Commission staff working document - Facts on the functioning of the system up to beginning of February 2010 Accompanying document to the report from the Commission eu pilot evaluation report {COM(2010) 70 final}
Date: 2010-03-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU initiative, application of EU law, complaint to the Commission, exchange of information, impact study, information processing, information system, infringement procedure (EU), project evaluation

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 3.3.2010 
SEC(2010) 182 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Facts on the functioning of the system up to beginning of February 2010 

Accompanying document to the 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

EU PILOT EVALUATION REPORT 

{COM(2010) 70 final} 

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1. 

ORGANISATION  IN  THE  NATIONAL  AUTHORITIES  AND  IN  THE 
COMMISSION 

1.1. 

Organisation in the National Authorities 

Each  of  the  fifteen  participating  Member  States  has  appointed  a  Central  Contact  Point 
responsible for the overall management of the process. The main task of this person or team is 
to  attribute  files  coming  in  from  the  Commission  services  to  the  responsible  Member  State 
authority, to monitor the functioning of the system with a view to ensuring its quick, effective 
and  constructive  operation,  communicating  solutions  to  problems  or  answers  to  questions 
where possible directly to the citizens or businesses concerned, in conformity with EU law. 

A specific EU Pilot Expert Group, composed of all Central Contact Points, has been set up by 
the Commission for the exchange of views on the functioning of the system. It has met four 
times  since  the  launch  of  the  new  system.  It  provides  the  Central  Contact  Points  the 
opportunity  to  exchange  experiences  and  agree  together  with  the  Commission  how  best  to 
overcome any operational or technical problem they would face. 

As regards the appointment of the Central Contact Point, the organisation varies: 

Austria  –  The  Contact  Point  is  to  be  found  in  the  Federal  Chancellery  which  attributes  the 
files submitted in EU Pilot to the individual department responsible. 

Czech  Republic  –  The  Czech  Contact  Point  is  located  in  the  EU  Law  Department 
of the Foreign  Affairs  Ministry.  The  same  department  is  in  charge  of  the  infringement 
proceedings;  however,  there  is  shared  responsibility  among  the Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs 
and the competent Ministry. 

Denmark – The Contact Point belongs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. EU Pilot files are 
treated by a special committee for Legal Affairs, chaired by the Ministry of Justice. Files are 
forwarded to all Ministries concerned and discussed in the committee. 

Finland – The Contact Point has been set up in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Unit for EU 
Litigation  which  is  also  responsible  for  the  preparation  of  EU  court  cases  and  infringement 
matters.  The  Contact  Point  attributes  the  cases  covered  by  the  Pilot  project  to  the  contact 
officer  in  the  Ministry  in  charge  and  forwards  the  Ministry's  response  to  the  Commission 
through the Pilot's IT system. The Contact Point does not take part in the preparation of the 
answer. If the case falls within the sphere of authority of several ministries, they take care, as 
a rule, of the coordination of the matter among themselves. The same procedure is applied if 
the response requires the participation of the Åland Islands in the consideration of the case. 

Germany – The Contact Point belongs to the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology 
(BMWi) and fulfils an overall monitoring and coordination function. All correspondence from 
the Commission and vice versa is channelled via BMWi. The unit in charge for the EU-Pilot 
is  also  in  charge  for  infringement  cases  within  the  Federal  Government.  Although  BMWi 
checks  all  messages  to  the  COM  and  as  appropriate  gives  juridical  advice,  the  political 
responsibility  remains  with  the  line  ministry  or  the  German  Länder  –  in  line  with  their 
political competence. 

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Hungary – The Contact Point is in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The EU pilot cases are 
dealt with according to the same rules and by the same team as the infringement cases. The 
reply in each case is discussed and formulated in a working group which involves the relevant 
ministries and is approved by the Inter-ministerial Committee for European Affairs. 

Ireland  –  The  Contact  Point  is  located  in  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  which  asks  the 
responsible  Departments  to  treat  the  files  raising  issues  falling  under  their  area  of 
responsibility in the system. The Departments upload themselves the answers in the system. 

Italy  –  A  Contact  Point  has  been  set  up in  the  EU  Policy  Department  (Dipartimento  per  le 
Politiche Comunitarie) within the Italian Prime Minister’s Office. The Department reports to 
the  Minister  for  European  Policies.  The  same  team  deals  with  infringement  cases.  The  files 
are dealt with  by  coordinators  who  consult every concerned Ministry, setting a deadline for 
preliminary  responses  allowing  sufficient  time  for  the  work  required  for  any  finalisation,  as 
necessary.  The  Ministries  work  together  on  given  cases,  which  helps  afterwards  if  the  file 
becomes an infringement. 

Lithuania – Lithuania has opted for centralized management of EU Pilot. The Contact Point 
belongs  to  the  European  Law  Department  under  the  Ministry  of  Justice,  which  coordinates 
and  monitors  all  the  European  law  infringement  procedures  in  Lithuania.  European  Law 
Department  sends  the  documents  received  through  EU  Pilot  to  the  responsible  institution. 
With regard to complaints or other documents delivered through EU Pilot, the State institution 
that is in charge of the transposition or implementation of the relevant EU legal act drafts a 
reply  and  submits  it  for  coordination  to  the  European  Law  Department.  The  European  Law 
Department  provides  conclusions  on  the  draft  reply.  Then  the  responsible  State  institution 
sends  the  final  reply  to  the  European  Law  Department,  which  submits  the  answer  to  the 
European Commission through the EU Pilot. 

The  Netherlands  –  The  Contact  Point  is  part  of  the  European  Law  Division  of  the  Legal 
Department  of  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs.  This  division  is  also  responsible  for  (the 
coordination  of)  infringement  cases  and  administrative  letters.  The  Contact  Point  attributes 
the files to the departments concerned, uploads the answers into the system and monitors the 
overall  operation  of  the  EU  Pilot.  When  asked  by  the  responsible  Department,  the  Contact 
Point can also play a more substantial role. 

Portugal – The Contact Point is placed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the same legal 
experts  deal  with  EU  Pilot  and  infringements  files.  They  ensure  coordination  if  several 
Ministries are involved. Short deadlines are set. There is one Contact Point for infringement 
cases, and thus EU Pilot files, in each Ministry. 

Slovenia  –  The  Contact  Point  belongs  to  the  Government  Office  for  Development  and 
European  Affairs.  The  Contact  Point  identifies  the  relevant  Ministries  and  contacts  the 
Contact Point in each Ministry. Meetings are held to find solutions and it is the Government 
Office for Development and European Affairs that checks the answer and uploads it into the 
system. 

Spain – The Contact Point belongs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. The 
treatment of EU Pilot files follows the same system as for infringement cases. The Ministry of 
Foreign  Affairs  and  Cooperation  identifies  which  administration  is  responsible  and  it  is  the 
administration  that  will  prepare  the  answer  and  send  it  to  the  Ministry  that  ensures  the 
coordination function. 

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Sweden – The Contact Point is located in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which forwards the 
files  to  the  legal  secretariats  of  the  competent  Ministries.  The  Ministries  enter  responses 
directly  into  the  IT  application.  The  Contact  Point  monitors  the  overall  operation  of  the 
system. 

United Kingdom – The Contact Point belongs to the EU Section of the Cabinet Office which 
coordinates the work on EU Pilot and infringement cases. It fulfils a general role monitoring 
problems of application of EU Law. The files are sent to the lead Departments and policy and 
legal experts draft the response and send it to the Cabinet Office that ensures the coordination 
function. 

1.2. 

Organisation in the European Commission services 

The  system  is  centrally  managed  by  the  Secretariat  General  of  the  Commission,  acting  as 
central  Contact  Point  for  the  Member  States.  The  Secretariat  General  is  responsible  for  the 
overall management of the system, monitoring its functioning, developing the application and 
responding to questions and providing guidance on its operation. 

Each  Commission  service  controlling  the  application  of  EU  Law  has  put  a  team  of  Contact 
Points in place. They include from 1 to 6 people. The Contact Points in the services create the 
files  and  ensure  the  coherence  of  the  system  in  the  Directorate  General.  They  attribute  the 
files to the file handlers and are responsible for contacts with the Member States. 

The file handlers in each Directorate General of the Commission introduce the questions to be 
put  to  Member  States  into  the  system,  assess  the  responses  provided  by  the  Member  States 
and propose any appropriate follow-up. 

2. 

PRACTICAL OPERATION OF THE SYSTEM 

2.1. 

IT application 

The  Commission  services  and  the  Member  State  authorities  communicate  using  a  newly 
developed  information  and  communication  system  (the  "EU  Pilot  IT  application")  which 
provides for the entry of issues in the system, secure communication between the Commission 
and  Member  State  authorities  and  the  recording  of  the  time  taken  to  manage  issues  and  the 
results achieved. 

2.2. 

Scope 

EU Pilot covers issues raising questions concerning the correct application of EU law or the 
conformity  of  Member  State  legislation  with  EU  law.  The  Commission  services  can  lodge 
enquiries and complaints received from citizens and businesses as well as own-initiative files 
in  the  system.  These  issues  either  require  further  factual  or  legal  information  for  a  full 
understanding or are put into the system to see if the question could be answered or problem 
resolved  through  Commission-Member  State  collaboration.  Some  issues  come  in  directly  to 
the  Commission  without  any  previous  contact  having  been  taken  with  the  Member  State 
authority concerned, while others are referred to the Commission following contact with the 
responsible  authority  in  the  Member  State.  The  Commission  often  has  all  the  information 

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necessary to respond directly and fully on the issues, in which case no further investigation in 
EU  Pilot  may  be  necessary.  The  readiness  of  Member  States  to  resolve  issues  raised  in  the 
system more quickly than through recourse to infringement proceedings can usefully be tested 
even  where  factual  and  legal  position  seems  reasonably  clear.  However,  sometimes  further 
factual or legal information is required on the issue before it can be fully understood. 

Apart from the treatment of cross-frontier issues in the internal market through SOLVIT1, as 
described below, EU Pilot is used for all instances in which the Commission services decide, 
either  as  a  result  of  incoming  correspondence  or  of  their  own  initiative,  that  contact  with  a 
Member  State  authority  could  help  to  provide  useful  information  or  to  resolve  a  problem 
raised concerning the implementation or application of EU law in a particular Member State. 
This  includes  correspondence  coming  from  a  citizen  or  an  undertaking  (new  complaint  or 
request for information), a lobby/interest organisation or an issue otherwise identified by the 
Commission service concerned as requiring clarification or resolution, including for example 
issues raised with the Commission in the European Parliament Petitions' Committee or a letter 
from  a  Member  of  the  European  Parliament.  EU  Pilot  is  not  used  to  manage  any  issue  on 
which an infringement proceeding has been initiated, through the issuing of a letter of formal 
notice, under Article 258 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union (TfEU – ex-
Article 226 of the EC Treaty), or to follow-up on a Court of Justice ruling on the existence of 
an infringement. 

EU  Pilot  is  used  by  the  Commission  services  for  a  wide  range  of  written  contacts  with  the 
participating Member States concerning specific issues of the interpretation or application of 
EU law. This does not exclude the use of other forms of contacts as, for instance, committee 
or  expert  group  work,  an  organised  programme  of  work  on  the  transposition  of  a  directive, 
package meetings or management or audit arrangements for specific EU Policies or Funds. 

In EU Pilot, the relevant Commission Department conducts an initial evaluation of incoming 
correspondence before any correspondence is transmitted to the participating Member State. 
The decision to use EU Pilot depends on factors such as the nature of the issues raised, the 
information already available and the likelihood that the Member State authorities concerned 
should be able to clarify or resolve the issues at stake. Issues that have already been presented 
to  the  Member  State  directly  by  the  citizen  and  upon  which  the  MS  has  already  taken  a 
position need to be assessed carefully so as to avoid unnecessary and repetitive consultations. 
The  EU  Pilot  project  is  not  intended  to  add  any  unnecessary  steps  to  the  investigation  of 
complaints and enquiries. Issues which are subject to judicial proceedings in a Member State 
can be submitted to EU Pilot with a view at least to obtaining confirmation of this fact and 
indications of the timing of the proceedings in question as well as to identify the nature and 
scope of the issues covered.  

EU Pilot is not to be used once the first formal step in an infringement proceeding has been 
taken through the sending of a letter of formal notice.  

2.3. 

EU Pilot and SOLVIT 

SOLVIT  deals  with  cross-frontier  problems  faced  by  individual  citizens  and  organisations 
caused by bad application of EC internal market rules. Such issues can be submitted directly 

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Commission  Communication  "Effective  Problem  Solving  in  the  Internal  Market  (SOLVIT)" 
[COM(2001/0702) final] 

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to  the  SOLVIT  system  by  individuals,  organisations  or  concerned  parties  (e.g.  Members  of 
the European Parliament). Should such issues be submitted to the Commission, and should the 
Commission wish for some clarification of the issue to be obtained from the Member State, 
the relevant service can submit the issue to SOLVIT. Hence, all cross-border EU law issues 
(i.e.  involving  two  or  more  Member  States)  encountered  by  a  citizen  or  organisation  in 
relation to the functioning of the internal market (Article 14(2) of the EC Treaty) which are 
not the subject of a formal infringement proceeding should be put into SOLVIT. 

EU  Pilot  differs  from  SOLVIT  in  terms  of  the  type  of  issues  it  handles  and  the  fact  that 
communication is between the Commission and the relevant Member States whereas within 
SOLVIT Member States work together to solve cross border problems. If it is already clear 
from  the  start  that  a  cross-frontier  problem  arising  in  the  internal  market  is  caused  by  non-
conformity  of  national  legislation  with  EU  legislation,  the  case  may  be  more  suitable  for 
treatment in EU Pilot rather than SOLVIT. However, if the cause of the problem is not clear 
from  the  outset  and  a  consistent  administrative  practice  wrongly  applying  EU  law  or  a 
regulatory barrier is encountered in the process of handling a SOLVIT case, SOLVIT centres 
are  often  prepared  to  continue  their  attempts  to  resolve  the  problem  and  correct  the 
infringement (this is called SOLVIT+). 

Member States have the possibility to redirect cases that have been submitted to EU Pilot by 
mistake  and  the  other  way  around.  The  EU  Pilot  Central  Contact  Points  need  to  cooperate 
closely with the SOLVIT Centres to ensure the smooth functioning of the two systems. 

2.4. 

Relationship  of  EU  Pilot  with  other  information  services  organised  by  the 
Commission 

There  is  a  range  of  other  services  organised  by  the  Commission  to  provide  information  to 
citizens  or  organisations.  Some  of  them  offer  dispute  resolution  possibilities  to  citizens  or 
organisations in their dealings with public authorities or private operators.  

EU Pilot is distinct from these services in that EU Pilot is not a general information system or 
a  system  for  the  settlement  of  disputes  between  citizens  and  commercial  operators.  It  is  a 
system  for  direct  co-operation  between  the  Commission  services  and  Member  State 
authorities  to  respond  to  specific  questions  and  problems  and  to  correct,  at  an  early  stage, 
infringements arising in the context of the daily interpretation and application of EU law by 
those authorities. 

2.5.  Working method 

If the Commission Department considers that a particular problem could be resolved by the 
competent  Member  State  authority,  or  that  additional  information  from  the  Member  State 
authority or  a statement of the position of the authority on the issue should be possible and 
could be helpful, it will refer the issue to the Member State through EU Pilot. 

A  ten  week  benchmark  has  been  set  for  Member  States  to  send  as  comprehensive  and 
complete a reply as possible, wherever possible providing a solution to identified problems. In 
some  cases,  the  Commission  may  present  a  reasoned  justification  for  a  shorter  period  or  a 
Member State may likewise justify the need for longer time to respond.  

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The  responsible  Commission  Department  will  assess  the  response  of  the  Member  State  and 
decide either to accept the position expressed by the national authorities and to close the file, 
or to ask for more information or to reject the answer and inform the concerned authorities of 
the conclusion that the problem did not appear to have been resolved and some further action 
may be taken. If an infringement is detected, the launch of the infringement procedure may be 
decided. 

A flow chart showing the main steps in EU Pilot is annexed. 

2.6. 

Confidentiality 

Existing  rules2  protecting  the  identity  of  complainants  followed  in  the  treatment  of 
correspondence and complaints apply to EU Pilot.  

The Commission services send an evaluation of the response of the Member State authority to 
the citizen at the end of the process informing the Member State through the recording of a 
copy in the EU Pilot IT application. 

When  citizens  and  organisations  are  willing  to  reveal  their  identity  for  fact-finding  reasons, 
the  Member  State  authority  or  Contact  Point  may  inform  the  correspondent  directly  of  its 
response  to  his  enquiry  or  complaint,  with  a  copy  to  the  Commission.  However,  if  the 
Member State decides to not correspond directly with the citizen, the Member State will send 
its  response  to  the  Commission  and  the  Commission  will  reply  to  the  correspondent.  The 
Commission  will  communicate  the  information  provided,  informing  the  Member  State 
through the recording of a copy in the EU Pilot IT application.  

Access  to  documents  on  EU  Pilot  held  by  the  Commission  is  governed  by  Parliament  and 
Council  Regulation  N°  1049/2001  regarding  public  access  to  European  Parliament,  Council 
and Commission documents (OJ L145, 31.05.2001, p.43), as implemented by the Commission 
Decision  of  5  December  2001  amending  its  Rules  of  Procedure  (J  L345,  29.12.2001,  p.94). 
National authorities are also bound by their own national legislation on access to documents. 

3. 

DEVELOPMENT AND CLARIFICATION OF THE WORKING METHOD IN 
THE FIRST YEAR OF OPERATION 

3.1. 

Operational aspects 

Some aspects of the working method have been developed or clarified during the operation of 
the new system: 

–  Overall quality of operation – For the smooth functioning of the new working method, it 
is  essential  that  national  authorities  and  Commission  services  work  in  close  cooperation, 
trying  to  ensure  that  the  system  produces  as  quick  and  positive  results  as  possible. 

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Regulation  45/2001  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  18  December  2000  on  the 
protection  of  individuals  with  regard  to  the  processing  of  personal  data  by  the  EU  institutions  and 
bodies and on the free movement of such data and Commission Communication on relations with the 
complainant in respect of infringements of EU law [COM final (2002) 0141]. 

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However, the idea of the EU Pilot project is to build a partnership approach and therefore 
to  use  the  system  to  improve  and  develop  current  practice.  Overall,  the  project  has  been 
conducted  in  a  very  positive  spirit  of  collaboration  and  willingness  to  achieve  quick  and 
positive results. There have been occasions when the quality of the files put into the system 
by the Commission services or the responses provided by Member States could have been 
increased.  Both  the  timing  of  responses  of  Member  States  and  the  time  taken  by 
Commission  services  in  reviewing  the  responses  could  sometimes  also  have  been 
improved.  These  issues  have  been  discussed  in  the  EU  Pilot  Expert  Group  and  in  other 
contacts  with  a  view  to  future  developments.  In  particular,  in  future,  the  Commission 
services  will  also  work  to  a  ten  week  benchmark  for  the  evaluation  of  Member  State 
responses on the same basis as this benchmark is set for Member States. 

–  Administrative  letters  –  The  use  of  EU  Pilot  is  intended  to  replace  sending  of 
administrative  letters  by  the  Commission  services  (so-called  "pre-226  letter")  to  Member 
States  participating  in  EU  Pilot.  However,  it  has  taken  some  time  for  this  practice  to  be 
phased-out. Where such actions have come to light, a follow-up has been organised. It is 
planned to introduce a form into the IT support platform for EU Pilot to allow attention to 
be drawn by senior Commission officials to specific aspects of EU Pilot files such as the 
particular need for urgent treatment or the importance of the issues raised and offering co-
operation  to  find  a  solution  quickly.  Once  this  form  is  available,  this  will  be  the  only 
method of written communication to be used for this purpose. 

–  Language  issue  –  English  and  the  other  official  languages  of  the  Member  States 
concerned  have  been  variously  used  in  the  operation  of  EU  Pilot  according  to  the 
applicable  rules  and  administrative  possibilities.  Translation  of  texts  and  use  of  official 
languages of Member States is being ensured by the Commission services as necessary. 

–  Communication  between  Member  States  and  complainant  –The  initial  design  of  EU 
Pilot  envisaged  that  the  Member  State  concerned  would  reply  directly  to  the  citizen  or 
business raising the issue with the Commission, unless the correspondent has maintained 
identity  confidentiality.  However,  this  method  of  communication  has  not  proved 
appropriate for all files. Therefore, it has been accepted that, whenever the Member State 
feels  it  appropriate,  the  response  can  be  communicated  to  the  correspondent  via  the 
Commission  services.  The  evaluation  of  the  Commission  services  will  be  added  to  the 
Member  State  response.  It  will  be  uploaded  immediately  into  the  EU  Pilot  database  and 
communicated  to  the  Member  State.  In  all  cases  the  Commission  communicates  its  own 
conclusions to the complainant and informs the Member State through the recording of a 
copy of the correspondence in the EU Pilot application. 

–  Scope  –  There  has  been  some  initial  uncertainty  on  the  kinds  of  files  appropriate  to  be 
taken up in EU Pilot. The idea behind the project is that this system should be used for all 
questions  and  problems  concerning  the  application  of  EU  law,  where  information  or 
explanations are required from the Member State, or it seems possible that a solution might 
be  found  most  quickly  using  this  process.  There  was  also  some  initial  lack  of  clarity 
whether  EU  Pilot  should  be  used  to  treat  files  submitted  by  the  Commission  on  its  own 
initiative. It has been agreed that there is no reason to limit the application of EU Pilot in 
terms  of  the  origin  of  the  issue  raised  concerning  the  application  of  EU  law.  It  should 
operate without prejudice to other mechanisms established under EU legislation. It is also 
considered consistent to ensure that at least a minimum opportunity is provided for a quick 
and  positive  solution  to  be  identified  before  any  infringement  proceeding  is  initiated, 
replacing  current  administrative  practices  (see  indent  on  "administrative  letters")  except 

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those  concerning  late  transposition  of  directives  or  to  ensure  respect  for  rulings  of  the 
Court of Justice on the existence of an infringement of EU law or where urgency requires 
formal legal action. It is also agreed that some forms of enquiry may be too unspecific in 
content  to  justify  pursuit  through  EU  Pilot  absent  further  indications.  The  kinds  of  files 
concerned will be clarified. 

–  Completion  of  the  process  -  Some  of  the  users  of  EU  Pilot  in  the  Commission  and 
Member State administrations had some uncertainty about the necessary procedural steps 
in EU Pilot and how to complete these steps in the IT application (this concerns especially 
the  completion  of  the  process  and  the  sending  of  a  communication  through  the  system). 
Further  explanations  and  background  documents  were  made  available,  indicating  the 
actions required through the whole EU Pilot procedure. 

3.2. 

Technical aspects 

The IT application set up for EU Pilot has been frequently developed even after its entry into 
operation, taking into account the remarks and wishes of the users in the Commission services 
and  in  the  Member  State  authorities.  In  the  most  recent  months  of  operation,  further 
suggestions  of  useful  developments  have  been  identified  and  will  be  realised  in  the  coming 
months.  Further  developments  are  envisaged  to  improve  on  the  functioning  of  the  system, 
including on such matters as: providing for the monitoring, in the system, of a response from 
a Member State which requires the Member State to take follow-up measures; adjustment of 
the application to deal better with complex files where multiple information exchanges take 
place,  to  ensure  that  there  is  space  to  insert  all  correspondence;  development  of  the 
application to allow for other services than those directly involved in the Commission, or in 
Member State authorities, to be associated to the file and to be able to insert comments in the 
file; and to develop the search and statistical functions. 

4. 

VOLUME AND SHARES OF FILES 

The volume of files submitted in the application increased progressively through the first year 
of  operation,  from  100  files  after  4  months  of  operation,  to  215  files  after  8  months  of 
operation, to 351 files after 12 months of operation, to 429 files after 14 months of operation 
and  finally  to  723  files  in  early  February  2010,  after  22  months  of  operation.  These  figures 
show a rather constant evolution. 

The graph under point 4.1 shows the share of files by sector of EU law during 22 months of 
operation of EU Pilot. These shares have remained rather constant as well. 

The  graphs  under  4.2  show  that  the  files  submitted  in  EU  Pilot  found  their  origin  either  in 
enquiries  brought  by  citizens  and  businesses  relating  to  the  application  of  EU  law,  in 
complaints  lodged  by  citizens  and  businesses  against  a  Member  State  for  a  measure  or 
practice  attributable  to  the  Member  State  and  which  they  consider  incompatible  with  a 
provision  or  a  principle  of  EU  law  or  in  the  own  initiative  of  the  Commission  services.  A 
clear majority of files have been based on complaints lodged by citizens. 

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4.1. 

Breakdown by sector of EU Law3 

After 4 months of operation - 15 August 2008 – 100 files 

Number of files submitted

INFSO
4%

JLS
5%

AGRI
4%

MARKT
16%

EMPL
6%

ENTR
10%

TAXUD
10%

SANCO
3%

ENV
42%

3 

AGRI=  Agriculture  and  rural  development,  ELARG=  Enlargement,  EACU=  Education  and  culture, 
EMPL=  Employment,  social  affairs  and  equal  opportunities  ENTR=  Enterprise  and  industry,  ENV= 
Environment, INFSO= Information society and media, JLS= Justice, freedom and security, MARKT= 
Internal  market  and  services,  REGIO=  Regional  policy,  SANCO=  Health  and  consumers,  TAXUD= 
Taxation and customs union, TREN= Energy and transport. 

EN 

10 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
After 8 months of operation - 15 December 2009 – 215 files 

REGIO
1%

TREN
0%

JLS
5%

INFSO
3%

AGRI
5%

ENV
39%

MARKT
22%

EMPL
6%

ENTR
7%

TAXUD
7%

SANCO
5%

After 12 months of operation - 15 April 2009 – 351 files 

Number of files submitted

REGIO
2%

TREN
2%

EACU
0%

INFSO
3%

JLS
5%

AGRI
4%

MARKT
22%

ENV
38%

EMPL
10%

ENTR
5%

TAXUD
5%

SANCO
4%

EN 

11 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
After 14 months of operation - 15 June 2009 – 429 files 

Number of files submitted

REGIO
2%

JLS
5%

EACU
0% ELARG

TREN
3%

0%

ENV
40%

INFSO
3%

AGRI
3%

MARKT
21%

EMPL
9%

ENTR
5%

SANCO
4%

TAXUD
5%

After 22 months of operation – 15 February 2010 – 723 files 

Number of files submitted

REGIO
2%

TREN
3%

EAC
1%

JLS
6%

INFSO
3%

AGRI
4%

MARKT
21%

ELARG
0%

ENV
36%

SANCO
4%

EMPL
7%

ENTR
5%

TAXUD
8%

EN 

12 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
4.2. 

Breakdown by origin of the files 

Enquiries, complaints or own initiative of the Commission 

File nature

Ow n Initiative
21%

Enquiry
17%

Complaint
62%

Organizations, citizens or Commission 

Correspondent type

Organization
36%

Commission
21%

Citizen
43%

EN 

13 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
4.3. 

Breakdown by nature of the problem at stake 

a) Definitions 

The  nature  and  content  of  files  submitted  in  EU  Pilot  varies  greatly.  However,  for  the  test 
purposes, a first attempt has been made to identify four categories of files which have passed 
all the way through the EU Pilot process: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

Simple enquiries seeking information: files submitted in EU Pilot with the purpose 
of seeking information requested by a citizen or an organisation. 

Apparent problems in the application of EU law: files indicating a situation which 
seems  contrary  to  EU  law,  in  which  the  citizen  does  not  have  a  direct  or  immediate 
interest,  for  which  the  Commission  does  not  have  all  the  necessary  information  to 
reach  a  conclusion  and  which  therefore  necessitates  a  request  to  the  Member  State 
concerned to clarify the situation. 

Problems to exercise rights under EU law: files relating to a problem which seems 
to  prevent  the  full  exercise  of  rights  given  under  EC  law  by  a  citizen  or  an 
organisation. 

Potential infringements: files indicating practices or rules which, in the view of the 
Commission services, seem clearly to contravene EC law and for which explanations 
or solutions are requested form the Member State without, at this early stage, having 
recourse  to  the  infringement  procedure  with  a  view  to  finding  a  quick  solution  in 
conformity with EU law. 

By mid-June 2009, the content of the files submitted to the national authorities was subject to 
an  initial  assessment  according  to  the  above-mentioned  classification.  It  appears  that  all 
provisional categories are represented among those files: 

–  2% are simple enquiries seeking information (9 files). 

–  59% are enquiries on apparent problems in application of EU law (232 files); 

–  15% are enquiries on problems to exercise rights under EU law (57 files); 

–  24% are possible infringements (94 files); 

b) Figures 

The  following  graphs  show  the  shares  among  Commission  services  in  the  four  different 
categories of files: 

EN 

14 

   EN 

 
1. Simple enquiries seeking information  

TAXUD
11%

SANCO
22%

EMPL 
45%

MARKT
11%

ENV
11%

2. Enquiries on apparent problems in application of EU law 

INFSO 
3%

JLS
0%

MARKT
10%

REGIO
2%

SANCO
4%

TAXUD
1%

ENV
63%

AGRI
3%

TREN
1%

EMPL 
11%

ENTR 
2%

EN 

15 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Enquiries on problems to exercise rights under EU law  

TAXUD
5%

SANCO
2%

MARKT
36%

TREN
5%

AGRI
5%

EMPL 
9%

ENTR 
4%

ENV
16%

INFSO 
7%

JLS
11%

4. Potential infringements 

TAXUD
14%

SANCO
3%

REGIO
4%

MARKT
36%

TREN
2%

AGRI
4%

EACU
1%

EMPL 
6%

ENTR 
15%

ENV
1%

INFSO 
1%

JLS
13%

EN 

16 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. 

RESULTS AND SPEED OF TREATMENT 

5.1. 

Speed 

Treatment of issues of application of EU law by the Commission must be as quick as possible 
in  order  to  meet  the  objectives  set  by  the  Commission4  for  the  benefit  of  citizens  and 
businesses.  

Concerning the timing of the functioning of EU Pilot, it should be recalled that the treatment 
of files in Member States involves a number of steps including: transmission to the relevant 
Member State authorities, examination of the issues, internal consultation, drafting, possible 
need  for  translation,  possible  inter-departmental  consultation  and  submission  to  the 
Commission. The evaluation of Member State responses in the Commission involves analysis, 
internal and possible inter-service consultation, approval and the completion of final steps in 
the  IT  application,  sometimes  also  requiring  translation  of  both  incoming  and  outgoing 
documents.  

At the time of the creation of EU Pilot, a general benchmark was set for files to be managed 
within ten weeks. This benchmark reflected the need for quick action on the files entered into 
the system. It was set despite the fact that the kinds of issue fed into the system were clearly 
likely to vary greatly in content and therefore also in the time required for their treatment.  

On average, the Member States responded on files within 73 days, ranging from the quickest 
response  received  in  8  days  and  the  longest  in  245  days.  Nearly  67%  of  files  were  treated 
within the ten week period.  

No benchmark was set for the time taken by Commission services in evaluating Member State 
responses.  However,  on  average,  the  Commission  services  took  109  days  to  evaluate  and 
comment  on  the  responses,  ranging  from  the  quickest  evaluation  done  in  2  days  and  the 
longest  having  taken  473  days.  40%  of  files  were  therefore  evaluated  by  the  Commission 
services within ten weeks. 

The average number of days taken to complete the whole process in EU Pilot is 169 days. 

5.2. 

Results 

The  EU  Pilot  project  aims  at  reinforcing  the  commitment  of  the  Commission  and  the 
participating  Member  States  to  work  together  more  constructively  and  efficiently  to  answer 
questions and resolve problems of citizens and business concerning the application of EU law. 
The project is contributing to the development of a partnership approach, based on frequent 
contact  on  file-specific  issues  alongside  the broader  work  of  both  Commission  services  and 
Member State authorities in the management of the functioning of EU law. 

This  new  working  method  has  generally  allowed  for  systematic  and  accelerated  secure 
communication from and to Commission services  and Member State authorities, directed to 

4 

Communication on relations with the complainants [COM (2002)141] and Communication "A Europe 
of results – Applying EU Law" [COM(2007) 502 final] 

EN 

17 

   EN 

 
                                                 
the responsible officials, while also ensuring an easy system of tracking progress and follow-
up.  

An initial process of verification by the Commission services and Member State authorities of 
the outcomes of the processing of files in EU Pilot has been organised. This process requires 
further  examination  and  possible  development,  for  example,  to  improve  evaluation  criteria. 
However, the initial conclusions are as follows.  

Only a few files submitted by the Commission have been judged by the Member States to be 
inappropriate for EU Pilot (4.5%). Less than a quarter of responses provided by the Member 
States  have  been  judged  incomplete  by  the  Commission  services  (23%)  which  may  in  part, 
have been due to insufficiently clear initial definition of the issues to be addressed. 

The  Commission  services  and  Member  State  authorities  have  managed  to  agree  on  the 
conclusions reached on the vast majority of files which had already completed the process by 
beginning of February 2010 (success rate of 85%). When responses given by Member States 
were rejected by Commission services, the information exchanged has nevertheless helped to 
clarify the issues, allowing for any appropriate further action, be it through the infringement 
procedure or any other means. Some files did proceed to the infringement phase, resulting, by 
beginning of February 2010, in 40 infringements proceedings either already launched or being 
prepared following treatment in EU Pilot. 

*** 

EN 

18 

   EN 

 
Annex 

Flow chart on the main steps in EU Pilot 

The Commission identifies an issue of bad application/incorrect transposition of Community Law by 
a Member State participating in EU Pilot 

No input required from the 
Member State: reply to citizen 
without prior contact with the 
Member State 

Input from the Member State 
is useful or required: 
treatment of the file in EU 
Pilot 

Clear infringement: 
possible launch of an 
infringement procedure 
with an advance notice in 
EU Pilot *  

Submission of the file to the 
Member State 

Member State examination and response 

- The Central Contact Point refers the issue to responsible national, regional or local authority for investigation and monitors 
follow-up 
- A response is given to the Commission in the system 

Assessment of the response by the 
Commission Department 

The Member State 
proposes a solution 
compatible with 
Community law 

The Member State proposes a 
solution compatible with 
Community law, but incomplete 

The Commission accepts 
the response  

The Commission 
requests additional 
information 

The Member State 
proposes no Community 
law compatible solution 
to an established 
infringement 

The Commission rejects 
the response, providing a 
justification to the 
Member State 

The complainant 
does not provide 
new elements 

The complainant 
provides new 
elements 

Launch of an 
infringement 
procedure 

Other 
appropriate 
follow-up 

* = Where urgency requires, the Commission will proceed directly to the initiation of an infringement proceeding. 

The Commission closes the file in EU Pilot

EN 

19 

   EN