues 
can most efficiently be treated through initial information exchange and cooperative problem-
solving.  The  Commission  responds  to  citizens  through  Europe  Direct,  Citizens'  Signpost 
Service, ECC-Net, Euro-jus, plus a large volume of work of Commission services.  

Community Law provides some mechanisms of recourse for citizens to claim their rights vis-
à-vis  business  operators,  such  as  the  specific  complaint-handling  procedures  on  air 
passengers' rights, the telecommunications Universal Service Directive dispute-settlement and 
co-operation for enforcement of consumer protection laws. The Commission coordinates the 
SOLVIT network, where Member States work together to solve cross-border problems caused 
by the potential misapplication of Internal Market law by public authorities without recourse 
to legal proceedings.  

Furthermore, the Commission launched EU PILOT to provide quicker and better answers to 
questions  and  solutions  to  problems  arising  in  the  application  of  EU  laws  requiring 
confirmation  of  the  factual  or  legal  position  in  a  Member  State.  Fifteen  Member  States  are 
participating. The project started on 15 April 2008. By mid-September, over 130 cases were 
in the system, in areas such as health and safety at work, social security and free movement of 
workers,  visa  issues,  free  movement  of  persons,  protection  of  personal  data,  public 
procurement,  environmental  law,  free  movement  of  goods,  and  indirect  and  direct  taxation. 
An initial evaluation of the project will be made after one year.  

These instruments represent an important commitment of the Commission and Member States 
to help citizens and business, working more closely together to draw out the full benefits of 
the EU. 

3.3. 

Action 3: Complaints and infringements management – prioritisation by sector 

The  effective  and  efficient  enforcement  of  Community  law  in  an  EU  of  27  Member  States 
requires  that  the  Commission  establishes  clear  enforcement  priorities.  The  objective  is  to 
maximise  the  benefit  for  citizens  and  business.  To  do  this,  the  Commission  must  prioritise 
work on infringements having the greatest impact on the general good. The Commission will 
also  handle  other  cases  via  problem-solving  mechanisms,  such  as  SOLVIT  or  EU  PILOT. 
Often  such  cases,  where  cooperation  with  Member  States  in  the  task  of  ascertaining  the 
factual  and  legal  situation  related  to  a  complaint  could  be  useful,  can  be  handled  more 
efficiently via such mechanisms and so the result for the individual citizen can be improved. 
If necessary, recourse will  be  had to infringement proceedings. In its 2007  Communication, 
the  Commission  established  general  priorities,  with  the  possibility  to  develop  criteria  for 
prioritisation for any given sector. In this way, the Commission will ensure that a follow-up is 
ensured on all issues, evaluating the most likely means of achieving a quick and good result 

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while keeping the right to initiate formal proceedings on any infringement of Community law 
and maintaining the guarantees of the 2002 Communication on relations with complainants. 6 

Examples of priorities, explained in more detail in the Commission Staff Working Document 
on the 'Situation in the different sectors' - SEC(2008) 2854 - include: 

•  Internal market  and  services - policy priorities focus on  breaches  of Community law (1) 
violating fundamental freedoms having a broad impact on citizens' rights, (2) threatening 
the overall functioning of sectoral legislation or involving important legal precedents or (3) 
likely to have an important economic impact on the internal market or a specific sector of 
it.  In  the  services  sector,  work  focussed  on  cases  of  clear  discrimination  on  grounds  of 
nationality or impact on categories of service providers in important sectors. 

•  Financial  services  -  issues  such  as  investment  restrictions  based  on  national  security 

considerations or affecting pension schemes. 

•  Employment  rights,  labour  law,  social  security  and  anti-discrimination  -  where  there  are 
important consequences for citizens, prioritisation can generate the greatest benefit for the 
greatest number. Complementary measures will be applied to help citizens find solutions to 
their  individual  problems  and  the  overall  situation  will  be  monitored  with  a  view  to  any 
appropriate further action. 

•  Fundamental rights, free movement of persons, immigration, asylum, citizenship and civil 
justice  -  priority  will  continue  to  be  given  to  problems  having  wide-ranging  impact  on 
fundamental  rights  and  free  movement  and  civil  law  issues  in  matrimonial  and  parental 
responsibility  matters.  Complementary  measures  will  be  applied  to  help  citizens  find 
solutions  to  their  individual  problems  and  the  overall  situation  will  be  monitored  with  a 
view to any appropriate further action. 

•  Environment  -  the  collective  handling  of  similar  individual  infringements  through 
horizontal  cases,  such  as  on  waste  management  and  air  pollution;  large  infrastructure 
projects, especially those receiving Community finance; infringements where citizens are 
on  a  significant  scale  or  repeatedly  exposed  to  direct  harm  or  serious  detriment  to  their 
quality of life7. 

•  Transport  -  passenger  safety  and  security  of  operations  as  well  as  sustainability  policies 

having a broad impact.  

•  Energy  –  actions  having  a  significant  impact  on  the  fight  against  climate  change  and 

ensuring secure and competitive energy supplies.  

•  Information  society  –  issues  of  systematic  importance  concerning  the  functioning  of 
national regulators, consumer protection issues (as the European emergency number 112) 
in  telecommunications,  TV  advertising  rules,  protection  of  minors  and  prevention  of 
incitement to racial hatred in media as well as non-discriminatory access to public sector 
information.  

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See further COM(2008) 773. 

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•  Competition policy - effective competition in liberalised network industries such as energy 
markets,  including  non-discriminatory  access  to  infrastructure  and  in  financial  services. 
Recovery in cases of illegal state aid. 

4. 

CHANGING THE LAW IN THE LIGHT OF EXPERIENCE 

The acquis continues to evolve in the light of experience gained in implementation. There is a 
need to strengthen the Better Regulation cycle, to select the most appropriate response to each 
kind of issue at the relevant point in the cycle ensuring that information on application feeds 
into legal review. 

In some areas, such as the contribution of particulate matter to air pollution or the treatment of 
waste  oils,  legislative  change  can  improve  objectives,  amend  substantive  provisions,  delay 
implementation  or  introduce  more  flexibility  in  requirements  in  response  to  difficulties 
encountered.  In  other  areas,  major  up-grading,  administrative  simplification  and  improved 
management  is  being  introduced,  for  example  in  the  customs  code.  Structural  difficulties  in 
electricity  and  gas  market-opening  have  been  addressed  by  the  third  legislative  package. 
Legislative clarification and re-casting is at various stages of development on food and feed 
labelling and marketing and plant protection. Significant legislative development has been, or 
is being, developed on mutual recognition of the free movement of goods and in sectors such 
as automobiles and medical devices, pharmaceuticals and late payments with particular focus 
on small businesses.  

5. 

CONCLUSIONS 

This  report  highlights  the  need  for  continued  pro-active  co-operation  between  Commission 
and Member States to ensure the general management of the law and to work in partnership to 
ensure  the  quick  and  effective  responses  to  citizens'  concerns  and  the  correction  of 
infringements  the  importance  of  which  has  been  highlighted  by  Parliament.  Co-ordinated 
action  by  Commission  and  Member  States,  tailored  to  the  specific  challenges,  will  produce 
the best results. The Commission will remain vigilant in its pursuit of infringements and will 
continue  to  work  closely  with  the  European  Parliament  in  reporting  on  and  discussing 
developments in the application of Community law. 

The  effective  application  of  Community  Law  continues  to  face  major  challenges,  such  as 
extensive late transposition of directives. Some areas of Community law also continue to rise 
a  high  number  of  claims  by  citizens  and  businesses  of  violation  of  their  rights  under 
Community  Law.  In  the  coming  year,  the  Commission  will  concentrate  in  particular  on  the 
following measures: 

•  Dealing with the problem of extensive late transposition of directives;  

•  Stepping up preventive measures, including the continuing need to develop the analysis of 

implementation and compliance issues when preparing Impact Assessments; 

•  Improving  information  and  informal  problem-solving  in  the  service  of  citizens  and 

business; and 

•  Prioritising the most important cases and working closely with Member States to accelerate 

correction of infringements.  

EN 

10 

   EN