REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION Monitoring the application of European Union law 2016 Annual Report
Date: 2017-07-06
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, 6.7.2017  COM(2017) 370 final   REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION Monitoring the application of European Union law 2016 Annual Report {SWD(2017) 259 final} {SWD(2017) 260 final}  
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 

I. 

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

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

1.  A new boost for jobs, growth and investment .......................................................................... 5 

2.  A connected ‘digital single market’ .......................................................................................... 6 

3.  A resilient energy union with a forward-looking climate change policy ................................... 7 

4.  A deeper and fairer internal market with a strengthened industrial base ................................ 7 

5.  A deeper and fairer economic and monetary union............................................................... 11 

6.  An area of justice and fundamental rights based on mutual trust ......................................... 11 

7. 

Towards a new policy on migration ....................................................................................... 13 

8.  Working with Member States to ensure proper implementation of EU law ........................... 13 

8.1. 

8.2. 

Implementation plans: state of play ................................................................................... 13 

Explanatory documents: state of play ............................................................................... 14 

III. 

Infringement procedures ........................................................................................................ 17 

IV.  Before an infringement procedure is started ......................................................................... 18 

1.  Detecting problems ................................................................................................................ 18 

1.1. 

1.2. 

Own-initiative cases........................................................................................................... 18 

Complaints and petitions ................................................................................................... 18 

2.  EU Pilot .................................................................................................................................. 20 

V.  Stages in infringement procedures ........................................................................................ 23 

1.  Pre-litigation phase ................................................................................................................ 23 

2. 

Judgments of the Court of Justice under Articles 258 and 260(2) TFEU .............................. 26 

VI.  Transposition of directives ..................................................................................................... 28 

1. 

Late transposition .................................................................................................................. 28 

2.  Referrals to the Court of Justice under Article 258/260(3) TFEU .......................................... 30 

VII. 

Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 32 

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Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 

I. 

Introduction 

The  effective  application  of  EU  law  is  essential  to  delivering  the  benefits  of  European  Union 
policies  to  the  public  and  to  businesses.  Often,  when  issues  come  to  the  fore  —  car  emissions 
testing, illegal landfills or transport safety and security — it is not the lack of EU legislation that is 
the problem but rather that EU law is not applied effectively. 

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  acquis).1  The  Commission,  as  guardian  of  the  Treaties,  monitors  the  Member  States’ 
measures and ensures that their legislation complies with EU law.2 Should a Member State fail to 
comply with Union law, the Commission may open an infringement procedure and, if necessary, 
bring the case before the Court of Justice. Financial penalties may be proposed when a Member 
State  fails  to  implement  a  Court  judgment  or  to  communicate  to  the  Commission  its  measures 
transposing a legislative Directive.3 

Better application of EU law is a priority of the Juncker Commission and a key part of the Better 
Regulation Agenda. The Commission restated its commitment to improving the application of EU 
law  in  a  Communication  of  December  2016  which  sets  out  a  more  strategic  approach  to  its 
infringement policy.4 It announced that it would give priority to pursuing the most serious breaches 
of EU law affecting the interests of citizens and businesses. 

This annual report highlights the main developments in enforcement policy in 2016. The structure 
of the report reflects the focus on enforcement in the political priority areas of the Commission. For 
example, the Commission pursued enforcement actions in the area of the internal market, where it 
specifically  targeted  Member  States’  failure  to  establish  or  apply  penalties  systems  to  deter  car 
manufacturers from violating car emissions legislation. Another example is the transposition of EU 
rules  on  public  procurement  and  concessions;  here,  full  transposition  and  implementation  of  EU 
law is essential to make it easier and cheaper for small and medium-sized enterprises to bid for 
public contracts, in full respect of the EU’s principles of transparency and competition. 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   Article 291(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). 
2   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 […]’. 
3   Articles 260(2) and (3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). 
4   Communication ‘EU law: Better results through better application’, C(2016) 8600, OJ C 18, 19 January 2017. 
5   SWD (2017)259 and SWD(2017) 260. 

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Monitoring the application of European Union law 
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II.  Enforcement in priority policy areas 

Ensuring  that  the  EU’s  legal  instruments  are  applied  and  implemented  better  is  a  pre-requisite  for 
delivering on the EU’s policies in general and on the political priorities of the Juncker Commission in 
particular. The Commission uses a wide array of tools, including infringement procedures, to achieve 
the  objectives  of  EU  policies.  The  2016  Annual  Report  provides  an  overview  of  the  Commission’s 
action in this respect. 

New enforcement policy — Communication on EU law: Better results through better application 

In December 2016, the Commission adopted a new Communication on enforcement policy:  EU law: 
Better  results  through  better  application.6  The  Communication  sets  out  how  the  Commission  as 
guardian of the Treaties will increase its efforts to ensure compliance with EU law. Being ‘bigger and 
more ambitious on big things, and smaller and more modest on small things’ should be translated into 
a  more  strategic  and  effective  approach  to  enforcement  in  terms  of  infringement  handling.  In 
implementing  this  approach,  the  Commission  should  focus  on  problems  where  the  Commission’s 
enforcement  action  can  make  a  real  difference,  and  on  policy  priorities.  Consequently,  the 
Commission will distinguish between cases on the basis of the added value an infringement procedure 
can achieve. It will close cases when it considers this appropriate from a policy point of view. 

The Commission will focus on cases where Member States: 

• 

• 
• 

fail  to  communicate  transposition  measures  or  where  those  measures  incorrectly  transpose 
directives;  
fail to comply with a judgment of the Court of Justice (as referred to in Article 260(2) TFEU); or 
cause serious damage to EU financial interests or violate EU exclusive powers.  

The  Commission  will  rigorously  pursue  cases  which  reveal  systemic  weakness  in  a  Member  State’s 
legal  system.  These  would  include  cases  of  national  rules  or  general  practices  which  impede  the 
procedure for preliminary rulings by the Court of Justice. The Commission will also rigorously pursue 
cases where national law prevents the national courts from acknowledging the primacy of EU law. It 
will  also  pursue  as  a  matter  of  priority  cases  in  which  national  law  provides  no  effective  redress 
procedures for a breach of EU law or where national law otherwise prevents national judicial systems 
from  ensuring  that  EU  law  is  applied  effectively.  The  Commission  will  proceed  expeditiously  in 
investigating  such  breaches.  It  will  launch  infringement  procedures  without  relying  on  the  EU  Pilot 
mechanism, unless recourse to EU Pilot is seen as useful in a given case. 

In implementing its new approach, the Commission will continue to value the essential role played by 
individual  complainants  in  identifying  wider  problems  with  the  enforcement  of  EU  law  affecting  the 
interests of citizens and businesses. However, it is essential that citizens understand the nature of the 
infringement  process  and  set  their  expectations  accordingly.  Many  submit  complaints  in  the 
expectation  that  they  may  obtain  financial  or  other  redress  for  a  breach  of  EU  law.  This  is  not  the 
purpose  of  the  infringement  procedure.  Therefore,  certain  individual  cases  of  incorrect  application 
which  do  not  raise  issues  of  wider  principle  can  often  be  satisfactorily  dealt  with  by  other,  more 
appropriate mechanisms at EU and national level. In such cases, if there is effective legal protection 
available, the Commission will, as a general rule, direct complainants to the national level. 

While the Commission will continue to support Member States in their efforts to transpose, apply and 
implement  EU  law,  it  is  essential  that  Member  States  live  up  to  their  responsibility  to  respect  and 
enforce  the  rules  they  themselves  have  jointly  put  in  place.  In  this  respect,  the  Commission  will 
reinforce  its  approach  to  sanctions  for  non-communication  of  national  transposition  measures:  in 
cases  brought  to  the  Court  of  Justice  under  Articles  258  in  conjunction  with  260(3)  TFEU,  the 
Commission will now systematically ask the Court to impose a lump sum as well as a periodic penalty 
payment. 

6   C(2016) 8600, OJ C 18, 19 January 2017. 

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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 2016 focused on the following areas: 

Enforcing the acquis on free movement of workers and health and safety at work 

The  Commission  continued  its  efforts  to  ensure  a  level  playing  field  in  the  EU’s  labour  market  by 
checking  the  complete  and  correct  transposition  by  the  Member  States  of  Directives  in  the  areas  of 
free movement of workers and health and safety at work. 

The deadline for transposing two important Directives expired in 2016: one concerns the enforcement 
of free movement of workers’ rights,7 the other the enforcement of posted workers’ rights.8 As several 
Member  States  failed  to  notify  their  transposition  measures  within  the  deadline,  the  Commission 
launched a number of infringement procedures in September 2016. 

In the area of health and safety at work, the deadline for the transposition of the  Directive on health 
and  safety  requirements  in  case  of  exposure  to  electromagnetic  fields9  expired  on  1  July  2016.  The 
Directive  constitutes  an  important  contribution  to  protecting  workers’  health.  The  Commission  is 
checking  Member  States'  national  transposition  measures  and  launched  a  number  of  infringement 
procedures in 2016. 

The  Commission  continued  the  transposition  check  for  the  directive  on  classification,  labelling  and 
packaging of substances and mixtures10 and sent inquiries to eight Member States to verify the correct 
implementation of the Directive protecting  workers from sharp injuries  in the hospital and healthcare 
sector.11 

Enforcing the environmental acquis 

The  Commission  targeted  its  enforcement  of  EU  environmental  rules  towards  contributing  to  a 
healthier  environment  and  a  stronger,  more  ‘circular’  economy  which  uses  resources  in  a  more 
sustainable  way.  It  also  sought  to  ensure  a  level  playing  field  for  all  Member  States  and  economic 
operators  that  need  to  meet  environmental  requirements.  Strict  enforcement  also  stimulates  the 
market to find innovative ways to increase resource efficiency and reduce import dependency, which 
in turn 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,  particularly  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  working  closely  with  the  national  authorities  and  other 
stakeholders  to  support  compliance.  In  this  context,  in  2016  the  Commission  launched  the 
Environmental Implementation Review.12 This process aims to improve common knowledge about the 

7   Directive 2014/54/EU. 
8   Directive 2014/67/EU. 
9   Directive 2013/35/EU. 
10   Directive 2014/27/EU. 
11   Directive 2010/32/EU. 
12   COM(2016) 316 final. 

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gaps in implementing EU environmental legislation and policy in each Member State, and to address 
the  root  causes  of  these  gaps.  It  also  seeks  to  provide  solutions  that  are  complementary  to  legal 
enforcement  and  to  stimulate  exchanges  of  good  practice.  The  review  is  based  on  country-specific 
reports  drafted  every  2  years  which  will  focus  on  essential  topics  in  the  area  of  environmental 
legislation  and  policy  in  each  Member  State.  The  reports  will  prepare  the  ground  for  dialogues  with 
and within each Member State. 

Enforcing the agricultural acquis 

The  Commission’s  enforcement  strategy  focused  on  ensuring  the  implementation  of  agricultural 
measures with the highest potential to support jobs and growth. These also contribute to a deeper and 
fairer internal market. 

The common agricultural policy (CAP) and the enforcement of related EU rules helps to foster both the 
competitiveness  and  the  market  orientation  of  the  primary  sector,  while  protecting  farmers  from 
sudden and severe market disturbances. The overriding goal is to sustain farming in Europe. 

In 2016, the Commission gave particular attention to the implementation by all Member States of the 
provisions  on  direct  payments,  a  major  element  of  the  2014  CAP  reform.  After  examining  the 
compatibility  of  national  legislation  with  the  EU  provisions,  Commission  initiated  EU  Pilot  dialogues 
with several Member States. 

The Commission also focused on actively monitoring the correct, clear and timely transposition by all 
Member  States  of  the  EU  Directives  on  agriculture.  The  aim  was  to  create  legal  certainty  and  allow 
citizens  and  businesses  to  benefit  from  the  opportunities  of  the  single  market.  The  Commission 
provided  assistance  to  the  Member  States  to  help  them  implement  the  Caseins  and  Caseinates 
Directive13 on time (by 22 December 2016).  

Enforcing the acquis on maritime affairs and fisheries 

The Commission’s enforcement strategy in 2016 concentrated on areas of fisheries conservation and 
control which are essential to build a ‘circular’ economy where fish resources are used in a sustainable 
manner,  ensuring  jobs  and  growth  in  the  fisheries  sector  in  the  long  term.  Particular  attention  was 
given  to  systemic  deficiencies  in  the  national  fisheries  monitoring  systems  that  cause  illegal  fishing 
activities to go undetected, to the detriment of the sector's sustainability. Moreover, non-respect of the 
EU’s  exclusive  external  competence  was  addressed  in  several  cases  in  order  to  support  the  EU’s 
objective  of  becoming  a  stronger  global  actor  on  fisheries.  Furthermore,  after  the  expiration  on 
18 September  2016  of  the  transposition  period  for  some  provisions  of  the  Maritime  Spatial  Planning 
Directive,14 the Commission launched infringement procedures against five Member States for failing 
to  communicate  any  national  transposition  measures.  Three  other  cases  were  initiated  for  partial 
transposition. 

2.  A connected ‘digital single market’ 
The  Commission’s  enforcement  strategy  in  the  area  of  communication  networks,  content  and 
technology  in  2016  targeted  priorities  in  several  sectors.  These  include,  for  instance,  structural 
elements of legislation in electronic communications, such as the independence of national regulatory 
authorities, respect for consultation procedures in the market review process, spectrum management 
and freedom of establishment. Enforcement efforts also addressed provisions which are crucial for the 
preservation of the internal market in audiovisual services, such as the country of origin and freedom 
of reception principles. 

The  Commission  opened  infringement  procedures  against  most  Member  States  for  failing  to  fully 
transpose  the  Broadband  Cost  Reduction  Directive15  and  the  Collective  Management  Rights 

13   Directive (EU) 2015/2203. 
14   Directive 2014/89/EU. 
15   Directive 2014/61/EU. 

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2016 Annual Report 

Directive.16 It took further steps in the infringement procedures already open over non-transposition of 
the  Directive  on  the  re-use  of  public  sector  information  (the  ‘PSI  Directive’).17  The  Commission  also 
held  dialogues  with  Member  States  to  address  compliance  issues.  These  concerned,  for  example, 
practical arrangements for correctly implementing the e-IDAS Regulation and correctly transposing the 
Collective Management Rights Directive. 

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  Policy18  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  on  climate  and  energy  policy.  It 
undertook  systematic  checks  on  Member  States’  transposition  of,  and  conformity  with,  several 
directives. It also further pursued the infringement procedures it had already opened regarding: 

 
 
 

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 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

the Third Energy Package Directives;19 
the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive;20 
the  Directive  for  the  protection  of  the  health  of  the  general  public  with  regard  to  radioactive 
substances in water intended for human consumption;21 
the Radioactive Waste Directive;22 
the Energy Efficiency Directive;23 
the Offshore Safety Directive;24 
the Renewable Energy Directive;25 
the Oil Stocks Directive;26  
the Security of Gas Supply Regulation;27 
the EU Emissions Trading System Directives;28  
the Fuel Quality Directive;29 and 
the Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide Directive.30 

Following  the  compliance  checks,  the  Commission  initiated  EU  Pilot  dialogues  in  2016  with  several 
Member  States. It also launched 31 infringement procedures following systematic conformity checks 
and lack of reporting on energy efficiency and in the nuclear field.   

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 
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 competition acquis 

16   Directive 2014/26/EU. 
17   Directive 2013/37/EU. 
18   COM(2015) 80. 
19    Directives 2009/72/EC and 2009/73/EC. 
20    Directive 2010/31/EU. 
21   Directive 2013/51/Euratom. 
22   Directive 2011/70/Euratom. 
23    Directive 2012/27/EU. 
24    Directive 2013/30/EU. 
25    Directive 2009/28/EC. 
26    Directive 2009/119/EC. 
27    Regulation (EU) No 994/2010. 
28   Directives 2008/101/EC and 2009/29/EC. 
29   Directive 2009/30/EC. 
30   Directive 2009/31/EC. 

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The Commission's enforcement efforts in the area of competition focused on ensuring compliance with 
EU rules  on antitrust and State aids. In 2016, the Commission continued an infringement procedure 
aimed  at  tackling  the  potential  strengthening  of  the  incumbent’s  dominant  position  on  the  electricity 
market in one Member State. This resulted from measures taken by that Member State granting to the 
incumbent most of the hydropower concessions for a very long duration without carrying out a tender 
procedure. 

The  enforcement  of  State  aid  decisions  is  essential  to  the  credibility  of  the  Commission’s  control  of 
State aids. In 2016, the Commission decided to launch an action before the Court of Justice against 
Greece  under  Article  260(2)  TFEU  for  failing  to  implement  the  Commission’s  recovery  decision  of 
2008 in the Hellenic Shipyards case and to comply with the Court’s judgment of 201331. 

The  Commission  has  been  assisting  Member  States  with  implementing  the  Directive  on  Antitrust 
Damages  Actions32  and  will  continue  to  devote  significant  efforts  to  ensuring  its  timely  and  proper 
implementation. 

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

The Commission’s single market strategy33 envisages the development of a culture of compliance and 
smart enforcement. This involves following a holistic approach to enforcing the internal market rules. 
This  approach  covers  all  stages  of  policymaking  —  from  policy  design  to  the  transposition, 
implementation  and  smart  enforcement  of  single  market  rules  —  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  and  economic  operators  on  how  to  implement 
internal  market  rules.  The  overall  aim  is  to  improve  compliance  with  single  market  rules  specifically 
and EU law in general. 

In line with this approach the Commission offers guidance to the Member States. It did so in 2016 by 
providing  legal  clarity  on,  for  example,  the  applicable  EU  rules  in  the  innovative  areas  of  the 
collaborative  economy  and  e-commerce.34  The  Commission  also  offers  guidance  to  EU  citizens  and 
businesses  to  ensure  they  can  benefit  from  their  rights  under  single  market  rules.  It  does  so  by 
directing them to appropriate redress mechanisms, such as SOLVIT. At the same time, the evidence 
gathered  through  cases  in  SOLVIT  can  help  the  Commission  identify  potential  breaches  of  EU  law, 
thus making SOLVIT a smart enforcement tool. 

In 2016 the Commission applied its smart enforcement approach in two specific areas, among others. 
In  the  services  sector,  the  Commission  requested  that  nine  Member  States  remove  excessive  and 
unjustified  obstacles  to  the  provision  of  services  across  the  internal  market.  It  considered  that  the 
requirements  imposed  on  certain  service  providers  in  these  Member  States  run  counter  to  the 
Services  Directive.35  In  the  automobile  sector,  the  Commission  is  very  closely  following  national 
authorities’  enforcement  of  the  current  EU  rules.  In  2016  it  opened  infringement  procedures  against 
seven Member States for failing to fulfil their obligations under EU vehicle type approval legislation.36 
These  actions  specifically  targeted  their  failure  to  establish  or  apply  penalties  systems  to  deter  car 
manufacturers from violating car emissions legislation. 

In addition, the Commission opened infringement procedures against most Member States for lack of 
full  transposition  of  the  Directives  on  public  procurement,37  legal  metrology,38  advanced  engineering 

31   Case C-246/12P; Ellinika Nafpigeia v Commission.  
32   Directive 2014/104/EU. 
33   COM(2015) 550 final. 
34   COM(2016) 356 final. 
35   Directive 2006/123/EC. 
36   Directive 2007/46/EC and Regulation (EC) No 715/2007. 
37   Directive 2014/23/EU, Directive 2014/24/EU, Directive 2014/25/EU. 
38   Directives 2014/31/EU, 2014/32/EU and 2015/13/EU. 

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and manufacturing systems,39 explosives for civil use and defence-related products,40 and the Internal 
Market Information System.41   

Enforcing the capital markets union and financial services acquis  

The  capital markets  union  aims  to  make  it  easier  for  innovative  companies,  start-ups  and  small  and 
medium-sized enterprises to access finance. It seeks to make EU capital markets more attractive for 
retail  and  institutional  investors  and  to  further  expand  cross-border  investment.  The  capital  markets 
union also intends to help restore stability and confidence in the financial sector following the crisis. 

The  Commission’s  2015 Action  Plan  on  Building  a  Capital  Market  Union42  was  complemented  in 
September  2016  by  the  Communication  on  Capital  Markets  Union  —  Accelerating  Reform.43  The 
Commission’s  enforcement  action  underpins  this  initiative  by  removing  national  cross-border 
investment  barriers  (e.g.  golden  shares  cases,  investment  restrictions)  and  by  ensuring  full 
implementation  of  the  capital  markets  union  Directives  relating  to  capital  markets.  For  example,  the 
Commission  launched  infringement  cases  against  21  Member  States  over  their  transposition  of  the 
Transparency Directive,44 which aims to ensure that securities issuers disclose certain key information 
about their operations. 

In  the  aftermath  of  the  financial  crisis,  several  Directives  were  adopted  to  further  open  up  the  EU 
financial  services  market  and  strengthen  the  resilience  and  stability  of  the  financial  sector.  Key 
measures include the Accounting and Audit Directives,45 the Undertakings for Collective Investment in 
Transferable  Securities  Directive46  and  the  Mortgage  Credit  Directive.47  In  2016  the  Commission 
focused  its  enforcement  action  on  ensuring  these  Directives  are  fully  implemented  by  verifying  their 
complete  and  correct  transposition.  It  launched  for  example  infringement  procedures  against  20,  16 
and  18  Member  States  for  late  transposition  of  the  Mortgage  Credit  Directive,  the  Undertakings  for 
Collective Investment in Transferable Securities Directive and the Audit Directive, respectively. 

Enforcing the acquis on taxation and customs 

Following  judgments  of  the  Court  relating  to  the  interpretation  of  the  VAT  Directive  and  the  Excise 
Duty Directives, the Commission put emphasis on ensuring that these judgments were applied across 
all Member States. In addition, the Commission investigated several car taxation cases as it found that 
the neutrality of car registration tax had been infringed. 

In the area of direct taxation, the Commission continued to check the EU-wide equal tax treatment of 
cross-border inheritances, cross-border workers (who live in one Member State but work in another) 
and so-called mobile persons (who actually move from one EU Member State to another). Under the 
Action  Plan  on  Building  a  Capital  Markets  Union,  the  Commission  launched  a  new  study  on 
discriminatory  tax  obstacles  to  cross-border  investment  results  by  pension  funds  and  life  insurance 
companies. 

Following  a  Court  judgment,48  the  Commission  also  launched  horizontal  compliance  checks  to 
examine the proportionality of fines set by Member States for bringing undeclared cash into the EU. 

Enforcing the acquis on consumer protection 

39   Directives  2013/53/EU,  2014/29/EU,  2014/30/EU,  2014/33/EU,  2014/34/EU,  2014/35/EU,  2014/53/EU  and 

2014/68/EU. 

40   Directives 2014/28/EU and 2016/970/EU. 
41   Directive 2013/55/EU. 
42   COM(2015) 468 final. 
43   COM(2016) 601 final. 
44   Directive 2013/50/EU. 
45   Directives 2013/34/EU and 2014/56/EU. 
46   Directive 2014/91/EU. 
47   Directive 2014/17/EU. 
48   Chmielewski, C-255/14. 

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In early 2016 the Commission set up a European online dispute resolution platform.49 This facilitates 
the out-of-court resolution of disputes arising from sales or service contracts that EU consumers have 
concluded  online.  A  precondition  for  the  platform  to  work  is  that  the  Directive  on  alternative  dispute 
resolution for consumer disputes in the Member States is implemented and applied properly. This is 
thus a priority for the Commission’s enforcement work.50 

In  2016,  the  Commission  continued  its  assessment  of  the  completeness  and  correctness  of  the 
national measures transposing the Consumer Rights Directive.51 

Thirteen infringement proceedings over the transposition of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 
were still pending at the end of 2016.52 Many Member States initiated legislative changes to bring their 
legislation into compliance with the Directive. Furthermore, in May 2016 the Commission published a 
revised  guidance  document  on  the  application  of  the  Directive.  This  guidance  aims  at  improving 
compliance with the Directive, in particular concerning new business models and market operators in 
the digital economy. 

The  Commission  also  launched  infringement  procedures  for  non-communication  of  measures 
transposing  the  Directive  on  payment  accounts.53  The  Directive  requires  all  EU  Member  States  to 
ensure  that  consumers  have  access  to  a  basic  payment  account  and  makes  it  easier  for  them  to 
compare  the  fees  charged  by  banks  for  such  accounts.  It  also  establishes  a  rapid  and  simple 
procedure for consumers who change their payment accounts to a different bank or payment service 
provider. 

The  enforcement  work  carried  out  by  the  Commission  on  implementation  of  the  Package  Travel 
Directive54  led  to  legislative  changes  in  five  Member  States.  In  2016,  the  Commission  also  assisted 
Member States in their efforts to transpose the Directive by organising three transposition workshops 
for national experts.55 

One infringement case on the correct transposition of the Timeshare Directive56 is still pending, while 
the  Commission  closed  other  cases  in  2016  following  legislative  changes  in  the  Member  States 
concerned. 

Enforcing the acquis on health and food safety 

The  Commission’s  2016  enforcement  strategy  in  the  health  sector  focused  on  checking  the 
compliance  of  national  legislations  with  the  Directives  on  human  tissues  and  cells57  and  on  cross-
border healthcare,58 and pursuing infringement procedures where necessary. 

In the animal welfare sector, compliance with the requirements  of the Directives for  laying hens  and 
group  housing  of  sows  has  been  achieved  and  most  of  the  infringement  procedures  have  been 
closed.59 

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: 

49   Regulation (EU) No 524/2013. 
50   Directive 2013/11/EU. 
51   Directive 2011/83/EU. 
52   Directive 2005/29/EC. 
53   Directive 2014/92/EU. 
54   Directive 90/314/EEC. 
55   Directive 2015/2302/EU, for which the transposition deadline elapses on 1 January 2018. 
56   Directive 2008/122/EC. 
57   Directive 2004/23/EC. 
58   Directive 2011/24/EU. 
59   Directives 1999/74/EC and 2008/120/EC. 

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

restrictions on access to the profession of road transport operators; 

 

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

In 2016 Member States stepped up their efforts to comply with the provisions of the Directive on the 
interoperability  of  electronic  road  toll  systems.60  The  Commission  was  therefore  able  to  close 
infringement  procedures  against  several  Member  States.  However,  most  Member  States  were  not 
able to transpose the Directive on the deployment of alternative fuel infrastructure61 by the deadline. 

The Commission also focused its efforts  on  safety issues, in particular  in the maritime sector. It has 
intensified monitoring of the application of EU law in this area and in 2016 initiated or pursued several 
infringement  procedures  over  the  application  of  EU  law  on  accident  investigations,62  port  State 
control63  and  flag  state  issues.64  The  Commission  continued  to  pursue  conformity  checks  on  the 
implementation of the Directive on driving licences65 and three railway Directives.66

5.  A deeper and fairer economic and monetary union 

The  EU  banking  union  rules  seek  to  ensure  that  banks  are  stronger  and  better  supervised  and,  if 
necessary,  that  problems  can  be  resolved  more  easily  without  using  taxpayers’  money.  In  the 
aftermath of the financial crisis, the EU enacted a large number of measures to further open up the EU 
single  market  in  financial  services  for  consumers  and  businesses,  improve  supervision  of  financial 
institutions  and  strengthen  the  resilience  and  stability  of  the  financial  sector.  This  new  framework  is 
founded  on  measures  such  as  the  Capital  Requirements  Directive  IV,67  the  Deposit  Guarantee 
Schemes  Directive68  and  the  Bank  Recovery  and  Resolution  Directive.69  The  Commission’s 
enforcement  action  in  2016  focused  on  checking  the  complete  and  correct  transposition  of  these 
Directives.  For  example,  the  Commission  addressed  reasoned  opinions  to  several  Member  States 
over the incompleteness of their transposition of the Capital Requirements Directive IV and the Bank 
Recovery and Resolution Directive. 

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

The  Commission  gives  high  priority  to  addressing  infringements  that  reveal  systemic  weaknesses 
which undermine the functioning of the EU’s institutional framework. This goes in particular for those 
which affect the capacity of national judicial systems to contribute to the effective enforcement of EU 
law. One of the areas where the action of the Commission plays an essential role is when the ‘national 
rule  of  law  safeguards’  no  longer  seems  capable  of  addressing  a  systemic  threat  to  the  rule  of  law. 
This  reflects  the  fact  that  upholding  the  rule  of  law  is  a  pre-requisite  for  upholding  all  rights  and 
obligations deriving from the Treaties. 

In  this  context,  the  Commission  has  taken  steps  under  the  Rule  of  Law  Framework70  to  address 
significant  changes  in  the  Polish  legal  system  which  undermine  the  proper  functioning  and  the 
effectiveness  of  the  Constitutional  Tribunal.  After  adopting  an  opinion  on  the  situation  in  Poland  on 
1 June  2016,  the  Commission  adopted  a  first  Recommendation  on  27 July  and  a  second  one  on 

60   Directive 2004/52/EC. 
61   Directive 2014/94/EU. 
62   Directive 2009/18/EC. 
63   Directive 2009/16/EC. 
64   Directive 2009/15/EC. 
65   Directive 2006/126/EC. 
66   Directives 2012/34/EU, 2008/57/EC and 2004/49/EC. 
67   Directive 2013/36/EU. 
68   Directive 2014/49/EU. 
69   Directive 2014/59/EU. 
70   COM(2014) 158 final/2. 

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21 December. The Commission was concerned about a systemic threat to the rule of law in Poland. 
This is due to the Constitutional Tribunal being prevented from fully ensuring an effective constitutional 
review  after  the  reforms  introduced  in  2015  and  2016.  This  situation  adversely  affects  the  integrity, 
stability and proper functioning of the Tribunal, which is one of the essential safeguards of the rule of 
law in Poland. 

In  the  area  of  freedom  of  movement  of  persons,  the  Commission  carried  out  comprehensive 
assessments of the compliance of the new national legislation enacted in the Czech Republic, Ireland 
and Slovakia with the EU rules on free movement and residence rights of EU citizens. 

In the area of criminal and procedural law, the Procedural Rights Roadmap was completed by the 
adoption  of  three  new  Directives.  These  concern  the  strengthening  of  certain  aspects  of  the 
presumption  of  innocence  and  the  right  to  be  present  at  one’s  trial,71  the  procedural  safeguards  for 
children,72  and  legal  aid.73  At  the  same  time,  the  transposition  of  the  Victims’  Rights  Directive74 
remains  incomplete  in  nine  Member  States.  In  2016  the  Commission  also  assessed  for  correctness 
the Member States' transposition of Directives on the right to translation and interpretation75 and the 
right to information in criminal proceedings.76 

Almost all Member States have finished transposing the Directive on the European protection order.77 
The practical application of this instrument depends of the awareness of the users (victims and legal 
practitioners).  To  date,  only  a  few  protection  measures  have  been  recognised  across  borders.  The 
Commission committed to publish a report on its application when more data on the number of orders 
issued or recognised is available. 

In September 2016 the Commission launched infringement procedures against 18 Member States for 
not communicating their national measures transposing the Directive on criminal sanctions for market 
abuse.78  

In  the  field  of  data  protection,  the  new  General  Data  Protection  Regulation79  adopted  in  2016  will 
repeal  and  replace  the  existing  legislation  as  from  25 May  2018.80  The  Commission  will  assess  its 
enforcement work in the light of the new acquis. Moreover, the Commission started preparatory work 
to  help  Member  States  and  stakeholders  implement  and  apply  the  new  Police  and  Criminal  Justice 
Authorities Directive81, which will replace the current Framework Decision.82 

In 2016 enforcement work was conducted in the context of the European Agenda on Security83 and 
the development of a fledging security union. Since September 2016, the Commission has created a 
special  portfolio  and  entrusted  a  Commissioner  with  the  responsibility  for  implementing  the  security 
union. 

The enforcement work contributed to the Commission’s response to the tragic terrorist attacks of 2016. 
Infringement  procedures  were  initiated  over  the  incorrect  implementation  of  the  Regulation  on  the 
marketing  and  use  of  explosives  precursors.84  The  Commission  also  launched  the  first  infringement 
procedures  over  instruments  belonging  to  the  former  ‘third  pillar’.  These  procedures  were  for  non-

71   Directive 2016/343. 
72   Directive 2016/800. 
73   Directive 2016/1919. 
74   Directive 2012/29/EU. 
75   Directive 2010/64/EU. 
76   Directive 2012/13/EU. 
77   Directive 2011/99/EU. 
78   Directive 2014/57/EU. 
79   Regulation No (EU) 2016/679. 
80   Directive 95/46/EC. 
81   Directive (EU) 2016/680. 
82   Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA. 
83   COM(2015) 185 final. 
84   Regulation (EU) No 98/2013. 

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communication  of  national  measures  to  implement  the  ‘Swedish  initiative’85  on  simplifying  the 
exchange  of  information  and  intelligence  between  EU  law  enforcement  authorities,  and  for  failure  to 
comply with the Prüm Decisions86 on information-sharing to combat terrorism and serious crime. 

The  Commission  completed  the  transposition  checks  for  the  Directives  against  trafficking  in  human 
beings87  and  sexual  exploitation  of  children.88  It  closed  almost  all  infringement  procedures  for  non-
communication  of  national  measures  implementing  these  Directives.  However,  the  Commission 
pursued  infringement  procedures  for  non-communication  of  national  measures  implementing  the 
Directive on attacks against information systems.89 It also launched infringement procedures for failure 
to  notify  national  measures  implementing  the  Directive  on  the  freezing  and  confiscation  of 
instrumentalities and proceeds of crime. 90 

The Commission regularly reports to the European Parliament, the European Council and the Council 
on  progress  towards  creating  an  effective  and  genuine  security  union.  This  includes  the  use  of  its 
enforcement work in contributing to consolidating the security union. 

7.  Towards a new policy on migration 
The  Commission’s  response  to  the  developing  migration  and  security  situations  includes  its  work  to 
enforce the European Agenda on Migration91 as well as the regular implementation packages it has 
presented. 

In this regard, in 2016 the Commission followed up on the infringement procedures it launched in 2015 
over the non-communication or incorrect implementation of instruments under the Common European 
Asylum System. It addressed reasoned opinions to Member States which had still not notified national 
measures transposing the Asylum Procedures92 and Reception Conditions Directives.93 It did likewise 
for  Member  States  which  had  not  notified  measures  to  fully  transpose  the  Directive  extending  the 
scope  of  application  of  the  long-term  residence  scheme  to  beneficiaries  of  international  protection.94 
The  Commission  decided  to  close  three  of  the  infringement  procedures  opened  in  2015  on  the 
incorrect implementation of the Eurodac Regulation.95 

Correct implementation of the Return Directive96 remains key in achieving the Agenda’s objectives of 
combating and preventing irregular migration. The Commission addressed a reasoned opinion to one 
Member State for incorrect implementation of this Directive. The Commission is regularly reporting on 
the implementation of the European Agenda on Migration.  

The  Commission  also  launched  infringement  procedures  for  failure  to  notify  national  measures 
implementing  the  Directive  on  the  conditions  of  entry  and  stay  of  third-country  nationals  for  the 
purpose of employment as seasonal workers.97 

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

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 

85   Council Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA. 
86   Decisions 2008/615/JHA and 2008/616/JHA. 
87   Directive 2011/36/EU. 
88   Directive 2011/93/EU. 
89   Directive 2013/40/EU. 
90   Directive 2014/42/EU. 
91   COM(2015) 240 final.  
92   Directive 2013/32/EU. 
93   Directive 2013/33/EU. 
94   Directive 2011/51/EU.  
95   Regulation (EU) No 603/2013. 
96   Directive 2008/115/EC. 
97   Directive 2014/36/EU. 

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regulations.  While  the  responsibility  for  applying  EU  law  lies  with  the  Member  States,  the 
implementation  plans  aim  to  help  them  do  so  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. 

In  2016  the  Commission  prepared  an  implementation  plan  to  ensure  the  effective  transposition  and 
implementation  of  three  proposals  it  issued  for  Directives  on  passenger  ship  safety.98  The  plan  lists 
the actions needed to implement simplification measures and identifies the main technical, legal and 
time-related implementation challenges. 

Regarding support action at EU level, the Commission envisages making extensive use of the existing 
Passenger  Ship  Safety  Expert  Group  to  develop  the  implementation  measures  and  facilitate  the 
transposition  process.  It  will  also  use  the  expert  groups  on  port  State  control  inspections  and  the 
implementation of the National Single Window. A number of specific workshops and correspondence 
groups  will  be  organised  with  the  assistance  of  the  European  Maritime  Safety  Agency  (EMSA)  to 
further  develop  issues  of  a  more  technical  nature  and  provide  technical  assistance  during  the 
transposition period. At Member States' request, EMSA could make visits to identify any transposition 
difficulties and provide technical assistance where needed. 

At national level, Member States will be responsible for coordination between the relevant competent 
authorities,  economic  actors  such  as  shipyards,  ship-owners  and  operators,  and  passenger 
associations. 

The Commission will monitor the use Member States make of the implementation plan. 

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 documents explaining 
how  they  have  transposed  directives  into  their  law.99  The  Commission  can  ask  Member  States  to 
submit these ‘explanatory documents’ in justified cases.100 

Explanatory  documents  play  an  essential  role  in  promoting  good  understanding  of  national 
transposition measures. They help to make compliance monitoring easier: without the documents, the 
Commission  would  need  considerable  resources  and  numerous  contacts  with  national  authorities  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. 

In  2016,  the  Commission  requested  explanatory  documents  in  20  out  of  40  proposals  for  directives 
submitted to the European Parliament and the Council. The 37 Directives that the Parliament and the 
Council adopted during the year included eight for which the Commission had requested explanatory 
documents. In all eight, the agreed recital on the need for such documents was maintained in the final 
text. 

98   Proposal  for  a  Directive  on  a  system  of  inspections  for  the  safe  operation  of  ro-ro  ferry  and  high-speed 
passenger craft in regular service COM(2016) 371; Proposal for a Directive amending Directive 2009/45/EC 
on  safety  rules  and  standards  for  passenger  ships  COM(2016)369  and  Proposal  for  a  Directive  amending 
Council  Directive  98/41/EC  on  the  registration  of  persons  sailing  on  board  passenger  ships  operating  to  or 
from ports of the Member States of the Community COM(2016) 370.  

99   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). 

100   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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During  the  year  Member  States  had  to  transpose  70  Directives.101  They  had  undertaken  to  submit 
explanatory  documents  for  20  of  these.  The  process  of  assessing  the  national  measures  for  these 
Directives is under way. 

Five  of  the  20  Directives  for  which  the  Member  States  had  undertaken  to  provide  explanatory 
documents  in  2016  concern  financial  markets.  Member  States  notified  to  the  Commission  the 
following numbers of explanatory documents: 

•  26 for the Mortgage Credit Directive102 (including 7 correlation tables);  
•  13 for the Directive on deposit guarantee schemes103 (including 9 correlation tables);  
•  12 for the Audit Directive104 (including 8 correlation tables);  
•  19  for  the  Directive  on  undertakings  for  collective  investment  in  transferable  securities105 

(including 14 correlation tables); and  

•  16 for the Directive on payment accounts106 (including 5 correlation tables).  

In general, Member States send explanatory documents relating to financial markets together with the 
last document they dispatch when they declare complete transposition, though sometimes they send 
the  explanatory  documents  later.  In  most  cases  the  explanatory  documents  provided  are  correlation 
tables, which in general include information on the transposition of the provisions of the Directive and 
the  related  national  provisions.  The  quality  of  the  documents  submitted  varies.  In  many  cases,  the 
correlation table is very schematic and includes only cross-references between the EU legal act (e.g. 
the Directive on undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities) and the national text. 
In  other  cases,  the  explanatory  document  also  includes  the  text  of  the  transposition  measures  and 
remarks  or  explanatory  notes  to  further  facilitate  the  transposition  check.  In  three  cases,  the 
explanatory documents included both the text of the measures transposing the Audit Directive and the 
translation  into  English,  as  well  as  some  explanation  on  the  interaction  between  the  different 
transposition measures. 

Five  of  the  20  Directives  for  which  the  Member  States  had  undertaken  to  provide  explanatory 
documents  concern  the  internal  market.  Member  States  notified  to  the  Commission  the  following 
numbers of explanatory documents: 

•  37 for the Directive on the recognition of professional qualifications107 (including 11 correlation 

tables); 

•  14 for the Directive on the award of concession contracts108 (including 7 correlation tables);  
•  32 for the two Public Procurement Directives109 (including 14 correlation tables); and  
•  12 for the Directive on the list of defence-related products110 (including 2 correlation tables). 

Three of the 20 Directives are in the field of employment. The Commission received 25 explanatory 
documents for the Directive on health and safety requirements in case of exposure to electromagnetic 
fields111  (including  15  correlation  tables),  25  for  the  Directive  on  free  movement  of  workers’  rights112 
(including 9 correlation tables), and 7 for the Directive on working time in inland waterway transport113 

101   For  some  of  these  70  directives,  some  Member  States  have  a  transitional  period  and  some  other  Member 

States are not concerned. 

102   Directive 2014/17/EU. 
103   Directive 2014/49/EU. 
104   Directive 2014/56/EU. 
105   Directive 2014/91/EU. 
106   Directive 2014/92/EU. 
107   Directive 2013/55/EU. 
108   Directive 2014/23/EU. 
109   Directives 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU. 
110   Directive 2016/970/EU. 
111   Directive 2013/35/EU. 
112   Directive 2014/54/EU. 
113   Directive 2014/112/EU. 

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(including  2  correlation  tables).  The  quality  of  the  documents  received  varies  substantially.  In  some 
rare cases the quality is unsatisfactory, for example in referring only to the law transposing a provision 
of  the  Directive  and  failing  to  indicate  which  precise  provision  of  national  law  transposes  a  specific 
provision  of  the  Directive.  The  process  of  assessing  the  national  measures  for  these  Directives  is 
under way, so the Commission cannot yet draw definitive conclusions on the quality of the explanatory 
documents received. 

Two of the 20 Directives are in the field of migration and home affairs. The Commission received 10 
explanatory documents for the Directive on the conditions of entry and stay of third-country nationals 
for the purpose of employment as seasonal workers114 (including 2 correlation tables). It received 11 
for the Directive on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals in the framework of 
an intra-corporate transfer115 (including 2 correlation tables).  

One  of  the  20  Directives  concerns  communication  networks.  The  Commission  received  7 
explanatory  documents  for  the  Directive  on  collective  management  of  copyright116  (including  4 
correlation tables). This cross-cutting Directive is complex and is often implemented by more than one 
act  and/or  by  introducing  changes  to  existing  legal  documents.  Consequently,  transposition  is  also 
complex  and  the  explanatory  documents  greatly  facilitate  the  Commission’s  assessment  of  the 
national transposition measures. 

One  of  the  20  Directives  is  in  the  field  of  competition.  The  Commission  received  7  explanatory 
documents (including 1 correlation table) for the Damages Directive.117 

One of the 20 Directives concerns the environment sector. The Commission received 9 explanatory 
documents for the Directive on the assessment of ambient air quality118 (including 2 correlation tables).   

One  of  the  20  Directives  is  in  the  field  of  justice  and  consumers.  The  Commission  received  10 
explanatory documents for the Directive on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings119 
(including 1 correlation table). 

One of the 20 Directives concerns health and food safety. The Commission received 16 explanatory 
documents for the Tobacco Directive120 (including 10 correlation tables). These take a variety of forms, 
such as correlation tables, summary reports and explanatory notes. 

Overall, in 2016 Member States did not deliver in all cases on their commitment to provide explanatory 
documents  together  with  the  national  measures  transposing  the  Directives  into  their  legal  order.  An 
initial  assessment  of  the  explanatory  documents  that  were  submitted  indicates  that  their  quality  is 
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. 

114   Directive 2014/36/EU. 
115   Directive 2014/66/EU. 
116   Directive 2014/26/EU. 
117   Directive 2014/104/EU. 
118   Directive 2015/1480/EU. 
119   Directive 2013/48/EU. 
120   Directive 2014/40/EU. 

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III. 

Infringement procedures 

There are four 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) 

d) 

State’s legislation is not in line with the requirements of EU directives; 
infringement  of  the  Treaties,  regulations  and  decisions:  the  Commission 
considers that a Member State’s legislation is not in line with the requirements of 
the Treaties, EU regulations and decisions; 
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 
or  by  other  means.  The  Commission  actively  informs  complainants  of  the  decisions  taken 
throughout all stages of the procedure.121 

The infringement procedure under Article 258 TFEU 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  sending  it  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 
another specified period. 

The  Commission  regularly  publishes  information  on  its  decisions  on  infringement  procedures  on 
the Europa portal.122  

At  the  request  of  national  courts,  the  Court  of  Justice  may  also  issue  preliminary  rulings  under 
Article  267  TFEU  addressing  issues  of  conformity  of  national  laws  with  EU  legislation.  Whilst 
preliminary  rulings  are  distinct  from  infringement  judgments,  they  give  the  Commission  an 
additional  opportunity  to  ensure  that  violations  of  EU  law  deriving  from  national  legislation  or  its 
application  are  remedied.  The  Commission  systematically  follows  up  on  preliminary  rulings  in 
which the Court identifies non-conformities in national legislation.   

121   Annex  to  Communication  "EU  law:  Better  results  through  better  application"  C(2016)  8600,  OJ  C  18, 

19 January 2017. 

122   Commission decisions on infringements .  

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IV.  Before an infringement procedure is started 

1.  Detecting problems 

1.1. Own-initiative cases 

When  examining  the  implementation  of  EU  law,  the  Commission  opens  cases  on  its  own 
initiative. In 2016 it launched 520 such investigations using the EU Pilot mechanism (EU Pilot 
is explained in point 2 below), against 578 in 2015. 

1.2. Complaints and petitions 

The  number  of  new  complaints  in  2016  is  the  highest  since  2011.  In  2015  the  number  had 
fallen for the first time since 2011 (by around 9 % against 2014).  

Number of complaints (2012-2016) 

3715 

3783 

3505 

3450 

3141 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

The chart below shows further key data on complaints from members of the public:123 

Public complaints open at year-end 

3 098  >  Complaints open at end-2015 

3 783  >  New complaints registered in 2016 

3 458  >  Complaints handled in 2016 

= 3 423   >  Complaints open at end-2016 

The  Commission  registered  3  783  new  complaints  in  2016.  The  three  Member  States 
against which it filed the most complaints were Italy, Spain and France. 

• 

• 

• 

Italy:  753  complaints,  most  of  them  related  to:  employment,  social  affairs  and 
inclusion (322 complaints); internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs (129 
complaints); and environment (76 complaints); 

Spain:  424  complaints,  especially  in  connection  with:  justice  and  consumers  (149 
complaints);  employment,  social  affairs  and  inclusion  (57  complaints);  and  taxation 
and customs union (44 complaints); and 

France:  325  complaints,  mainly  related  to:  mobility  and  transport  (79  complaints); 
employment, social affairs and inclusion (60 complaints); and justice and consumers 
(58 complaints). 

123  The  number  of  complaints  open  at  end-2016  (d)  is  calculated  by  adding  together  the  number  of  complaint 
files  open  at  end-2015  (a)  and  of  new  complaints  opened  in  2016  (b),  then  subtracting  the  number  of 
complaints handled during 2016 (c) (a+b-c=d). 

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The  following  chart  shows  the  five  policy  areas  with  the  highest  number  of  new  complaints. 
Together they account for 75 % of all complaints made against all Member States in 2016. 

New complaints registered in 2016: main policy areas 

Other 
948 

Environment 
348 

Taxation and 
customs 
406 

Justice and 
consumers 
919 

Employment 
679 

Internal market, 
industry, 
entrepreneurship 
and SMEs 
483 

The Commission handled 3 458 complaints in 2016. Once it has assessed complaints, the 
Commission may launch an investigation using the EU Pilot mechanism to clarify whether EU 
rules  have  been  breached.  Not  all  complaints  in  2016  led  to  such  investigations,  for  the 
following reasons: no EU laws were breached (2 253), the Commission had no power to act 
(86)  or  the  correspondence  did  not  qualify  as  a  complaint  (667).  The  Commission  did  not 
pursue 20 cases as the complainants withdrew their complaint. These 3 026 complaints have 
therefore been closed. 

Complaints  leading  to  investigations  using  the  EU  Pilot  mechanism  were  most  frequently 
related  to  taxation  and  customs  (68  files  opened  under  EU  Pilot),  internal  market,  industry, 
entrepreneurship and SMEs (48 files opened) and justice and consumers (26 files opened).  

 These complaints also mainly concerned Spain, France and Italy. 

• 

• 

• 

Spain: 34 new EU Pilot files, most of them related to complaints about taxation and 
customs  (7);  employment  (6);  internal  market,  industry,  entrepreneurship  and  SMEs 
(5); and mobility and transport (4); 

France: 33 new EU Pilot files, especially in connection with complaints about taxation 
and  customs  (6);  employment  (4);  internal  market,  industry,  entrepreneurship  and 
SMEs (4); and justice and consumers (4); 

Italy:  23  new  EU  Pilot  files,  most  of  them  related  to  complaints  about  taxation  and 
customs  (7);  internal  market,  industry,  entrepreneurship  and  SMEs  (6);  and 
employment (5). 

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 2016. These include the following: 

  Environment:  The  Commission  issued  a  reasoned  opinion  against  one  Member 
State  over  its  non-compliant  transposition  of  the  Directive  on  public  access  to 

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environmental  information.124  In  another  case  about  waste  management,  the 
Commission began a bilateral dialogue with the Member States concerned. 

  Justice  and  consumers:  The  Commission  launched  a  bilateral  dialogue  with  a 

Member State on recognition of married names. 

  Taxation: In the area of direct taxation, the Commission followed up on a petition on 
immovable  property  taxes.  It  launched  bilateral  discussions  with  the  Member  State 
concerned on potential discrimination against EU pensioners. In the customs sector, 
the  Commission  launched  bilateral  discussions  with  some  Member  States  over  the 
duty relief for products for handicapped persons. 

 

Internal  market:  The  Commission  launched  bilateral  discussions  with  a  Member 
State in a case about compliance with the rules on public procurement. 

2.  EU Pilot 

The EU Pilot dialogue between the Commission and Member States was set up to quickly resolve 
potential breaches of EU law at an early stage in appropriate cases. It should be avoided that the 
recourse to EU Pilot adds a lengthy step to the infringement process, which in itself is a means to 
enter  into  a  problem-solving  dialogue  with  a  Member  State.  In  line  with  the  Communication  EU 
law:  Better  results  through  better  application,125  the  Commission  will  henceforth  launch 
infringement procedures without relying on the EU Pilot mechanism unless recourse to EU Pilot is 
seen as useful in a given case. 

In  2016,  the  number  of  new  EU  Pilot  files  reached  the  lowest  level  since  2011  (see  the  chart 
below). 

Number of EU Pilot files (2012-2016) 

1502 

1405 

1208 

881 

2012

2013

2014

2015

790 

2016

124   Directive 2003/4/EC. 
125   C(2016) 8600, OJ C 18, 19 January 2017. 

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Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 

The following chart shows the main EU Pilot figures for 2016:126 

EU Pilot files open at year-end 

1 260  >  EU Pilot files open at end-2015 

790  >  New EU Pilot files registered in 2016 

875  >  EU Pilot files handled in 2016 

= 1 175  >  EU Pilot files open at end-2016 

790  new  EU  Pilot  files  were  opened  in  2016.  Of  these,  270  were  triggered  by  complaints 
and inquiries and 520 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 2016: 

EU Pilot files opened in 2016: main policy areas 

Environment 
151 

Other 
201 

Taxation and 
customs 
106 

Internal market, 
industry, 
entrepreneurship 
and SMEs 
111 

Justice and 
consumers 
50 

Energy 
65 

Mobility and 
transport 
106 

The Commission handled 875 EU Pilot files in 2016. It closed 630 of these after receiving 
satisfactory answers from the Member States concerned. This gives a resolution rate of 72 %, 
which is below the 2015 and 2014 levels. 

Altogether, 245 EU Pilot files were closed because the Commission rejected the responses 
provided by Member States. Of these, 233 were followed up by launching formal infringement 
procedures (there were 201 such files in 2015). While 65 of these procedures were based on 
complaints and inquiries, the Commission launched the remaining 168 at its own initiative. 

Most EU Pilot files which led to formal infringement procedures concerned the following policy 
areas:  environment  (53  cases),  internal  market,  industry,  entrepreneurship  and  SMEs  (38), 
energy (29), and taxation and customs (25). Hungary and Germany had the highest number of 
files in EU Pilot which were pursued through infringement procedures (at 18 and 14 files each 
respectively), followed by Spain and Poland (13 files each). 

126  The number of EU Pilot files open at end-2016 (d) is calculated by adding together the numbers of files open 
at end-2015 (a) and of new files opened in 2016 (b), then subtracting the number of files handled during 2016 
(c) (a+b-c=d). 

21 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 

EU Pilot files: EU average resolution rate (2012-2016) 

75% 

75% 

72% 

68% 

70% 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

At the end of 2016, 1 175 EU Pilot files were open. The main Member States concerned were 
Italy  (98),  Spain  (75)  and  France  (73).  The  environment  remained  the  main  policy  area  affected 
(295  open  files),  followed  by  justice  (161)  and  internal  market,  industry,  entrepreneurship  and 
SMEs (143). 

The  following  chart  shows  the  EU  Pilot  resolution  rate.  This  is  the  percentage  of  files  the 
Commission handled in 2016 that it was able to close without opening an infringement case. 

EU Pilot files: Resolution rate versus number of files handled in 2016 

90

85

80

75

70

65

60

55

50

45

40

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

)

%

(

6
1
0
2
n

i

s
e
t
a
t
S

Cyprus 

Sweden 

Netherlands 

United Kingdom 

Malta 
&Estonia 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Bulgaria 

Luxembourg 

France 

Ireland 

Romania 

Finland 

Slovenia 

Austria 

Denmark 

Croatia 

Greece 

Portugal 

Italy 

Spain 

Poland 

Germany 

EU average resolution rate 

Slovakia 

Belgium 

Hungary 

Czech Republic 

10

20

30

40

60
EU Pilot files handled in 2016 (in absolute numbers) 

50

70

80

90

100

Member  States  have  a  standard  ten  week  timeframe  (70  days)  to  respond  to  the  Commission's 
requests  for  information  on  EU  Pilot  files.  The  next  chart  shows  how  long  it  took  each  Member 
State on average to respond to the Commission's requests in 2016. If the response is not clear or 
not satisfactory, the Commission may ask for further clarification or may open formal infringement 
proceedings.   

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 

EU Pilot files: Member States' response times in 2016 (in days) 

108 

81  81  81  81  82  83  83  84 

79  79 

74 

73 

70 days benchmark 

64  64  65  65  65  65 

61  61 

59 

57 

66  67  67  68  69 

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

V.  Stages in infringement procedures 

1.  Pre-litigation phase 

In 2016, the Commission launched 986 new procedures by sending a letter of formal notice. 
The following chart gives the breakdown by Member State. 

New infringement cases at  
31 December 2016 

42  42  43  43 45  45  46  47 

39  40  40 

37 

36 

60 

49 

31  31  32  32 

28  29 

23  24  24 

19  19  20  20 

IT SK EE MT LV NL SE UK DE DK LT BG HR RO SI FR FI

IE CZ EL LU PL CY HU ES AT BE PT

23 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 

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

New infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy 
areas 

Internal market, 
industry, 
entrepreneurship 
and SMEs 
292 

Other 
337 

Health and food 
safety 
148 

Financial 
stability, financial 
services and 
capital markets 
union 
120 

Environment 
89 

The Commission also sent 292 reasoned opinions to Member States in 2016. The main policy 
areas concerned were internal market (92), mobility and transport (42), financial services (37) 
and environment (33). 

The following chart gives the breakdown by Member State. 

Reasoned opinions sent to Member States in 2016 

21 

16  16  16 

17 

15 

14  14 

13  13 

12  12 

11 

10  10  10 

7  7  7  7 

9  9 

8 

6 

5 

4 

2 

1 

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

At the end of 2016, 1 657 infringement cases remained open. This is a considerable increase 
from the previous year and higher than all previous years, as the following chart shows. 

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 

Infringement cases open at year-end (2012-2016) 

1657 

1343 

1300 

1347 

1368 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

The following chart shows the number of open infringement cases by Member State at the end of 
2016: 

Infringement cases open on 31 December 2016 

91 91 

83 84 86 87 

76 

66 68 70 

60 

50 50 50 52 53 53 55 55 57 57 

44 45 

41 

38 

34 

30 31 

23 23 18 32 16 25 23 35 36 25 39 30 36 31 25 32 38 29 34 48 14 39 35 44 32 48 26 32 

EE MT DK LV SK HR NL LT LU SE FI

IE SI BG UK HU RO CZ AT CY IT PL FR PT EL BE DE ES

Top figures: Total number of infringements

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

Late transposition infringements

25 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 

The following chart shows the breakdown of the infringement cases open at the end of 2016, by policy 
area: 

Infringement cases open at end-2016: policy areas 

Communication 
networks 
58 

Energy 
56 

Other 
49 

Employment 
83 

Internal market, 
industry, 
entrepreneurship 
and SMEs 
270 

Environment 
269 

Justice and 
consumers 
88 

Health and food 
safety 
107 

Taxation and 
customs 
118 

Migration and 
home affairs 
138 

Mobility and 
transport 
191 

Financial stability, 
financial services 
and capital 
markets union 
230 

Even after it has launched an infringement 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.127 

In 2016, the Commission closed: 

•  520 infringements after sending letters of formal notice; 
•  126 cases after sending reasoned opinions; and 
•  18 cases after deciding to refer the case to the Court but before submitting the application. 
In  addition,  the  Commission  withdrew  9  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  2016  the  Court  gave  28  judgments  under  Article  258  TFEU,  of  which  23  were  in  the 
Commission’s favour. The Court delivered the most judgments against: 

  Portugal (4, all in the Commission’s favour); 

  Greece (3, all in the Commission’s favour); 

  Spain (3, all in the Commission’s favour); 

  United Kingdom (2, one of them in the United Kingdom’s favour); 

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

initiative by the Commission or late transposition of directives by Member States). 

26 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 

  The Netherlands (2, one of them in the Netherlands’ favour); 

  Poland (2, both in the Commission’s favour); 

  Austria (1, in Austria’s favour); 

  Belgium (1, in the Commission’s favour); 

  Bulgaria (1, in the Commission’s favour); 

  Cyprus (1, in the Commission’s favour); 

  Czech Republic (1, in the Commission’s favour); 

  Germany (1, in the Commission’s favour); 

  France (1, in the Commission’s favour); 

  Hungary (1, in the Commission’s favour); 

 

Italy (1, in the Commission’s favour); 

  Luxembourg (1, in the Commission’s favour); 

  Malta (1, in Malta’s favour); and 

  Romania (1, in the Commission’s favour). 

Portugal  (4),  Greece  (3)  and  Spain  (3)  were  the  subject  of  the  most  Court  judgments  under 
Article 258 TFEU in 2016. 

Member  States  frequently  take  the  measures  needed  to  comply  with  a  Court  judgment 
promptly. However, at the end of the year 95 infringement procedures were still open after a 
Court ruling because the Commission considered that the Member States concerned had not 
yet  complied  with  judgments  under  Article  258  TFEU.  The  main  Member  States  concerned 
were  Greece  (14),  Spain  (8),  Germany  and  Italy  (both  7).  The  cases  mainly  related  to  the 
environment  (37),  transport  and  mobility  (13),  taxation  and  customs  (9),  and  the  internal 
market (8). 

Of these 95 cases, 3 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  2016,  the  Court  delivered  2  judgments 
under Article 260(2) TFEU. It imposed penalty payments on Greece 128 and Portugal.129 At the 
end  of  2016,  10  infringement  procedures  were  still  open  after  a  Court  ruling  under  Article 
260(2) TFEU. 

128   Commission v Greece, C-584/14 (lump sum payment of EUR 10 million; penalty: EUR 30 000 for each day of 

delay adopting the measures necessary to comply with the judgment under Article 258 TFEU). 

129   Commission v Portugal, C-557/14 (lump sum payment of EUR 3 million; penalty: EUR 8 000 for each day of 

delay in implementing the measures necessary to comply with the judgment under Article 258 TFEU). 

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Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 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 

847 

447 

478 

585 

543 

56 

74 

67 

56 

70 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Number of directives with transposition deadline in a given year

New late transposition infringements

There  were  70  directives  to  transpose  in  2016,  up  from  56  in  2015.  New  late  transposition 
infringements increased sharply, to 847 from 543. 

At  the  end  of  2016,  868  late  transposition  infringement  cases  were  still  open,  a  67.5 % 
increase from the 518 cases open at the end of 2015. 

Late transposition infringement cases open at year-end 

518  >  Late transposition cases open at end-2015 

847  >  New late transposition cases registered in 2016 

498  >  Late transposition cases closed in 2016 

= 868  >  Late transposition cases open at end-2016 

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2016 Annual Report 

The following chart shows the number of late transposition infringement cases open at the end of 
2016 by Member State, irrespective of the year in which the case was opened. 

Late transposition infringement cases open on 31 December 2016 

48  48 

44 

38  39  39 

34  35  35  36  36 

29  30  31  32  32  32  32 

25  25  25  26 

23  23  23 

18 

16 

14 

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

The next chart shows new late transposition infringement cases (847 in total) opened in 2016, by 
Member State. 

New late transposition infringement cases 

51 

43 44 

40 

33 33 33 34 35 36 36 36 36 36 37 

27 28 29 

25 25 

18 19 20 20 21 22 

15 15 

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

29 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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2016 Annual Report 

The policy areas in which the new cases were launched in 2016 are shown in the following chart: 

New late transposition infringement cases opened in 2016: 
main policy areas 

Internal market, 
industry, 
entrepreneurship 
and SMEs 
267 

Other  
213 

Health and food 
safety 
147 

Financial 
stability, financial 
services and 
capital markets 
union 
116 

Environment 
50 

Mobility and 
transport 
54 

New cases were launched against 27 Member States for late transposition of the Directive on 
measures to reduce the cost of deploying high-speed electronic communications networks.130 
In addition, 26 Member States were involved in cases of late transposition of the Directives on 
human tissues and cells.131 The Commission launched 23 procedures over late transposition 
of the Directive on collective management of copyright and related rights.132 

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 failure to 
fully transpose 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.133  In  its  Communication  on 
enforcement  policy:  EU  law:  Better  results  through  better  application,134  the  Commission 
announced  that  for  infringement  cases  launched  after  its  publication,  it  would  systematically 
ask the Court to impose a lump sum as well as a periodic penalty payment. 

In 2016, 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. It referred 2 Member 
States to the Court in 2016: Luxembourg (2 cases)135 and Romania (1 case).136 In another 4 

130   Directive 2014/61/EU. 
131   Directives 2015/565/EU and 2015/566/EU. 
132   Directive 2014/26/EU. 
133   OJ C 12, 15.1.2011, p. 1-5. 
134   C(2016) 8600, OJ C 18, 19 January 2017. 
135   Commission v Luxembourg, C-489/16. The Commission referred Luxembourg to the Court for failing to fully 
implement  the  Single  European  Railway  Area  Directive.  It  proposed  a  daily  penalty  of  EUR  8 710; 
Commission v Luxembourg, C-511/16. The Commission referred Luxembourg to the Court for failing to fully 
implement the Directive 2014/27/EU in order to align it to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on the classification, 
labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures. It proposed a daily penalty of EUR 8 710. 

136   Commission  v  Romania,  C–62/156.  The  Commission  referred  Romania  to  the  Court  for  failing  to  fully 
implement  the  Directive  on  sulphur  content  of  marine  fuels.  It  proposed  a  daily  penalty  of  EUR  38 042.60. 

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Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 

cases  the  Commission  took  a  decision  for  referral  but  the  Member  States  adopted  the 
transposition measures before the application was sent to Court and  thus avoided the Court 
procedure.  These  cases  concerned  late  transposition  of  the  Single  European  Railway  Area 
Directive (Greece),137 the Banking Recovery and Resolution Directive138 (Romania and Czech 
Republic) and the Over-Reliance on Credit Ratings Directive139 (Luxembourg).  

In 2016, Member States increased their efforts to complete transposition before the Court of 
Justice delivered its judgments. However, 5 cases with a proposal for daily penalties remained 
open: 1 case each against Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden. 

Romania subsequently adopted the necessary legislative measures and the Commission therefore withdrew 
this case from the Court.  

137   Directive 2012/34/EU. 
138   Directive 2014/59/EU. 
139   Directive 2013/14/EU. 

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VII.  Conclusions 

The  high  number  of  infringement  procedures,  which  in  2016  rose  to  a  five-year  peak,  remains  a 
serious concern. Failure to ensure timely and correct transposition of EU legislation ultimately deprives 
citizens  and  businesses  of  their  benefits  under  EU  law.  The  Commission  therefore  attaches  great 
importance to ensuring the effective application of the law. 

The task of applying, implementing and enforcing EU legislation is shared by the EU and the Member 
States. The Commission will continue to provide the Member States with the support and assistance 
they  need  during  the  implementation  phase.  In  line  with  the  Communication  EU  law:  Better  results 
through better application, the Commission will focus its efforts on problems where enforcement action 
can make a real difference. At the same time, it will strengthen its response when pursuing breaches 
of EU law through infringement procedures. To ensure swifter compliance and to be able to deliver on 
its policy priorities, the Commission will henceforth launch infringement procedures without relying on 
the  EU  Pilot  mechanism,  unless  recourse  to  EU  Pilot  is  seen  as  useful  in  a  given  case.  The 
Commission  has  also  reinforced  the  sanctions  regime  under  Article  260(3)  TFEU  for  when  Member 
States fail to communicate on time their measures transposing a directive adopted under a legislative 
procedure. 

This more strategic approach to enforcement, combined with timely and effective Commission action, 
aims at ensuring better application of EU law for the benefit of all.   

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2016 Annual Report 

METHODOLOGY AND EXPLANATIONS 

I.  Annual report 

1.  Detecting problems 

First chart: Number of complaints (2012-2016) 

This shows the total number of complaints the Commission registered for the years 2012-2016. 

Second chart: Public complaints open at year-end 

This  starts  with  the  number  of  open  complaints  carried  over  from  2015  (first  column).  The  second 
column shows the number of new complaints registered in 2016. The third column shows the number 
of complaints on which the Commission took a decision in 2016. The fourth column shows the number 
of  complaints  open  at  the  end  of  2016  (calculated  by  taking  the  first  figure,  adding  the  second  and 
subtracting the third). 

Third chart: New complaints registered in 2016: main policy areas140 

This shows the main policy areas in which the new complaints were registered in 2016. 

2.  EU Pilot 

First chart: Number of EU Pilot files (2012-2016) 

This shows the total number of EU Pilot files the Commission opened in the years 2012-2016. 

Second chart: EU Pilot files open at year-end 

This starts with the number of open EU Pilot files carried over from 2015 (first column). The second 
column shows the number of new EU Pilot files opened in 2016. The third column shows the number 
of files on which the Commission took a decision in 2016. The fourth column shows the number of EU 
Pilot  files  open  at  the  end  of  2016  (calculated  by  taking  the  first  figure,  adding  the  second  and 
subtracting the third). 

Third chart: EU Pilot files opened in 2016: main policy areas 

This shows the policy areas in which the new EU Pilot files were opened in 2016. 

Fourth chart: EU Pilot files: EU average resolution rate (2012-2016) 

This  shows  the  total  number  of  EU  Pilot  files  the  Commission  closed  in  the  past  4  years  without 
opening an infringement case. 

Fifth chart: EU Pilot files: Resolution rate versus number of files handled in 2016 

This shows the EU Pilot resolution rate, i.e. the percentage of files the Commission handled in 2016 
that it was able to close without opening an infringement case. 

140   The data on policy areas referred to in the main report and in the sections on the Member States is based on 
information  available  in  the  European  Commission’s  infringements  central  database.  The  policy  areas  are 
referred  to  as  follows:  agriculture  and  rural  development;  budget;  climate  action;  communication  networks, 
content and technology; competition; education and culture; economic and financial affairs; financial stability 
and capital markets union; neighbourhood and enlargement negotiations; employment; energy; environment; 
migration and  home affairs; justice and consumers; maritime affairs and fisheries; internal market, industry, 
entrepreneurship  and  SMEs;  mobility  and  transport;  regional  policy;  health  and  food  safety;  taxation  and 
customs; trade. 

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Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 

Sixth chart: EU Pilot files: Member States’ response times in 2016 (in days) 

This shows each Member State's average response time in EU Pilot in 2016. 

3. 

Infringement procedures 

First chart: New infringement cases at 31 December 2016 

This shows the number of new infringement cases opened in 2016, by Member State. 

Second chart: New infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy areas 

This shows the main policy areas in which the new infringement cases were opened in 2016. 

Third chart: Reasoned opinions sent to Member States in 2016 

This shows the number of reasoned opinions sent to Member States in 2016. 

Fourth chart: Infringement cases open at year-end (2012-2016) 

This shows the number of infringements that remained open on 31 December of each year from 2012 
to 2016. 

Fifth: chart: Infringement cases open on 31 December 2016 

These  figures  show  all  procedures  that  the  Commission  has  started  against  each  Member  State  by 
sending  a  letter  of  formal  notice  under  Article  258  TFEU.  It  covers  letters  sent  in  2016  or  before, 
irrespective of the stages the cases have reached. Only cases which have not yet been closed by a 
formal decision are shown. For each Member State, the chart distinguishes between infringements for 
incorrect  transposition  and/or  bad  application  of  EU  law,  on  the  one  hand,  and  late  transposition 
infringements, on the other. 

Accordingly, the numbers include all cases that, on 31 December 2016: 

were in the pre-litigation phase (letter of formal notice, reasoned opinion or decision on referral 

to the Court under Article 258 TFEU); 

were pending before the Court under Article 258 TFEU or Article 260(3) TFEU; 

the Court had ruled on but where the Commission could not yet confirm that the Member State 

had implemented the judgment correctly; 

were  in  the  second  pre-litigation  procedure  (letter  of  formal  notice  or  referral  decision  under 

Article 260(2) TFEU); 

were pending before the Court due to a second referral; or 

the Court had ruled on for the second time but where the Commission could not yet confirm 

that the Member State had implemented the second judgment correctly. 

This figure does not include, for example, open EU Pilot files. It also does not include EU Pilot files for 
which the Commission rejected the Member State’s response but had  not yet sent a letter of formal 
notice under Article 258 TFEU. 

Sixth chart: Infringement cases open at end-2016: policy areas 

This shows the breakdown, by policy area, of the infringement cases open on 31 December 2016. 

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Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 

4.  Transposition of directives 

First chart: Directives and late transposition infringement cases 

This  shows  how  many  directives  had  to  be  transposed  in  the  years  2012-2016  and  how  many  new 
infringement cases for late transposition were opened in that period. 

Second chart: Late transposition infringement cases open at year-end 

This  starts  with  the number  of  late  transposition  infringements  carried  over  from  2015 (first  column). 
The second column shows the number of new late transposition infringements registered in 2016. The 
third column shows the number of complaints on which the Commission took a decision in 2016. The 
fourth  column  shows  the  number  of  late  transposition  infringements  open  at  the  end  of  2016 
(calculated by taking the first figure, adding the second and subtracting the third). 

Third chart: Late transposition infringement cases open on 31 December 2016 

This  shows  the  number  of  late  transposition  infringements  open  on  31 December  2016  by  Member 
State, irrespective of the year in which the infringement was opened. 

Fourth chart: New late transposition infringement cases 

This figure shows the number of letters of formal notice addressed to each Member State under Article 
258 TFEU for missing or partial notifications of national transposition measures in 2016. This figure is 
already included in the total number of new infringement cases initiated against the Member State in 
2016, so it should not be added to the figure shown in the first chart of the general statistics section. 

Please  note  that  not  all  of  these  new  infringement  cases  for  late  transposition  were  necessarily  still 
open on 31 December 2016. For example, if the Commission opened a late transposition infringement 
procedure  in  March  2016  by  sending  a  letter  of  formal  notice,  this  would  be  added  to  the  new 
infringement cases even if the Commission closed the case in October 2016 as a result of the Member 
State notifying complete transposition. 

Fifth chart: New late transposition infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy areas 

This  shows  the  main  policy  areas  in  which  the  procedures  for  late  transposition  were  launched  in 
2016. 

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