REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION Monitoring the application of European Union law 2015 Annual Report
Date: 2016-07-15
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: EU Member State, EU control, activity report, approximation of laws, infringement procedure (EU), national implementing measure

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 15.7.2016  COM(2016) 463 final   REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION Monitoring the application of European Union law 2015 Annual Report {SWD(2016) 230 final} {SWD(2016) 231 final}  
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2015 Annual Report 

I. 

Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 3 

II.  Enforcement in priority policy areas ........................................................................................ 4 

1.  A new boost for jobs, growth and investment .......................................................................... 4 

2.  A connected 'digital single market'........................................................................................... 6 

3.  A resilient energy union with a forward-looking climate change policy ................................... 6 

4.  A deeper and fairer internal market with a strengthened industrial base ................................ 6 

5.  A deeper and fairer economic and monetary union................................................................. 9 

6.  An area of justice and fundamental rights based on mutual trust ........................................... 9 

7. 

Towards a new policy on migration ....................................................................................... 11 

8.  Working with Member States to ensure proper implementation of EU law ........................... 12 

8.1. 

8.2. 

Implementation plans: state of play ................................................................................... 12 

Explanatory documents: state of play ............................................................................... 13 

III.  Stages in infringement procedures ........................................................................................ 16 

IV.  Before an infringement procedure is started ......................................................................... 17 

1.  Detecting problems ................................................................................................................ 17 

1.1. 

1.2. 

Own-initiative cases........................................................................................................... 17 

Complaints and petitions ................................................................................................... 17 

2.  Solving problems ................................................................................................................... 19 

V. 

Infringement procedures ........................................................................................................ 22 

1.  Pre-litigation phase ................................................................................................................ 22 

2.  Referrals to the Court of Justice under Articles 258 and 260(2) TFEU ................................. 25 

VI.  Transposition of directives ..................................................................................................... 27 

1. 

Late transposition .................................................................................................................. 27 

2.  Referrals to the Court of Justice under Article 258/260(3) TFEU .......................................... 29 

VII. 

Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 31 

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Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2015 Annual Report 

I. 

Introduction 

Applying EU laws effectively is essential to deliver the benefits of European Union policies to the 
public and businesses. Proper application of the law ensures that individuals and companies can 
enjoy their rights and obtain rapid and effective redress if these are violated. Making sure that EU 
law  is  implemented  is  therefore  a  priority  for  the  European  Commission.  If  laws  are  not 
implemented or correctly applied, the foundations of the EU are weakened. 

Monitoring and enhancing the application of EU law is a priority of the Juncker Commission and a 
key part of the Better Regulation Package1. The results of the monitoring feed into evaluations of 
the  law,  into  impact  assessments  of  new  initiatives  and,  more  generally,  into  the  legislative  life 
cycle.  The  objective  is  to  improve  the  implementation  and  enforcement  of  existing  legislation  as 
well as the quality of new legislation.  

The Member States are responsible for transposing directives into their national law on time and 
accurately,  as  well  as  for  correctly  applying  and  implementing  the  entire  body  of  EU  legislation 
(the  acquis2).  The  Commission,  as  guardian  of  the  Treaties,  monitors  the  Member  States’ 
measures and ensures that their legislation complies with EU law.3 Focus is on ensuring that the 
Member  States  comply  with  EU  law,  by  working  in  partnership  and  providing  support  and 
assistance as needed.  

If the Commission detects a possible infringement, the first step is to discuss the matter with the 
Member  State  concerned,  which  is  invited  to  solve  the  problem  quickly  and  effectively  in 
compliance with EU law. If these problem-solving efforts are not successful, the Commission may 
start a formal infringement procedure. Should a Member State still fail to comply with Union law, 
the Commission may bring the case before the Court of Justice. As a final step, financial penalties 
may be proposed when a Member State fails to implement a Court judgement or to communicate 
the transposition measures of a legislative directive to the Commission4.  

This annual report highlights the main developments in enforcement policy in 2015. The structure 
of  the  report  reflects  the  focus  on  enforcement  in  the  political  priority  areas  of  this  Commission. 
The Commission pursued enforcement actions, for example, in the area of migration and asylum, 
where full and consistent application of the common rules on asylum and irregular migration was 
put  to  the  fore  in  the  light  of  the  refugee  crisis.  Another  example  is  the  former  third  pillar 
instruments,  in  the  area  of  police  and  judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters,  where  full 
transposition  and  implementation  of  EU  law  is  essential  for  providing  a  coordinated  European 
response  to  security  threats.  In  addition  to  the  priority  areas,  the  documents  accompanying  the 
report5 examine how well EU law was applied, and the challenges faced, in each Member State 
and policy area.  

1  

In May  2015 the  Commission presented a set of measures to boost openness and transparency in the EU 
decision-making  process,  improve  the  quality  of  new    and  existing  laws  so  that  EU  policies  achieve  their 
objectives in the most effective and efficient way, see: COM(2015)215 final. 
2   Article 291(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). 
3   Article 17 TEU ‘[the Commission] shall ensure the application of the Treaties and of the measures adopted by 

the institutions pursuant to them. It shall oversee the application of Union law […]’. 
4   Articles 258 and 260(2) of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) 
5   SWD(2016) 230 final – SWD(2016) 231 final. 

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Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2015 Annual Report 

II.  Enforcement in priority policy areas 

Ensuring the EU's legal instruments are applied and implemented better is a prerequisite for delivering 
on the EU's policies in general and in particular on the political priorities of the Juncker Commission. 
The  Commission  uses  a  wide  array  of  tools,  including  infringement  procedures,  to  achieve  the 
objectives of EU policies. The 2015 Annual Report provides an overview of the Commission’s actions 
in this respect. 

1.  A new boost for jobs, growth and investment 
The  Juncker  Commission’s  first  priority  is  to  strengthen  Europe’s  competitiveness  and  stimulate 
investment  that  creates  jobs.  However,  efforts  to  create  the  right  regulatory  environment  to  support 
businesses  and  job  creation  are  undermined  if  the  EU  acquis  is  not  implemented  correctly  and  on 
time.  Enforcing  the  application  and  implementation  of  EU  law  thus  also  contributes  substantially  to 
creating jobs, growth and investment.  

The Commission's enforcement activities in 2015 focused on the following areas: 

Enforcing the competition acquis 

The  Commission  actively  pursued  its  efforts  to  enforce  antitrust  and  State  aid  rules.  For  example, 
infringement  procedures  were  launched  to  tackle  privileged  rights  granted  to  a  publicly  owned 
company  for  a  country’s  hydropower  concessions.  The  Commission  also  investigated  legislative 
provisions  limiting  the  powers  of  national  competition  authorities.  It  actively  followed  up  on 
proceedings under Article 260(2) TFEU, asking the Court of Justice to impose lump sums and penalty 
payments on the Member States which failed to recover illegal and incompatible State aid. Consistent 
enforcement of decisions is essential for the credibility of the Commission’s controls on State aids. 

Enforcing the acquis on health and safety at work 

The  correct  and  timely  transposition  and  application  of  the  EU  Directives  in  the  area  of  health  and 
safety at work is crucial to ensuring the effective protection of workers health and safety, as well as a 
level playing field across the internal market contributing to growth, jobs and investment in the EU. 

The Commission initiated checks regarding the Member States' transposition of the Directive6 on the 
alignment  of  the  directives  in  the  area  of  health  and  safety  at  work  with  the  Regulation  on 
classification,  labelling  and  packaging  of  substances  and  mixtures.7  By  ensuring  the  link  between 
occupational safety and health directives and the classification, labelling and packaging of substances 
and  mixtures  Regulation,  this  Directive  constitutes  an  important  contribution  to  protecting  workers’ 
health  against  the  risk  of  exposure  to  hazardous  chemicals.  The  Commission  is  also  carrying  out 
checks regarding the correct transposition in the Member States of the Council Directive implementing 
the  social  partners'  Framework  Agreement  on  prevention  from  sharp  injuries  in  the  hospital  and 
healthcare sector.8 

Enforcing the education acquis 

The correct application of EU law provisions in the field of education has a major impact on the rights 
of  EU  citizens,  including  mobile  students.  The  complaints  received  by  the  Commission  in  this  area 
concern  access  to  education  and  especially  matters  pertaining  to  equal  treatment  when  it  comes  to 
scholarships,  grants  and  loans,  tuition  fees,  language  requirements,  reduced  transport  fares  for 
students or administrative practices, among other things. The primary objective of the Commission is 
to facilitate the learning mobility of citizens through the correct application of EU law which enhances 
their educational careers and thus contributes to jobs and growth. 

6   Directive 2014/27/EU.  
7   Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008. 
8   Directive 2010/32/EU. 

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Enforcing the environmental acquis 

The  Commission  targeted  its  enforcement  of  EU  environmental  rules  towards  achieving  the  Europe 
2020 objectives and contributing to a stronger and more 'circular' economy which uses resources in a 
more  sustainable  way.  Effective  enforcement  of  environmental  law  is  not  only  part  of  upholding  the 
rule  of  law  and  a  precondition  for  creating  a  healthier  environment  across  the  EU.  It  also  helps  to 
ensure  a  level  playing  field  for  all  Member  States  and  economic  operators  that  need  to  meet  the 
environmental requirements. Strict enforcement also stimulates the market to find innovative ways to 
increase resource efficiency and reduce import dependency. Such innovation can give EU companies 
a competitive edge and create jobs. 

Significant  shortcomings  in  the  implementation  and  enforcement  of  EU  environmental  legislation 
persist  in  some  Member  States.  This  is  particularly  the  case  in  waste  management,  waste  water 
treatment infrastructure and compliance with air quality limit values. 

The  Commission  continued  to  address  these  deficiencies  through  legal  means,  in  particular 
infringement procedures, but also by supporting compliance. For example, the Commission supports 
improvement of municipal waste management in regions with poor or average performance. Based on 
an  assessment  of  the  waste  management  situation  in  each  Member  State,  ‘roadmaps’  with 
recommendations  for  improving  municipal  waste  management  in  each  country  are  drawn  up.  Such 
initiatives  help  implement  the  'circular  economy'  initiative  issued  by  the  Commission  in  December 
2015.9 

Enforcing the agricultural acquis 

The  Commission’s  enforcement  strategy  focused  on  ensuring  that  agricultural  measures  with  the 
greatest  potential  to  support  growth  and  create  jobs  were  implemented.  A  priority  was  the  correct 
implementation by the Member States of provisions governing the direct payments scheme under the 
2014-2020  reform  of  the  common  agricultural  policy.  Annual  direct  payments  provide  a  basic 
protection  for  farmers'  income  against  the  shocks  to  which  agriculture  is  exposed,  such  as  price 
changes and the weather. This helps to prevent excessive loss of jobs and output, within both farming 
and the many other sectors which depend on it. 

The  Commission  also  closely  monitored  the  implementation  of  EU  quality  labelling  schemes,  which 
enable farmers and food producers to build consumer recognition for products with particular qualities 
linked to their origin (in the case of so-called Geographical Indications). In addition, compliance checks 
were  conducted  in  the  organic  sector  to  prevent,  detect  and  address  fraud  and  boost  consumer 
confidence. 

Major  efforts  were  also  made  to  ensure  that  the  rural  development  support  provided  by  Member 
States  through  rural  development  programmes  is  granted  in  accordance  with  the  relevant  EU  rules 
and the criteria of the approved programmes. 

Enforcing the acquis on maritime affairs and fisheries 

The  Commission  closely  monitored  areas  of  fisheries  conservation  and  control  that  are  essential  to 
building a 'circular' economy in which fish resources are used sustainably. This will help ensure jobs 
and  growth  in  the  fisheries  sector  in  the  long  term.  Particular  attention  was  given  to  systemic 
deficiencies  in  national  fisheries  monitoring  systems  that  allow  illegal  fishing  activities  to  go 
undetected, harming the sector's sustainability. In line with the EU’s objective of becoming a stronger 
global  actor  in  the  field  of  fisheries,  the  Commission  also  acted  in  several  cases  where  the  EU’s 
exclusive external competence was not respected. 

9   COM(2015)614 final. 

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2.  A connected 'digital single market' 
The  Commission’s  enforcement  strategy  in  the  area  of  communication  networks,  content  and 
technology  targeted  priorities.  Priorities  include  for  instance  structural  elements  of  legislation  in 
electronic  communications,  such  as:  the  independence  of  national  regulatory  authorities,  respect  for 
consultation  procedures  and  deadlines  in  the  market  review  process,  spectrum  management  and 
freedom  of  establishment.  Enforcement  activities  also  addressed  key  provisions  for  preserving  the 
internal  market  in  audiovisual  services,  such  as  the  country  of  origin  principle  and  freedom  of 
reception. In addition, the Commission carried out compliance checks on Member States' transposition 
of the Directive on the re-use of public sector information (the ‘PSI Directive’).10 

3.  A resilient energy union with a forward-looking climate change policy 
The Commission’s 'Framework Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate 
Change  Policy'11  provides  that  ‘full  implementation  and  strict  enforcement  of  existing  energy  and 
related legislation is the first priority to establish the Energy Union.’ 

The  Commission  closely  monitored  the  application  of  the  acquis  in  the  climate  and  energy  policy 
areas. It undertook systematic checks on Member States' transposition of, and conformity with: 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

the Third Energy Package Directives,12  
the Offshore Safety Directive,13  
the Energy Efficiency Directive,14  
the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive,15  
the Renewable Energy Directive,16  
the Oil Stocks Directive,17 and  
the Radioactive Waste Directive.18 
the EU Emissions Trading System Directives19,  
the Fuel Quality Directive20, and  
the Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide Directive21. 

The  Commission  launched  15  infringement  procedures  for  late  transposition  of  the  Offshore  Safety 
Directive. In addition, EU Pilot dialogues22 and infringement procedures were systematically launched 
for  non-compliance  with  reporting  obligations,  mainly  under  the  Energy  Efficiency  and  Energy 
Performance  of  Buildings  Directives  and  the  Security  of  Gas  Supply  Regulation.23  This  resulted  in 
nearly 100 % compliance with the reporting obligations in question. 

4.  A deeper and fairer internal market with a strengthened industrial base 
The  single  market  provides  enormous  opportunities  for  European  businesses  as  well  as  greater 
choice and lower prices for consumers. It enables people to travel, live, work and study wherever they 

10   Directive 2013/37/EU. 
11   COM(2015)80. 
12    Directives 2009/72/EC and 2009/73/EC. 
13    Directive 2013/30/EU. 
14    Directive 2012/27/EU. 
15    Directive 2010/31/EU. 
16    Directive 2009/28/EC. 
17    Directive 2009/119/EC. 
18   Directive 2011/70/EURATOM. 
19   Directives 2008/101/EC and 2009/29/EC. 
20   Directive 2009/30/EC. 
21   Directive 2009/31/EC. 
22   See section IV(2) of this report.  
23   Regulation (EU) No 994/2010. 

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wish. But these benefits do not materialise when single market rules are not applied or implemented, 
or if they are undermined by other barriers. 

Enforcing the acquis on the single market, industry, entrepreneurships and SMEs 

The Commission’s new single market strategy24 envisages a more holistic approach to enforcing the  
internal market rules, including the application of a smart enforcement strategy. This covers all stages 
of  policy-making,  from  policy  design  and  implementation  to  information,  in  line  with  the  Better 
Regulation approach. It includes better integrating evaluation and enforcement into policy design and 
providing  better  assistance  and  guidance  to  Member  States  on  how  to  implement  internal  market 
rules.  The  strategy  also  promises  a  more  consistent  and  efficient  enforcement  policy  aimed  at 
improving overall compliance with single market rules and EU law in general. 

In  line  with  the  new  approach,  in  2015  the  Commission  and  several  Member  States  developed 
national  strategies  on  public  procurement  to  address  the  root  causes  of  systemic  and  recurrent 
problems.  The  Commission  held  dialogues  with  Member  States  on  specific  issues  to  help  prevent 
difficulties in implementation. In addition, the Commission undertook to identify specific application and 
implementation issues arising from procurement rules in sectors such as health, IT, energy and waste 
management. 

The  Commission  also  acted  on  identified  breaches  of  internal  market  rules  on  legal  form  and 
shareholdings  under  the  Services  Directive.  This  led  to  the  initiation  of  10  EU  Pilot  dialogues  and  6 
infringement procedures in 2015. 

Infringement cases linked to the Late Payment Directive25 have a strong bearing on Member States' 
financial  adjustment  programmes.  Payments  of  arrears  to  private  suppliers  under  the  Directive  are 
covered  by  the  memorandum  of  understanding  between  the  European  Stability  Mechanism  and 
Greece, and by Portugal's post-programme surveillance. As these programmes provide that all public 
arrears  should  be  cleared  in  a  specific  time-frame,  this  may  have  implications  as  regards  the 
compliance with the obligations under Late Payment Directive. 

Enforcing the acquis on consumer protection 

The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) has consistently strengthened the principle that Member States’ 
procedural  rules  have  to  take  into  account  the  generally  weaker  position  of  consumers  so  that  they 
can  effectively  benefit  from  EU  consumer  protection  law.  In  2015,  the  CJEU  further  developed  this 
case  law  based  on  the  principles  of  ex  officio  control  by  national  courts,  equivalence  and 
effectiveness. The Commission has therefore raised the implications of the Court’s case law based on 
these  principles  with  individual  Member  States,  in  EU  Pilot  dialogues  but  also  in  infringement 
procedures.  The  Commission  also  commissioned  a  study  on  the  impact  of  the  CJEU’s  case  law  on 
procedures in the Member States. 

The Commission initiated infringement procedures for late transposition of the Directive on alternative 
dispute  resolution,26  which  relates  to  the  development  of  an  effective  alternative  dispute  resolution 
system  for  consumers  in  combination  with  an  online  platform.  The  Commission  also  assessed  the 
quality  of  national  measures  transposing  the  Consumer  Rights  Directive,27  which  applies  to  online 
contracts,  among  other  things.  As  a  result  of  these  checks  the  Commission  opened  20  EU  Pilot 
dialogues for non-compliance with the Directive. 

Many  Member  States  continued  to  make  legislative  changes  in  2015  to  bring  their  legislation  into 
conformity with the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive.28 In parallel, the Commission continued its 

24   COM(2015) 550 final. 
25   Directive 2011/7/EU. 
26   Directive 2013/11/EU. 
27   Directive 2011/83/EC. 
28   Directive 2005/29/EC. 

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work on updating the 2009 guidance document on the application of the Directive29 in order to improve 
compliance by businesses and enforcement in the Member States. Similarly, EU Pilot dialogues and 
infringement cases regarding the transposition of the Package Travel Directive30 triggered legislative 
changes  in  several  Member  States.  These  changes  aim  at  compliance  with  the  requirement  that 
organisers of packages and/or retailers selling packages have to provide evidence of security for the 
payments  they  receive  and  for  repatriating  holidaymakers  in  the  event  of  insolvency.  In  December 
2015 the Commission also presented a report31 on the application of the Timeshare Directive.32 

In addition the Commission has been working closely together with the consumer authorities to better 
enforce  consumer  rights.    In  the  car  rental  sector,  five  major  car  hire  companies  have  agreed  to 
significantly review how they deal with consumers. Citizens will benefit from more clarity on insurance 
policies and tank refuelling options, and more price transparency.33 

Enforcing the acquis on health and food safety 

In  2015  the  Commission  focused  on  ensuring  the  full  transposition  of  the  Cross  Border  Healthcare 
Directive.34 This included launching a set of infringement cases. In response, Member States stepped 
up their efforts to complete transposition before the cases were referred to the Court of Justice. In the 
health  sector,  the  Commission  launched  EU  Pilot  dialogues  on  the  correct  transposition  of  the 
Directive  on  human  tissues  and  cells.35  Enforcement  in  the  animal  welfare  sector  had  started  by 
launching  infringement  procedures  against  a  number  of  Member  States  for  non-compliance  with  the 
requirements  for  laying  hens  and  group  housing  of  sows.    In  2015  these  delivered  the  expected 
results, with the closure of most cases due to compliance with the relevant Directives.36 

Enforcing the acquis on mobility and transport 

In this area the Commission initiated and pursued infringement cases on issues which have a direct 
impact on the completion of the internal market, in particular: 

  discriminatory user charges for passenger cars,  
 
  obstacles to the freedom of establishment caused by the monopolistic conditions for recruiting 

restrictions on non-resident hauliers' access to national road transport markets,  

 

dockers, and   
limitations  on  the  provision  of  transport  services  and  free  movement  of  goods  deriving  from 
national minimum wage laws. 

In  2015  Member  States  stepped  up  their  efforts  to  comply  with  the  Court’s  decisions  requiring  full 
application  of  the  provisions  of  the  First  Railway  Package.  The  Commission  was  therefore  able  to 
close the related infringement procedures against three Member States. However, Member States did 
not  make  similar  efforts  to  transpose  the  Directive  establishing  a  single  European  railway  area37  on 
time. Consequently the Commission opened 20 infringement procedures. 

The Commission actively pursued efforts to enhance the use of digital technologies, in particular in the 
road transport sector. Monitoring of the application of EU law in this area has been intensified and in 
2015 several infringement procedures were initiated or pursued over application of the Directive on the 

29   SEC(2009)1666. 
30   Directive 90/314/EEC. 
31   COM(2015) 644 final. 
32   Directive 2008/122/EC. 
33   http://ec.europa.eu/justice/newsroom/consumer-marketing/news/150713_en.htm. 
34   Directive 2011/24/EU. 
35   Directive 2004/23/EC. 
36   Directives 1999/74/EC and 2008/120/EC. 
37   Directive 2012/34. 

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interoperability  of  electronic  road  toll  systems.  38  Conformity  checks  on  the  implementation  of  the 
Directive on driving licences39 led to the launch of 20 infringement procedures in 2015. 

Enforcing the acquis on direct taxation 

The  Commission  pursued  three  initiatives  on  compliance  with  EU  direct  tax  law  launched  between 
2011  and  2014.  All  three  are  designed  to  benefit  taxpayers.  The  first  initiative  is  examining  whether 
Member States give equal tax treatment to people who inherit assets in another Member State.40 The 
second is checking whether people who live in one Member State but work in another (cross-border 
workers) receive equal tax treatment.41 The third initiative, initiated at the end of 2014, complements 
and  completes  the  previous  ones  by  examining  the  tax  treatment of  people who  actually  move  from 
one EU Member State to another (mobile persons).42 

5.  A deeper and fairer economic and monetary union 
Developing  the  capital  markets  union,  completing  the  banking  union  and  facilitating  cross-border 
investment  are  essential  for  financial  stability.  The  Commission’s  enforcement  policy  in  this  area 
focused  on  monitoring  the  timely  and  correct  transposition  of  the  Directives  adopted  under  the 
financial reform.  

Particular  attention  was  paid  to  the  Directives  on  bank  recovery  and  resolution43  and  deposit 
guarantee schemes.44 The transposition of these is essential for bringing into effect the newly created 
Single  Resolution  Mechanism,  which  will  further  deepen  economic  and  monetary  union.  The 
Commission  also  checked  whether  the  Accounting  and  Transparency  Directives45  had  been 
transposed  into  national  law  on  time.  In  addition,  it  carried  out  compliance  checks  and,  where 
necessary, launched infringement procedures for non-compliance with: 

 

 
 
 
 

the  Directive  on  access  to  the  activity  of  credit  institutions  and  the  prudential  supervision  of 
credit institutions and investment firms,46  
the Financial Conglomerates Directive,47  
the Solvency II and Omnibus II Directives,48  
the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive,49 and  
the Credit Ratings Directive.50 

6.  An area of justice and fundamental rights based on mutual trust 
Europeans share values and enjoy the rights that are spelled out in the EU Treaties and the Charter of 
Fundamental Rights.  

One of the EU's fundamental freedoms is the free movement of persons. The application of the Free 
Movement  Directive51  and  the  related  acquis  by  national  administrations  at  local  level  is  central  to 
ensuring that Europeans can fully enjoy their right to free movement. Lack of clarity over the rights and 

IP/11/1551. 
IP/12/340. 
IP/14/31. 

38   Directive 2004/52/EC. 
39   Directive 2006/126/EC. 
40  
41  
42  
43   Directive 2014/59/EU. 
44   Directive 2014/49/EU. 
45   Directive 2013/34/EU. 
46   Directive 2013/36/EU. 
47   Directive 2011/89/EU. 
48   Directive 2009/138/EC and 2014/51/EU. 
49   Directive 2011/61/EU. 
50   Directives 2013/14/EU and 2013/50/EU. 
51   Directive 2004/38/EC. 

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obligations  of  EU  citizens  may  put  strains  on  their  free  movement.  The  Commission  is  therefore 
committed  to  helping  national  administrations  overcome  this  information  gap.  To  this  end,  it  is 
developing  an  e-learning  tool  on  EU  citizens'  rights  of  free  movement.  This  will  provide  national 
administrations  — which have  a  direct  or  indirect  impact  on  EU  citizens'  rights  of  free  movement — 
with  a  practical  instrument  to  better  understand  the  rights  and  obligations  associated  with  free 
movement and thus to improve their application  in practice. Substantial progress was made in 2015 
and the tool will be made available to Member States’ authorities in 2016. 

In  the  area  of  criminal  law,  in  2015  Member  States  had  to  transpose  two  key  directives  concerning 
justice  and  fundamental  rights  into  their  national  legislation.  One  is  intended  to  ensure  appropriate 
protection  measures  for  victims  of  crime  (European  protection  order52).  The  other  establishes 
minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of such victims.53 The Commission initiated 
infringement procedures  against  Member  States which  failed  to comply  with  their  obligations.  It  also 
launched  or  completed  checks  on  the  conformity  of  national  legislation  with  the  Directives  on 
procedural rights,54 and initiated EU Pilot dialogues where it found gaps. 

On judicial cooperation in civil matters, the Commission gave prominence to promoting and protecting 
the rights of children, and in particular to preventing and combating international child abduction. The 
Commission  took  the  view  that  the  entire  matter  of  international  child  abduction  (including  the 
acceptance  of  newly  acceding  countries  to  the  1980  Hague  Convention  on  International  Child 
Abduction) was covered by the exclusive external competence of the EU because of the adoption of 
parallel internal EU legislation (Brussels IIa Regulation55). In the light of opposition from most Member 
States, and after launching infringement procedures against several Member States for not respecting 
the EU's exclusive external competence in this field, the Commission sought the opinion of the Court 
of Justice. The Court confirmed56 that the EU's exclusive competence encompasses the acceptance 
of the accession of a third state to the Hague Convention. Following the Court’s opinion, the Council 
resumed  negotiations  on  the  pending  Commission  proposals  related  to  this  issue,  which  the 
Commission published in 2015. 

In  the  field  of  data  protection,  in  its  judgment  of  6  October  201557  the  Court  declared  invalid  the 
Commission’s Safe Harbour Decision.58 It ruled that the Decision did not contain sufficient findings by 
the Commission that U.S. public authorities' access to data transferred under the decision was limited 
or that effective legal protection against such interference existed, with particular view to Articles 7, 8 
and  47  of  the  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the  European  Union.  Following  the  judgment,  on  6 
November 2015 the Commission issued a Communication on the transfer  of personal data from the 
EU to the U.S. under the Data Protection Directive.59 This provides an overview of the alternative tools 
for transatlantic data transfers under the Directive in the absence of an adequacy decision. 

In the area of equal treatment and anti-discrimination, the Commission continued to fight against the 
discrimination of Roma in the Member States through strengthened enforcement of the Racial Equality 
Directive60. It initiated infringement proceedings against a second Member State due to discrimination 
of Roma children in the field of education and continued EU Pilot dialogue with several other Member 
States  due  to  suspected  discrimination  of  Roma  in  the  areas  of  housing  and/or  education.  The 
Commission  also  continued  its  efforts  to  strengthen  national  equality  bodies  set  up  under  the  equal 
treatment directives to fight against discrimination and to help victims of discrimination. 

52   Directive 2011/99/EU. 
53   Directive 2012/29/EU. 
54   Directive 2010/64/EU and Directive 2012/13/EU. 
55   Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003.  
56   Opinion 1/13. 
57   Maximilian Schrems v Data Protection Commissioner, C-362/14. 
58   Commission Decision 2000/520/EC. 
59   Directive 95/46/EC. 
60    Directive 2000/43/EC. 

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The European Agenda on Security adopted in 201561 aims to provide Member States with the tools to 
combat both short and long-term security challenges. In this context the Commission has initiated EU 
Pilot  dialogues  with  12  Member  States  which  did  not  comply  with  obligations  under  the  Explosives 
Precursors  Regulation62.  The  Commission  has  continued  the  efforts  to  ensure  the  complete 
transposition and correct implementation of the Directives on preventing and combating trafficking in 
human beings and protecting its victims63 and on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation 
of  children  and  child  pornography64.  What  is  more,  in  the  course  of  2015  Member  States  had  to 
transpose  the  Directive  on  attacks  against  information  systems65.  The  Commission  initiated 
infringement  procedures  against  Member  States  which  failed  to  comply  with  their  obligations. 
Moreover,  correct  transposition  and  implementation  of  former  'third  pillar'  instruments  in  the  area  of 
police  cooperation  and  judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters  is  being  given  priority  under  the 
Agenda. 

The transitional period provided for in Protocol 36 to the Lisbon Treaty ended on 1 December 2014. 
With  this,  the  limitations  were  lifted  on  judicial  control  by  the  European  Court  of  Justice  and  on  the 
Commission’s  powers  under  Article  258  TFEU  to  monitor  the  application  of  EU  legislation  on  police 
cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. 

The correct transposition and implementation of former third pillar instruments is essential for the good 
functioning of EU policies on freedom, security and justice. To get a complete and accurate overview 
of the implementation of these instruments, and to enable it to fulfil its role as guardian of the Treaties, 
the  Commission  invited  all  Member  States  to  notify  their  national  measures  for  transposing  the 
instruments applicable to them by 15 March 2015, which has been extended until 15 May 2015. 

While the Commission received a large number of notifications, some Member States failed to notify 
any  measures  to  transpose  a  number  of  these  instruments.  In  December  2015  the  Commission 
contacted  those  which  had  failed  to  notify  complete  measures  for  transposing  the  following 
instruments:  

  Council Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA (also called the ‘Swedish initiative’),  
  Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA on combating corruption in the private sector,  
  Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA on the fight against organised crime,  
  Framework  Decision  2009/315/JHA  on  exchange  of  information  extracted  from  criminal 

records between Member States (ECRIS),  

  Framework Decision 2009/829/JHA on the European supervision order,  
  Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA on probation and alternative sanctions, and  
  Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA on transfer of prisoners. 

The  Commission  also  assessed  the  conformity  with  EU  law  of  the  national  transposition  measures 
notified. 

7.  Towards a new policy on migration 
President  Juncker's  political  guidelines  of  July  2014  put  migration  among  the  Commission’s  top 
political  priorities  for  its  2014-2019  term.  In  this  context,  in  2015  the  Commission  adopted  the 
European  Agenda  on  Migration.66  The  Agenda  provides  a  new  and  comprehensive  approach  which 
combines  both  internal  and  external  policies  and  is  grounded  in  mutual  trust  and  solidarity  between 
EU Member States and institutions. It puts the focus on effective implementation of EU law. Full and 
consistent application by the Member States of the common rules on asylum and irregular migration 
should be ensured by systematic monitoring by the Commission. 

61   COM(2015)185 final. 
62   Regulation (EU) No 98/2013. 
63   Directive 2011/36/EU. 
64   Directive 2011/93/EU. 
65   Directive 2013/40/EU. 
66   COM(2015)240 final. 

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In the light of the Agenda, in 2015 the Commission gave priority to work concerning infringements of 
any  legal  instruments  on  asylum,  with  a  particular  focus  on  swift  handling  of  all  late  transposition 
cases. By the end of the year the Commission had opened 37 infringement cases for late transposition 
of  the recast Asylum  Procedures  Directive67  and  the  recast Reception  Conditions  Directive68.  In  two 
cases  of  late  transposition  of  the  recast  Qualifications  Directive,69  the  Commission  addressed 
reasoned opinions to the Member States concerned. 

The  Commission  also  pursued  infringement  procedures  against  Member  States  for  incorrect 
implementation  and/or  breaches  of  EU  asylum  legislation.  These  involved  in  particular  systemic 
deficiencies  (addressed  in  a  second  additional  letter  of  formal  notice  to  Greece)  and  in  the  case  of 
Hungary  the  compliance  of  newly  adopted  legislation  with  the  EU  asylum  acquis  and  the  Charter  of 
Fundamental  Rights.  The  Commission  also  opened  infringement  procedures  against  four  Member 
States  for  incorrect  implementation  of  the  Eurodac  Regulation.70  These  related  to  the  obligation  to 
take  the  fingerprints  of  people  applying  for  asylum  or  entering  irregularly  at  external  borders,  and  to 
transmit them to the Eurodac system. 

Correct  implementation  of  the  Return  Directive71  is  key  for  achieving  the  Agenda’s  objectives  in 
combating and preventing irregular migration. In this area, the Commission addressed administrative 
letters to Member States on the issuance of return decisions and on their enforcement in compliance 
with  the  Return  Directive.  It  also  opened  an  infringement  procedure  against  one  Member  State  for 
incorrect implementation of the Directive. 

The  Commission  reported  regularly  to  the  public  on  the  state  of  play  in  implementation  of  the  EU 
asylum acquis.72 

8.  Working with Member States to ensure proper implementation of EU law 
One  of the key goals of the Better Regulation Package  is  to ensure that EU law is correctly applied 
and implemented by the Member States. The way new legislation will be implemented is to be taken 
into account already during its design, and well before its adoption. According to the consistent case-
law of the Court of Justice, Member States have to inform the Commission in a clear and precise way 
on how they translate EU directives into their national rules.73 

Furthermore, in justified cases the legislator, upon proposal of the Commission, inserts a recital which 
refers to the commitment of the Member States to transmit explanatory documents to the Commission, 
in addition to the text of the national transposition measures, (see subsection 8.2.). 

8.1. Implementation plans: state of play 

In  the  Better  Regulation  Package,  the  Commission  committed  to  actively  help  Member  States 
transpose  and  implement  legislation  by  preparing  implementation  plans  for  certain  directives  and 
regulations.  While  the  responsibility  for  the  application  of  EU  law  lies  with  the  Member  States,  the 
implementation  plans  aim  to  help  them  apply  the  law  effectively  and  on  time.  The  plans  identify 
challenges  which  the  Member  States  will  face  and  which  need  to  be  taken  into  account  when  they 
prepare to transpose and implement the law. The plans also provide for a wide range of tools to help 
Member  States  implement  EU  laws,  such  as  guidance  documents,  expert  groups  and  dedicated 
websites. 

Implementation  plans  accompanied  five  proposals  for  directives  —  one  on  employment  and  social 
inclusion and four on the environment — issued by the Commission in 2015.  

67   Directive 2013/32/EU. 
68   Directive 2013/33/EU. 
69   Directive 2011/95/EU. 
70   Regulation (EU) No 603/2013. 
71   Directive 2008/115/EC. 
72   COM(2015)490 final and COM(2015)510 final. 
73   Case C-427/07, Commission v Ireland, point 107. 

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An implementation plan was prepared for the Commission proposal on a directive to facilitate disabled 
consumers'  access  to  a  number  of  products  and  services.  74  The  plan  outlines  the  Commission's 
assistance to Member States in the following main risk areas: 

  proper transposition of the directive within two years and its correct application from six years 

from adoption; 

  adequate monitoring and evaluation of the Directive, which is to be ensured by reports every 

five years; and 

  efforts to ensure consumer awareness of the products and services targeted by the Directive. 
These  will  require  close  cooperation  with  economic  operators,  stakeholders  and  national 
authorities. 

Another implementation plan accompanied four proposals for directives that form part of the 'Circular 
Economy' Package  75. These proposals would amend six waste management Directives: on waste,76 
packaging and packaging waste,77 landfill of waste,78 end-of-life vehicles,79 batteries and accumulators 
and  waste  batteries  and  accumulators,80  and  waste  electrical  and  electronic  equipment.81  The  plan 
identifies  the  following  implementation  challenges,  together  with  possible  support  actions  by  the 
Commission:   

 

reaching the targets within the deadlines. This involves developing infrastructure for separate 
collection  and  treatment  of  waste,  updating  waste  management  plans,  enforcement  and 
coordination  between  authorities  at  all  levels,  reducing  the  use  of  landfilling  capacities,  and 
implementing economic instruments; and 

  monitoring and quality reporting. This includes improving data collection and developing more 

reliable data verification systems and reporting schemes. 

The  Commission  considers  that  these  plans  will  help  Member  States  transpose  and  implement  the 
proposed  directives  effectively.  The  Commission  will  monitor  the  use  Member  States  make  of  the 
implementation plans. 

8.2. Explanatory documents: state of play 

The  EU  institutions  and  the  Member  States  agreed  in  2011  that  Member  States,  when  notifying 
national transposition measures to the Commission, may also have to provide information on how they 
have  transposed  directives  into  their  law.82  The  Commission  can  ask  Member  States  to  submit  this 
supporting information (‘explanatory documents’) in justified cases.83 

Explanatory  documents  play  an  essential  role  in  promoting  good  understanding  of  national 
transposition  measures.  They  help  to  understand  compliance  monitoring:  without  the  documents, 
considerable resources and numerous contacts with national authorities would be required to track the 
methods  of  transposition  in  all  Member  States.  As  transposing  measures  must  be  merged  with  a 
complex existing legal framework, the resulting transposition exercise produces hundreds of measures 
to be examined. 

74   Proposal  for  a  Directive  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the  approximation  of  the  laws, 
regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States as regards the accessibility requirements for 
products and services, COM(2015)615. 
IP/15/6203. 

75  
76   Directive 2008/98/EC. 
77   Directive 94/62/EC. 
78   Directive 1999/31/EC. 
79   Directive 2000/53/EC. 
80   Directive 2006/66/EC. 
81   Directive 2012/19/EC. 
82   The  policy  is  contained  in  a  (1)  Joint  Political  Declaration  of  28  September  2011  between  the  Commission 
and the Member States (OJ 2011/C 369/02) and (2) a Joint Political Declaration of 27 October 2011 between 
the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (OJ 2011/C 369/03). 

83   The  standard  recital  in  such  directives  reads  as  follows:  Member  States  ‘undertake  to  accompany  the 
notification of transposition measures with one or more explanatory documents, which can take the form of 
correlation tables or other documents serving the same purpose’. The Commission will have ‘to justify on a 
case  by  case  basis,  when  submitting  the  relevant  proposals,  the  need  for,  and  the  proportionality  of, 
providing such documents’. 

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In  2015,  the  Commission  requested  explanatory  documents  in  12  out  of  14  proposals  for  directives 
submitted to the European Parliament and the Council. The 38 directives that the Parliament and the 
Council  adopted  during  the  year  included  7  for  which  the  Commission  had  requested  explanatory 
documents.  In  all  seven,  the  agreed  recital  on  the  need  for  such  documents  was  maintained  in  the 
final text. 

During  the  year  Member  States  had  to  transpose  56  directives84.  They  had  undertaken  to  submit 
explanatory documents for 11 of these85. The process of assessing  the national measures for these 
directives  is  under  way,  so  the  Commission  cannot  yet  draw  conclusions  on  the  quality  of  the 
explanatory documents received.  

Two  of  the  eleven  directives  for  which  the  Member  States  had  undertaken  to  provide  explanatory 
documents  concern  the  environment.  The  Commission  received  12  explanatory  documents  for  the 
Directive  on  the  control  of  major-accident  hazards  involving  dangerous  substances86  and  13  for  the 
Directive  on  priority  substances  in  the  field  of  water  policy.87  These  documents  helped  the 
Commission to assess the transposition of these directives in the Member States concerned. A good 
practice  was  the  correlation  tables  notified  by  Hungary  for  the  Directive  on  major-accident  hazards. 
They were of good quality and contained the details needed, enabling the Commission to assess the 
completeness of Hungary's transposition of this important directive into national law. 

Four  of  the  eleven  directives  are  in  the  field  of  financial  markets.  Member  States  notified  to  the 
Commission  11  explanatory  documents  for  the  Accounting  Directive,88  5  for  the  Transparency 
Directive,89 9 for the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive90 and 13 for the Omnibus II Directive.91 In 
many  cases,  the  explanatory  documents  provided  are  correlation  tables,  which  in  general  include 
accurate  information  on  the  transposition  of  the  provisions  of  the  Directive  and  the  related  national 
provisions.  The  quality  of  the  documents  submitted  varies.  In  one  case,  in  addition  to  the  national 
provisions  transposing  each  provision  of  the  Deposit  Guarantee  Schemes  Directive,  they  also  show 
which provisions have not been transposed and why, and the options and discretions that have been 
exercised.  In  other  cases,  explanatory  documents  submitted  for  the  Omnibus  II  Directive,  which 
amends  two  previous  directives,92  are  incomplete;  they  refer  to  only  one  of  the  Directives  amended 
and do not provide an overview of the transposition of the other parts of the amending directive. 

Two of the eleven directives concern transport. The Commission received six explanatory documents 
for the Directive establishing a single European railway area93 and eleven for the Directive on driving 
licences.94  The  quality  of  the  documents  on  the  former  appears  satisfactory  and  they  provide  the 
Commission with the necessary information. Assessment of those on the Driving Licences Directive is 
only starting as the transposition deadline was 31 December 2015.  

Two of the eleven directives are in the field of  migration and home affairs. Fifteen Member States 
submitted documents in the form of correlation tables on their transposition of the Asylum Procedures 

84   For  some  of  these  56  directives,  some  Member  States  have  a  transitional  period  and  some  other  Member 

States are not concerned. 

85   Directives 2012/18/EU (ENVIRONMENT), 2013/39/EU (ENVIRONMENT), 2013/34/EU (FISMA), 2013/50/EU 
(FISMA),  2014/49/EU  (FISMA),  2014/51/EU  (FISMA),  2013/32/EU  (HOME),  2013/33/EU  (HOME), 
2013/11/EU (JUST), 2012/34/EU (MOVE) and 2014/85/EU (MOVE). 

86   Directive 2012/18/EU. 
87   Directive 2013/39/EU. 
88   Directive 2013/34/EU. 
89   Directive 2013/50/EU. 
90   Directive 2014/49/EU. 
91   Directive 2014/51/EU. 
92   Directives 2009/138/EC and 2003/71/EC. 
93   Directive 2012/34/EU. 
94   Directive 2014/85/EU. 

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Directive.95  For  the  Reception  Conditions  Directive,96  13  Member  States  submitted  explanatory 
documents. In almost all cases detailed correlation tables have been submitted. 

The last of the 11 directives is on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes97. For this 
the  Commission  received  11  explanatory  documents.  Their  quality  seems  satisfactory.  In  particular, 
one Member State included comments on national case law and administrative measures which shed 
light  on  the  national  system.  Another  Member  State  provided  indications  of  how  transposition  has 
been  carried  out  and  why  there  was  no  need  to  transpose  certain  measures  since  national  rules 
already  existed  (which  were  always  copied  into  the  document).  One  Member  State  gave  clear 
references for rules transposed at decentralised level. 

In  2015,  Member  States  did  not  deliver  in  all  cases  on  their  commitment  to  provide  explanatory 
documents together with the national measures transposing the directives in their legal order. Where 
explanatory  documents  have  been  submitted,  a  first  assessment  indicates  that  their  quality  was 
uneven.. 

The Commission will continue to report to the Parliament and the Council on explanatory documents 
in its annual reports on the application of EU law. 

95   Directive 2013/32/EU. 
96   Directive 2013/33/EU. 
97   Directive 2013/11/EU. 

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III. 

Infringement procedures 

There are three main types of infringements of EU law: 

a)  failure to notify: a Member State does not notify the Commission on time of its 

measures to transpose a directive; 

b)  non-conformity/non-compliance:  the  Commission  considers  that  a  Member 

c) 

State’s legislation is not in line with the requirements of EU legislation; 
incorrect/bad  application:  EU  law  is  not  applied correctly,  or  not  applied  at all, 
by national authorities. 

Infringements may be detected by the Commission’s own investigations or brought to its attention 
by complaints or petitions from members of the public, businesses, NGOs or other organisations. 
The Commission actively associates citizens to the handling of their complaints, informing them of 
the decisions taken throughout all stages of the procedure.98  

If an EU Pilot dialogue with a Member State regarding a suspected infringement is unsuccessful, 
or if urgency or other overriding interest require immediate action, the Commission may decide to 
launch  a  formal  infringement  procedure  under  Article  258  TFEU.  The  infringement  procedure  is 
divided into a pre-litigation phase and a litigation phase. 

In  the  pre-litigation  phase,  the  Commission  first  sends  a  letter  of  formal  notice  to  the  Member 
State  requesting  an  explanation  within  a  given  time  limit.  If  the  Member  State’s  reply  is 
unsatisfactory  or  it  does  not  reply  at  all,  the  Commission  sends  a  reasoned  opinion  asking  the 
Member State to comply within a given time limit. 

Should the Member  State not comply with the reasoned opinion, the Commission may open the 
litigation procedure by bringing the case to the Court of Justice under Article 258 TFEU. 

When it brings a case before the Court against a Member State for failing to fulfil its obligations to 
notify  measures  transposing  a  directive  adopted  under  a  legislative  procedure,  the  Commission 
may propose financial penalties under Article 260(3) TFEU. 

The  Court  may  agree  with  the  Commission  and  rule  that  the  Member  State  has  breached  its 
obligations under EU law. If the Court does so but the Member State still does not take the steps 
needed to comply, the Commission may continue the infringement procedure under Article 260(2) 
TFEU.  This  involves  referring  the  Member  State  to  the  Court  again  after  having  sent  a  letter  of 
formal  notice  under  Article  260  (2)  TFEU.  In  such  cases  the  Commission  can  propose,  and  the 
Court can impose, financial sanctions in the form of a lump sum and/or penalties per day or other 
specified period. 

The  Court  of  Justice  may  also  address  conformity  issues  of  national  laws  in  regard  of  EU 
legislation in preliminary rulings  under Article 267 TFEU at the request of national courts. Whilst 
preliminary  rulings  are  distinct  from  infringement  judgments,  this  gives  the  Commission  an 
additional opportunity to ensure that violations of Union law deriving from national legislation or its 
application  are  remedied.  The  Commission  is  systematically  following-up  on  Court's  preliminary 
rulings where the Court identified non-conformities of national legislations.   

98   Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on updating the handling 

of relations with the complainant in respect of the application of Union law, COM(2012)154 final.  

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IV.  Before an infringement procedure is started 

1.  Detecting problems 

1.1. Own-initiative cases 

The Commission examines the implementation of EU law mainly on its own initiative. Unless 
urgency  or  an  overriding  interest  require  otherwise,  when  it  suspects  non-compliance  the 
Commission usually first opens bilateral discussions with the Member State concerned via EU 
Pilot with a view to finding a solution complying with EU law (EU Pilot is explained in point 2 
below). 578 EU Pilot investigations were launched in 2015 (against 777 in 2014). 

In 2015 mobility and transport, energy and environment were the three policy areas with the 
highest number of potential infringements (with 96, 84 and 77 new EU Pilot files respectively). 
The Member States primarily concerned were Italy, Portugal and Germany (37, 30 and 28 new 
EU Pilot files respectively). 

1.2. Complaints and petitions 

In  2015,  members  of  the  public,  businesses,  NGOs  and  other  organisations  remained  very 
active in reporting potential breaches of EU law. However, the number of new complaints fell 
for the first time since 2011 (by around 9 % against 2014). 

Number of complaints (2011-2015) 

3715 

3505 

3450 

3141 

3115 

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

The chart below shows further key data on complaints from members of the public:99 

Public complaints open at year-end 

2963  >  Complaints open at end-2014 

3450  >  New complaints registered in 2015 

3315  >  Complaints handled in 2015 

= 3098  >  Complaints open at end-2015 

3 450 new complaints were registered in 2015. The three Member States against which the 
most complaints were filed were Italy, Spain and Germany. 

99   From the sum of complaint files open at end-2014 and new complaints opened in 2015 (2963+3450=6413), 
the number of complaints handled during 2015 is subtracted to give the number of complaints open at end-
2015 (6413-3315=3098). 

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• 

• 

• 

Italy:  637  complaints,  most  of  them  related  to:  employment,  social  affairs  and 
inclusion (286 complaints); taxation and customs union (69 complaints); and internal 
market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs (64 complaints); 

Spain: 342 complaints, especially in connection with: employment, social affairs and 
inclusion (66 complaints); justice and consumers (65 complaints); and internal market, 
industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs (59 complaints); and 

Germany: 274 complaints, mainly related to: justice and consumers (48 complaints); 
taxation  and  customs  union  (36  complaints);  and 
industry, 
entrepreneurship and SMEs (32 complaints). 

internal  market, 

The  following  chart  shows  the  five  policy  areas  with  the  highest  number  of  new  complaints. 
Together they account for 72 % of all complaints submitted against all Member States in 2015. 

New complaints registered in 2015: main policy areas 

Other 
976 

Employment, 
social affairs and 
inclusion 
612 

Internal market, 
industry, 
entrepreneurship 
and SMEs 
552 

Environment 
363 

Taxation and 
customs union 
423 

Justice and 
consumers 
524 

3 315  complaints  were  handled  in  2015.  Once  it  had  assessed  the  complaints,  the 
Commission opened EU Pilot dialogues with Member States to clarify whether EU rules had 
been  breached.  Not  all  complaints  led  to  bilateral  discussions  with  Member  States,  for  the 
following  reasons:  no  EU  laws  were  breached  (2247),  the  Commission  had  no  power  to  act 
(152) or the correspondence did not qualify as a complaint (454). These 2853 complaints have 
therefore been closed. 

Complaints  leading  to  discussions  in  EU  Pilot  were  most  frequently  related  to  the  internal 
market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs; taxation and customs; and employment, social 
affairs and inclusion (76, 55 and 28 files opened under EU Pilot respectively). 

 These complaints also mainly concerned Italy, Spain and Germany.  

• 

• 

• 

Italy:  30  new  EU  Pilot  files,  most  of  them  related  to  complaints  about  taxation  and 
customs (8); internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs (5) and health and 
food safety (4); 

Spain:  24  new  EU  Pilot  files,  especially  in  connection  with  complaints  about 
employment,  social  affairs  and 
industry, 
entrepreneurship and SMEs (4); and 

inclusion  (7)  and 

internal  market, 

Germany: 21 new EU Pilot files, most of them related to complaints about the internal 
market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs (10) and taxation and customs (5). 

18 

 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2015 Annual Report 

Through  petitions  and  questions,  the  European  Parliament  alerted  the  Commission  to 
shortcomings  in  the  way  some  Member  States  were  implementing  and  applying  certain  EU 
laws in 2015. These include: 

  Environment: A letter of formal notice was sent to Finland over its transposition of the 

Directive on public access to environmental information100. 

In five other environmental cases the Commission began bilateral dialogues with the 
Member  States  concerned.  The  cases  involve  shale  gas,  management  of  wolves, 
incorrect  application  of  the  Directive  on  strategic  environmental  assessment101,  and 
the  conformity  of  national legislation with  the requirements  of  the Directive  on public 
access to environmental information102.  

  Justice: A written question in Parliament led the Commission to raise concerns with a 
Member  State  about  the  compatibility  of  its  national  legislation  on  law  enforcement 
workers with the principle of free movement of persons. Also, following a petition, the 
Commission started  a bilateral  dialogue  with a  Member  State  over  its  restrictions  on 
name-changing after marriage. 

  Taxation: The Commission launched bilateral discussions with a number of Member 
States on taxes on immovable properties and local residence tax paid by students. 

2.  Solving problems 

EU Pilot is a Commission initiative which aims  to find solutions  to problems  in the application of 
EU  law.  It  is  supported  by  an  online  database  and  communication  tool.  Through  the  dialogue  in 
EU Pilot, problems can be often solved more quickly ensuring compliance with the obligations of 
EU law, to the benefit of the public and businesses. 

The  number  of  new  EU  Pilot  files  increased  gradually  between  2011  and  2013  (see  the  chart 
below). However, in 2015 the number fell back below its 2011 level: 881 new files were opened (a 
drop of around 30 % from 2014). 

Number of EU Pilot files (2011-2015) 

1502 

1405 

1201 

1208 

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

881 

100   Directive 2003/4/EC. 
101   Directive 2001/42/EC. 
102   Directive 2003/4/EC. 

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Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2015 Annual Report 

The following chart shows the main EU Pilot figures for 2015:103 

EU Pilot files open at the year-end 

1348  >  EU Pilot files open at end-2014 

 881  >  New EU Pilot files registered in 2015 

969  >  EU Pilot files handled in 2015 

= 1260  >  EU Pilot files open at end-2015 

881 new EU Pilot files were opened in 2015. Of these 295 were triggered by complaints and 
578 were opened by the Commission on its own initiative. 

The following pie chart shows the policy areas in which most new EU Pilot files were opened 
in 2015: 

EU Pilot files opened in 2015: main policy areas 

Taxation and 
customs 
90 

Environment 
101 

Justice and 
consumers 
103 

Internal market, 
industry, 
entrepreneurship 
and SMEs 
107 

Other 
357 

Mobility and 
transport 
123 

969  EU  Pilot  files  were  handled  in  2015.  The  Commission  closed  726  of  these  after 
receiving satisfactory answers from the Member States concerned. This gives a resolution rate 
of 75 %, exactly the same as in 2014. 

Altogether,  243  EU  Pilot  files  were  closed  because  the  Commission  rejected  the  responses 
provided by Member  States. Of these,  201 were followed by formal infringement procedures 
(there  were  325  such  files  in  2014).  While  65  of  them  were  complaint-based,  the  remaining 
136 were own initiatives by the Commission. 

Most EU Pilot files which led to formal infringement procedures concerned the following policy 
areas:  mobility  and  transport  (50  cases),  environment  (38),  internal  market,  industry, 
entrepreneurship  and  SMEs  (29),  and  taxation  and  customs  union  (26).  Italy,  France  and 
Spain  had  the  highest  number  of  files  in  EU  Pilot  that  were  followed  by  infringement 
procedures (at 19, 17 and 16 files each respectively). 

103  From the sum of EU Pilot files open at end-2014 and new EU Pilot files opened in 2015 (1348+881=2229), 
the  number  of  files  handled  during 2015  is subtracted  to  give the  number  of files  open  at end-2015 (2229-
969=1260). 

20 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2015 Annual Report 

EU Pilot files: EU average resolution rate (2011-2015) 

75% 

75% 

73% 

70% 

68% 

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

1 260  EU  Pilot  files  were  open  at  the  end  of  2015.  Most  of  them  concerned  Italy  (111), 
Spain (78), and Poland (74). The environment remained the main policy area concerned, with 
298 open files, followed by justice (191) and taxation and customs (141). 

The  following  chart  shows  the  EU  Pilot  resolution  rate  (the  number  of  files  the  Commission 
closed without opening an infringement case by Member States in 2015) related to the number 
of files handled in the same year. 

EU Pilot files: Resolution rate versus number of files handled in 2015 

90

85

80

75

70

65

60

55

50

r
e
b
m
e
M

l
l

a
r
o
f

s
e

l
i
f

t
o

l
i

P
U
E

f
o

e
t
a
r

l

n
o
i
t
u
o
s
e
R

)

%

(

5
1
0
2
n

i

s
e
t
a
t
S

Netherlands 

Greece 

Estonia 

Slovenia 

Malta & Luxembourg 

Latvia 

Denmark 

Ireland 

Bulgaria 

United Kingdom 

Finland 

Slovakia & Lithuania 

Poland 

EU average resolution rate 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Sweden 
 & Hungary 

Belgium 

Portugal 

Czech Republic 

Romania 

Croatia 

Germany 

Austria 

Spain 

France 

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

EU Pilot files handled in 2015 (in absolute numbers) 

Member States should provide a solution to a problem within 10 weeks (70 days) of being notified 
of it by the Commission in EU Pilot. The next chart shows the average response time by Member 
State in 2015. 

21 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2015 Annual Report 

EU Pilot files: Member States' response times in 2015 (in days) 

85  85 

83  83 

80  80  80 

81 

78 

70 days benchmark 

73  73  73  73 

72 

74 

71  71 

70 

66  66  66  67  68 

69 

62 

59 

58 

57 

SK LT PT NL BG HR HU LV AT DE IE EL PL SI CY EE MT SE IT ES DK LU RO FI CZ UK BE FR

V.  Stages in infringement procedures 

1.  Pre-litigation phase 

In 2015, the Commission launched 742 new procedures by sending a letter of formal notice. 
The following chart gives the breakdown by Member State. 

New infringement cases at  
31 December 2015 

47 

40 

37  37 

35  35 

21 21  21  21  22  22 

24  25  25  26  27 

31  31 

32 

29  29 

16  17  17 

18  18  18 

EE IE NL DK HR LV AT CZ FI LT MT UK LU BG SK PL HU RO SE IT PT SI FR BE DE ES EL CY

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2015 Annual Report 

The following chart shows the main policy areas in which new procedures were opened. 

New infringement cases opened in 2015: main policy 
areas 

Environment 
126 

Financial 
stability, 
financial 
services and 
capital markets 
union 
136 

Mobility and 
transport 
148 

Internal market, 
industry, 
entrepreneurship 
& SMEs 
78 

Other 
254 

The Commission also sent 248 reasoned opinions to Member States during 2015. The main 
policy areas concerned were mobility and transport (49), environment (40), financial services 
(40) and energy (36). 

The following chart gives the breakdown by Member State. 

Reasoned opinions sent to Member States in 2015 

21 

19 

16 

8  8 

7  7 

6  6  6 

9  9  9  9 

13  13  13 

12 

11 

10  10 

5  5  5 

4  4 

2 

1 

HR LV DK SK LT MT PT IE NL UK HU SE AT FI CY EE RO SI BG CZ BE DE FR IT LU EL ES PL

At the end of 2015, 1 368 infringement cases remained open. This is a slight increase from the 
previous year but still well below the 2011 level, as the following chart shows. 

23 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2015 Annual Report 

Infringement cases open at year-end (2011-2015) 

1775 

1343 

1300 

1347 

1368 

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

The following chart shows the number of open infringement cases by Member State at the end of 
2015: 

Infringement cases open on 31 December 2015 

88  89 

78  80  82  83 

65 

55 

46  46  47  47  48  49  50 

31  33  35  37  38  38  39 

42 

21  23  24  26  28 

7  8  13  18 20  15  16  14  25  13  14  18  13  17  15  25  30  14  18  24  15  23  30  24  24  21  24  20 

HR DK MT EE LV FI LT IE LU HU NL BG SE CZ SK CY SI UK AT RO PT BE PL FR EL ES DE IT

Top figures: Total number of infringements

Infringements for incorrect transposition and/or bad application of EU laws

Late transposition infringements

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2015 Annual Report 

The following chart shows the breakdown of the infringement cases open at the end of 2015, by policy 
area: 

Infringement cases open at end-2015: policy areas 

Justice and 
consumers 
80 

Taxation and 
customs 
108 

Employment 
75 

Energy 
73 

Communication 
networks 
31 

Health and food 
safety 
25 
Other 
49 

Migration and 
home affairs 
109 

Internal market, 
industry, 
entrepreneurship 
and SMEs 
129 

Environment 
276 

Financial stability, 
financial services 
and capital 
markets union 
172 

Mobility and 
transport 
241 

Even after it has launched a formal procedure the Commission continues its dialogue with the 
Member  State  in  order  to  seek  compliance.  Statistics  confirm  that  Member  States  make 
serious efforts to settle their infringements before the Court hands down its ruling.104 

In 2015, the Commission closed: 

•  474 infringements after sending letters of formal notice; 

•  183 cases after sending reasoned opinions; and 

•  12 cases after deciding to refer the case to the Court but before submitting the application. 
In  addition,  the  Commission  withdrew  13  cases  from  the  Court  before  the  latter  handed 
down its ruling. 

2.  Judgments of the Court of Justice under Articles 258 and 260(2) TFEU 

In 2015 the Court gave 25 judgments under Article 258 TFEU, of which 18 (82 %) were in the 
Commission's favour. The Court delivered the most judgments against: 

  Poland (four, all in the Commission's favour),  

  Belgium (two, both in the Commission's favour),  

  Bulgaria (two, both in the Commission's favour),  

104  The  figures  that  follow  were  calculated  for  all  infringement  cases  irrespective  of  origin  (i.e.  complaint, 

Commission’s own initiative or late transposition of directives by Member States). 

25 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2015 Annual Report 

  France (two, both in the Commission's favour),  

  Germany (two, both in the Commission's favour),  

  Greece (two, both in the Commission's favour),  

  Luxembourg (two, both in the Commission's favour),  

  Slovakia (two, both in Slovakia’s favour) and  

 

the United Kingdom (two, one of them in the United Kingdom’s favour).  

Taxation  (9),  employment  (6)  and  environment  (4)  were  the  subject  of  the  most  Court 
judgments in 2015. 

Member  States  frequently  take  the  measures  needed  to  comply  with  a  Court  judgment 
promptly. However, at the end of the year 85 infringement procedures were still open after a 
Court ruling because the Commission considered that the Member States concerned had not 
yet complied with the judgments under Article 258 TFEU. Most of these cases involved  
Greece  (10), Poland (8)  and  Spain (7) and  were related  to environment (35),  transport (12), 
taxation (9) and health and consumer protection (7). 

Of these 85 cases, 2 had already been referred to the Court for the second  time. When the 
Court  imposes  financial  penalties  under  Article  260(2)  TFEU,  the  defaulting  Member  State 
must pay the lump sum immediately and continue to pay the periodic penalty until it complies 
fully with the first and second Court judgments. In 2015, the Court delivered three judgments 
under Article 260(2) TFEU. It imposed penalty payments on Italy 105 and Greece 106. At the end 
of  2015,  seven  infringement  procedures  were  still  open  after  a  Court  ruling  under  Article 
260(2) TFEU. 

105   Commission v Italy, C-653/13 (lump sum payment of EUR 20 million; penalty: EUR 120 000 for each day of 
non-compliance  with  the  judgment  under  Article  258  TFEU);  Commission  v  Italy,  C-367/14  (lump  sum 
payment of EUR 30 million; penalty: EUR 12 million for each half-year of non-compliance with the judgment 
under Article 258 TFEU). 

106   Commission v Greece, C-167/14 (lump sum payment of EUR 10 million; penalty: EUR 3.64 million for each 

half-year of non-compliance with the judgment under Article 258 TFEU). 

26 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2015 Annual Report 

VI. 

Transposition of directives 

1.  Late transposition 
Combating  late  transposition  is  a  long-established  priority  for  the  Commission.  The  Commission 
therefore proposes financial sanctions whenever it refers a Member State to the Court of Justice under 
Articles  258  and  260(3)  TFEU  for  not  having  communicated  on  time  its  measures  to  transpose  a 
directive adopted under a legislative procedure (see details in subsection VI.2). 

Directives and late transposition infringement cases 

1185 

447 

478 

585 

543 

131 

56 

74 

67 

56 

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Number of directives with transposition deadline in a given year

New late transposition infringements

There were 56 directives to transpose in 2015, fewer than the 67 in 2014. New late transposition 
infringements also fell slightly, to 543 from 585. 

518 late transposition infringement cases were still open at the end of 2015, a 19 % increase 
on the 421 cases open at the end of 2014. 

The following chart gives the key figures on late transposition infringement cases (LTIs) launched 
by the Commission in 2015: 

Late transposition infringement cases open at year-end 

421 

>  LTIs open at end-2014 

 543 

>  New LTIs registered in 2015 

 446 

>  LTIs closed in 2015 

= 518 

>  LTIs open at end-2015 

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2015 Annual Report 

The  following  chart  shows  the  number  of  LTIs  open  at  the  end  of  2015  by  Member  State, 
irrespective of the year in which the case was opened. 

Late transposition infringement cases open on 31 December 2015 

30  30 

24  24  24  24 

23 

25  25 

21 

20  20 

18  18  18 

17 

16 

15  15  15 

13  13  13 

14  14  14 

8 

7 

HR DK HU MT SE IE NL UK FI PT SK LT CZ AT BG EE IT LV ES BE DE EL FR RO CY LU PL SI

The next chart shows new LTI cases (543 in total) opened in 2015, by Member State. 

New late transposition infringement cases 

38 

32 

29 

28 

22 22 22 22 22 

23 

20 20 

15 15 15 15 

14 

16 16 16 16 

18 18 18 

17 17 

11 

6 

HR NL AT DK EE IE SK ES LT LV UK CZ HU FI

IT PT BGMT DE FR LU PL RO SE BE SI EL CY

28 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2015 Annual Report 

The policy areas in which the new cases were launched in 2015 are shown in the following chart: 

New late transposition infringement cases opened in 2015: 
main policy areas 

Other 
180 

Financial 
stability, financial 
services and 
capital markets 
union 
125 

Environment 
88 

Internal market, 
industry, 
entrepreneurship 
and SMEs 
56 

Mobility and 
transport 
94 

New  cases  were  launched  against  26  Member  States  for  late  transposition  of  the  Directive 
establishing a framework for the recovery and resolution of credit institutions and investment 
firms.107  In  addition,  23  Member  States  were  involved  in  cases  of  late  transposition  of  the 
Directive  on  the  powers  of  the  European  Supervisory  Authority.108  Twenty-one  procedures 
were  launched  over  late  transposition  of  the  Solvency  II  Directive,109  the  Directive  on  the 
control  of  major-accident  hazards  involving  dangerous  substances110  and  the  Directive 
establishing a single European railway area.111 

2.  Referrals to the Court of Justice under Article 258/260(3) TFEU 

Under  Article  260(3)  TFEU,  the  Commission  may  propose  financial  penalties  even  when 
referring a case for the first time to the Court of Justice under Article 258 TFEU for absence of 
complete  transposition  of  a  legislative  Directive.  This  innovation,  introduced  in  the  Treaty  of 
Lisbon, aims to give Member States a greater incentive to transpose directives on time. The 
Commission decides  on  the  level of  financial  penalties  to propose  in  line  with  the policy  laid 
down in its Communication on the implementation of Article 260(3) TFEU.112 

In 2015, the Commission continued to bring late transposition infringement cases to the Court 
of  Justice  with  a  request  for  daily  penalties  under  Article  260(3)  TFEU.  Five  Member  States 
were  referred  to  the  Court  in  2015:  Poland  (two  cases)113  and  Germany,114  Greece,115 

107   Directive 2014/59/EU. 
108   Directive 2014/51/EU. 
109   Directive 2009/138/EC. 
110   Directive 2012/18/EU. 
111   Directive 2012/34/EU. 
112   OJ C 12, 15.1.2011, p. 1–5.  
113   Commission v Poland, C-545/15. The Commission referred Poland to the Court for failing to fully implement 
the  Waste  Electrical  and  Electronic  Equipment  Directive.  It  proposed  a  daily  penalty  of  EUR  71 610; 
Commission v Poland, C-683/15. The Commission referred Poland to the Court for failing to fully implement 
the  Directive  establishing  a  framework  for  the  recovery  and  resolution  of  credit  institutions  and  investment 
firms. It proposed a daily penalty of EUR 51 456. 

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Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2015 Annual Report 

Luxembourg116  and  Slovenia117  (one  case  each).  The  Commission  withdrew  its  application 
from the Court in the case concerning Slovenia’s late transposition of the Waste Directive.118 
In  another  case  concerning  late  transposition  of  the  Directive  on  the  protection  of  animals 
used for scientific purposes, the Commission took a decision for referral but the Member State 
adopted the necessary transposition measures  before the application was sent to Court and 
thus avoided the Court procedure. 

In 2015, Member States increased their efforts to complete transposition before the Court of 
Justice  delivered  its  judgments.  However,  four  cases  with  a  proposal  for  daily  penalties 
remained  open:  two  cases  against  Poland,  and  one  case  each  against  Greece  and 
Luxembourg.  

In  one  case,  the  Member  State  concerned  completed  transposition  and  the  Commission 
accordingly withdrew the infringement action at a very late stage in the Court proceedings.119 
This  particularly  late  withdrawal  led  the  Commission  to  consider  revising  its  policy  on  the 
implementation  of  Art  260(3)  TFEU120  in  order  to  ensure  more  effective  and  timely 
transposition of EU Directives in the Member States.121 

114   Commission  v  Germany,  C–546/15.  The  Commission  referred  Germany  to  the  Court  for  failing  to  fully 
implement  the  Waste  Electrical  and  Electronic  Equipment  Directive.  It  proposed  a  daily  penalty  of  EUR 
210 078. 

115   Commission v Greece, C-540/15. The Commission referred Greece to the Court for failing to fully implement 

the Energy Efficiency Directive. It proposed a daily penalty of EUR 29 145.6. 

116   Commission v Luxembourg, C-684/15. The Commission referred Luxembourg to the Court for failing to fully 
implement  the  Directive  establishing  a  framework  for  the  recovery  and  resolution  of  credit  institutions  and 
investment firms. It proposed a daily penalty of EUR 6 700. 

117   Commission  v  Slovenia,  C-357/15.  The  Commission  referred  Slovenia  to  the  Court  for  failing  to  fully 
implement  the  Waste  Electrical  and  Electronic  Equipment  Directive.  It  proposed  a  daily  penalty  of  EUR 
8 408.4. 

118   Directive 2012/19/EU. 
119   Commission v. Poland C-320/13, IP/15/4499. 
120   OJ C12, 15.01.2011, p.1-5. 
121   IP/15/4499. 

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VII.  Conclusions 

The  high  number  of  infringement  procedures  in  2015  shows  that  ensuring  timely  and  correct 
application of EU legislation in the Member States remains a serious challenge. The Commission will 
further  strengthen  its  response  when  breaches  of  EU  law  are  detected.  The  adoption  of  the  Better 
Regulation  Package  in  May  2015  will  provide  Member  States  with  the  support  and  assistance  they 
need during the implementation phase and will make it easier to enforce EU legislation. As part of the 
Better  Regulation  Agenda,  the  Commission  has  already  reinforced  its  preventive  action  to  support 
Member  States  in  the  implementation  process  of  Union  legislation.  In  this  respect,  the  Commission 
provides  guidance  and  support  to  Member  States  using  a  wide  array  of  tools (guidance  documents, 
meetings,  workshops,  expert  bodies,  implementation  and  ex-post  evaluation  reports,  etc.).  At  the 
same  time,  the  Commission  intends  to  strengthen  enforcement  of  EU  law  based  on  structured  and 
systematic  transposition  and  conformity  checks  of  national  legislation.  However,  Member  States 
should also step up their efforts to comply, for the benefit of the public and businesses alike. 

In  line  with  the  Juncker  Commission's  focus  on  priority  files  ("big  on  big,  small  on  small"),  current 
approaches  to  Commission'  enforcement  policy  need  to  evolve  with  a  view  to  more  timely  and 
effective  enforcement.  The  Commission  will  take stock  of  this  evolution  in  a  new Communication  on 
the application of Union law, which aims at a more strategic approach to enforcement across all policy 
areas. 

31