COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Part I: Policy areas Accompanying the document 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  SWD(2017) 259 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Part I: Policy areas Accompanying the document Monitoring the application of European Union law 2016 Annual Report {COM(2017) 370 final} {SWD(2017) 260 final}  
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT ...................................................................... 3 

COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS, CONTENT AND TECHNOLOGY ........................................... 6 

EMPLOYMENT, SOCIAL AFFAIRS AND INCLUSION .......................................................... 12 

ENERGY ................................................................................................................... 18 

ENVIRONMENT ......................................................................................................... 24 

FINANCIAL STABILITY, FINANCIAL SERVICES AND CAPITAL MARKETS UNION ................... 36 

HEALTH AND FOOD SAFETY ........................................................................................ 41 

INTERNAL MARKET, INDUSTRY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMES ..................................... 47 

JUSTICE AND CONSUMERS ......................................................................................... 53 

MARITIME AFFAIRS AND FISHERIES ............................................................................ 60 

MIGRATION AND HOME AFFAIRS ................................................................................. 63 

MOBILITY AND TRANSPORT ........................................................................................ 70 

TAXATION AND CUSTOMS UNION ................................................................................ 79 

METHODOLOGY AND EXPLANATIONS ........................................................................... 87 

This document provides an overview of the challenges in application of EU law in policy areas where 
the most significant developments related to infringement took place.

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Agriculture and rural development 

New  complaints  in  the  area  of  agriculture  and  rural  development  increased  in  2016  but 
remained  below  their  2014  peak.  The  number  of  new  EU  Pilot  files  dropped  below  the  2014 
and 2015 levels. The Commission did not open any new formal infringement procedures.  

I.  COMPLAINTS 

1.  New complaints received from members of the public (2012-2016) 

115 

98 

91 

105 

59 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  Public complaints open a year-end 

35 

>  Complaints open at end-2015 

105 

>  New complaints registered in 2016 

78 

>  Complaints handled in 2016 

= 62 

>  Complaints open at end-2016 

II.  EU PILOT 

1.  New EU Pilot files (2012-2016) 

30 

36 

25 

22 

22 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  EU Pilot files open at year-end 

At the end of 2016, 26 EU Pilot files remained open. 

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Agriculture and rural development 

3.  EU Pilot files: resolution rate for policies (2012-2016) 

95% 

89% 

97% 

100% 

95% 

68% 

70% 

75% 

75% 

72% 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Agriculture and rural development

General rate for all policy areas

III.  OWN-INITIATIVE CASES 

New own-initiative infringement cases 

In 2016, the Commission opened own-initiative infringement cases for non-compliance with the 
Direct Payments Regulation.1 

IV. 

INFRINGEMENT CASES 

1.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The  Commission  did  not  open  any  new  formal  infringement  procedures  in  2016,  but 

pursued other ongoing infringement cases, including: 

  Greece:  the  prohibition  placed  on  individual  wine  growers  on  the  island  of 

Samos from producing and marketing wine products.2 

b)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 258 TFEU. 

c)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 260(2)TFEU. 

V.  EARLY RESOLUTION OF INFRINGEMENT CASES 

Major cases closed without a Court judgment in 2016 

The Commission did not close any major infringement cases in 2016 in this area. 

VI. 

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS 

1.  Court rulings 

There were no major Court rulings in 2016 in this area. 

2.  Preliminary rulings 

In preliminary rulings, the Court held that: 

  Germany: the EU poultry meat labelling rules are compatible with the Charter of 
Fundamental Rights’ freedom to conduct a business and do not discriminate by 
requiring  the  indication  of  the  total  price  and  the  price  per  weight  unit  on  the 
pre-packaging or on the attached label;3 

1   Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013. 
2   MEMO/16/2490. 
3   Regulation (EC) No 543/2008, Lidl, C-134/15. 

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  Finland: when assessing whether the name of a spirit drink can be classified as 
an ‘evocation’ of a protected geographical indication, national courts must refer 
to  the  perception  of  the  average  European  consumer  who  is  reasonably  well 
informed,  observant  and  circumspect,  and  must  take  into  consideration  the 
phonetic  and  visual  relationship  between  the  names  concerned  and  any 
evidence showing that such a relationship is not fortuitous. Evocation may exist 
even  in  the  absence  of  any  likelihood  of  confusion  between  the  products 
concerned. The Court clarified these aspects in a case about the marketing of a 
Finnish spirit drink named ‘Verlados’.4 

VII.  OUTLOOK 

Important implementation work in 2017 includes: 

  ensuring  the  correct  and  effective  application  of  the  rules  of  the  common  agricultural 

policy; 

  pursuing legal action against Member States failing to apply correctly the mechanisms of 

the common market organisation and the direct payments regime; 

  continuing to make use of the clearance of accounts procedure in the agricultural sector 
to  persuade  Member  States  to  adjust  their  management  and  control  systems  when 
infringements have been detected through conformity audit mechanisms. 

4   Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, Viiniverla, C-75/15. 

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Communications networks, content and technology 

In  2016  new  complaints  in  the  area  of  communications  networks,  content  and  technology 
dropped  slightly  from  the  previous  year´s  peak.  New  EU  Pilot  files  also  fell  back  to  the  low 
level seen in 2014. The number of infringement cases pending at the end of the year almost 
doubled,  however.  The  Commission  opened  50  new  late  transposition  cases,  almost  three 
times as many as in 2015. 

I.  COMPLAINTS 

1.  New complaints received from members of the public (2012-2016) 

78 

66 

28 

32 

2012

2013

18 

2014

2015

2016

2.  Public complaints open a year-end 

69  >  Complaints open at end-2015 

66  >  New complaints registered in 2016 

48  >  Complaints handled in 2016 

= 87  >  Complaints open at end-2016 

3.  New complaints registered in 2016: main policy sectors 

66 complaints in 2016 

Electronic 
communication 
34 

Audio-visual 
and media 
services 
10 

Cybersecurity 
and digital 
privacy 
9 

Other 
13 

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II.  EU PILOT 

1.  New EU Pilot files (2012-2016) 

52 

34 

2012

2013

12 

2014

30 

2015

12 

2016

2.  EU Pilot files open at year-end 

At the end of 2016, 38 EU Pilot files remained open. 

3.  New EU Pilot files opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

12 EU Pilot files opened in 2016 

Electronic 
communications 
10 

Cybersecurity 
and digital 
privacy 
1 

E-commerce 
and platforms 
1 

4.  EU Pilot files: resolution rate for policies (2012-2016) 

68% 

59% 

70% 

52% 

75% 

74% 

75% 

72% 

56% 

42% 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Communication networks, content and technology

General rate for all policy areas

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III.  OWN-INITIATIVE CASES 

New own-initiative infringement cases 

The Commission did not open any own-initiative infringement cases in this area in 2016. 

IV. 

INFRINGEMENT CASES 

1.  Infringement cases open on 31 December (2012-2016) 

24 

20 

2012

2013

14 

2014

58 

31 

2015

2016

2.  Infringement cases open on 31 December 2016: main policy sectors 

58 infringement cases in 2016 

Electronic 
communications 
25 

Copyright 
26 

Audiovisual and 
media services 
4 

Data policy and 
innovation 
3 

3.  New infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

53 new infringement cases in 2016 

Electronic 
communications 
29 

Copyright 
23 

Audiovisual and 
media services 
1 

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4.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 53 new infringement cases  in 2016. These, and  other major 

ongoing infringement cases, include the following: 

  Greece:  non-compliance  with  the  rules  under  the  Authorisation  and  Framework 
Directives  regarding  the  independence  of  the  national  regulatory  authority  and 
rules on digital terrestrial television broadcasting;1 

  Poland:  non-compliance  with  the  rules  under  the  Authorisation  Directive,  the 
Framework  Directive  and 
for 
communications networks  and  services  as regards  the  spectrum assignment  to  a 
specific company without an open procedure.2 

the  Directive  on  competition 

the  market 

in 

b)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 258 TFEU. 

c)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 260(2) TFEU. 

V.  TRANSPOSITION OF DIRECTIVES 

1.  New late transposition infringement cases (2012- 2016) 

50 

17 

0 

0 

0 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  New late transposition infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

The Commission opened 50 new late transposition infringement cases in the area of electronic 
communication3 and copyright4 (see below). 

50 new late transposition infringement cases in 2016 

Electronic 
communication 
27 

Copyright 
23 

1   Directives 2002/20/EC and 2002/21/EC. 
2   Directives 2002/20/EC, 2002/21/EC and 2002/77/EC. 
3   Directive 2014/61/EU. 
4   Directive 2014/26/EU. 

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3.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 50 cases for late transposition in 2016. Most concern: 
the Collective Management Rights Directive (23 cases);5 
the Broadband Cost-Reduction Directive (20 cases).6 

 
 

b)  The  Commission  did  not  refer  any  cases  to  the  Court  under Articles  258  and  260(3) 

TFEU. 

VI.  EARLY RESOLUTION OF INFRINGEMENT CASES 

Major cases closed without a Court judgment in 2016 

The Commission did not close any major infringement cases in 2016 in this area. 

VII. 

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS 

1.  Court rulings7 

There were no major Court rulings in 2016 in this area. 

2.  Preliminary rulings 

In preliminary rulings, the Court held that: 

  Denmark:  the  Universal  Service  Directive8  must  be  interpreted  as  precluding  national 
legislation under which an undertaking designated as the provider of additional mandatory 
services  is  entitled  to  compensation  from  the  Member  State  for  the  net  cost  of  providing 
those services only if that cost constitutes an unfair burden on that undertaking;9 

  Germany:  when  a  person  provides  access  to  somebody  else’s  content  through  open 
internet  access,  the  person  whose  rights  are  breached  cannot  claim  compensation  from 
the  access  provider  for  that  breach  by  a  third  party. However,  it  can  claim compensation 
from the access provider if the infringement continues;10 

  Spain:  the  Framework  Directive  on  electronic  communications  networks  and  services  11 
does  not  preclude  the  possibility  for  national  regulatory  authorities  to  merge  into  one 
multisectoral  authority,  provided  that,  in  performing  those  tasks,  that  body  meets  the 
requirements  of  competence,  independence,  impartiality  and  transparency  laid  down  by 
the  Directive.  In  addition,  an  effective  right  of  appeal  to  an  independent  body  against  its 
decisions must be available, which is a matter to be determined by the national court;12 
  Netherlands:  when  a  hyperlink  is  posted  by  the  manager  of  a  website  to  copyright-
protected  works  made  available  on  another  website  without  the  authorisation  of  the  right 
holder, and no profit is pursued by the person posting the hyperlink, such a person can be 
considered, as a general rule, as not knowing or unable to reasonably know that the work 
was published without the consent of the right holder. However, when it is established that 
a  person  knew  or  ought  to  have  known  that  the  hyperlink  provides  access  to  a  work 
illegally placed on the internet, the provision of the link constitutes a communication to the 
public.  Such  knowledge  is  presumed  when  the  posting  of  hyperlinks  is  carried  out  for 
profit;13 

  Netherlands:  under  the  Directive  on  rental  and  lending  rights,14  the  term  ‘lending’  covers 
the lending of a digital copy of a book, where the lending is carried out by placing that copy 
on the server of a public library and allowing a user to reproduce that copy by downloading 

These rulings are almost exclusively handed down on infringement procedures. 

5   Directive 2014/26/EU. 
6   Directive 2014/61/EU. 
7  
8   Directive 2002/22/EC. 
9  
TDC, C-327/15. 
10   Mc Fadden, C-484/14, Court press release No. 99/16. 
11   Directive 2002/21/EC. 
12   Ormaetxea Garai and Lorenzo Almendros, C-424/15. 
13   GS Media, C-160/15. 
14   Directive 2006/115/EC. 

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it  onto  his  own  computer.  Only  one  copy  may  be  downloaded  and  it  can  only  be  used 
during the lending period;15 

  Poland:  the  Universal  Services  Directive16  must  be  interpreted  to  mean  that  a  Member 
State  may  provide  that  an  operator  of  a  public  electronic  communications  network  must 
ensure that all end users are able to access non-geographic numbers on its network in that 
State, and not only those of other Member States;17 

  Finland: a separation between a programme’s closing credits and advertising can be made 
spatially  and  not  necessarily  also  optically  or  acoustically,  as  long  as  the  advertising 
remains  readily  recognisable  and  distinguishable  from  editorial  content.  The  Court  also 
held that sponsorship announcements not placed at the beginning or end of a programme, 
as well as so-called black seconds that briefly separate one advertising spot from another, 
must be counted within the hourly limit for advertising;18 

  Sweden  and  United  Kingdom:  under 

the  Directive  on  privacy  and  electronic 
communications19  Member  States  may  establish,  as  a  preventive  measure,  a  targeted 
retention  of  data  solely  for  the  purpose  of  fighting  serious  crime,  provided  that  such 
retention  is  limited  to  what  is  strictly  necessary  regarding  the  categories  of  data  to  be 
retained, the means of communication affected, the persons concerned and the duration of 
the retention period. The Court further clarified that the access of national authorities to the 
retained  data  must  be  subject  to  conditions,  including  prior  review  by  an  independent 
authority, and that the data must be retained within the EU.20 

VIII.  OUTLOOK 

Important implementation work in 2017 includes: 

  monitoring  the  correct  application  of  EU  law  in  the  fields  of  the  single  market  for 
telecommunications,  with  a  focus  on  the  correct  application  of  the  ‘roam  like  at  home’ 
principle and of EU law on e-signatures and trust services. This concerns: 

 
 

the Regulation laying down measures concerning open internet access; 21   
the  Regulation  on  electronic  identification  and  trust  services  for  electronic 
transactions in the internal market;22 

  monitoring the transposition of: 
 
 

the Broadband Cost-Reduction Directive;23 
the Collective Management Rights Directive.24 

15   Vereniging Openbare Bibliotheken, C-174/15, Court press release No. 123/16. 
16   Directive 2002/22/EC. 
17   Polkomtel, C-397/14. 
18   Sanoma Media Finland - Nelonen Media, C-314/14. 
19   Directive 2002/58/EC. 
20  
21   Regulation (EU) 2015/2120. 
22   Regulation (EU) No 910/2014. 
23   Directive 2014/61/EU. 
24   Directive 2014/26/EU. 

Joined case Tele2 Sverige C-203/15 and Watson and Others, C-698/15, Court press release No.145/16. 

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Employment, social affairs and inclusion 

In 2016 new complaints in the area of employment, social affairs and inclusion rose to a five-
year peak but the number of new EU Pilot files fell again, reaching its lowest since 2012. Open 
infringement  cases  at  the  end  of  the  year  rose  for  the  third  year  running.  The  Commission 
sharply increased the number of new cases it launched for late transposition of directives. 

I.  COMPLAINTS 

1.  New complaints received from members of the public (2012-2016) 

666 

612 

679 

470 

309 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  Public complaints open a year-end 

416 

>  Complaints open at end-2015 

679 

>  New complaints registered in 2016 

610 

>  Complaints handled in 2016 

= 485 

>  Complaints open at end-2016 

3.  New complaints registered in 2016: main policy sectors 

679 complaints in 2016 

Labour law 
330 

Social security 
150 

Anti-
discrimination 
77 

Other 
122 

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Employment, social affairs and inclusion 

II.  EU PILOT 

1.  New EU Pilot files (2012-2016) 

62 

68 

61 

40 

37 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  EU Pilot files open at year-end 

At the end of 2016, 45 EU Pilot files remained open. 

3.  New EU Pilot files opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

37 EU Pilot files opened in 2016 

Labour mobility 
5 

Health and 
safety at work 
15 

Social security 
6 

Labour law 
11 

4.  EU Pilot files: resolution rate for policies (2012-2016) 

68% 

64% 

70% 

59% 

75% 

75% 

72% 

46% 

92% 

72% 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Employment policies

General rate for all policy areas

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Employment, social affairs and inclusion 

III.  OWN-INITIATIVE CASES 

New own-initiative infringement cases in 2016 

The Commission did not open any own-initiative infringement cases in 2016 in this area. 

IV. 

INFRINGEMENT CASES 

1.  Infringement cases open on 31 December (2012-2016) 

83 

75 

72 

62 

60 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  Infringement cases open on 31 December 2016: main policy sectors 

83 infringement cases in 2016 

Labour law 
25 

Labour mobility 
31 

Health and 
safety at work 
17 

Social security 
8 

Anti-
discrimination 
2 

3.  New infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

39 new infringement cases in 2016 

Labour mobility 
27 

Health and 
safety at work 
12 

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4.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 39  new infringement cases  in 2016. These, and  other major 

ongoing infringement cases, include the following: 
  Germany:  late  transposition  of  the  Directive1  aligning  various  rules  to  the 
Regulation2 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures; 
  Spain:  the  less  favourable  treatment  of  fixed-term  staff  in  the  public  sector.  This  

raises concerns under the Fixed-Term Work Directive.3 

b)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 258 TFEU. 

c)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 260(2) TFEU. 

V. 

TRANSPOSITION OF DIRECTIVES 

1.  New late transposition infringement cases (2012- 2016) 

39 

25 

13 

17 

14 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  New late transposition infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

39 new late transposition infringement cases in 2016 

Labour mobility 
27 

Health and 
safety at work 
12 

3.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 39 cases for late transposition in 2016. They included: 

 
 

the Directive on the enforcement of free movement of workers’ rights;4 
the Directive on the enforcement of posted workers’ rights5 and 

1 Directive 2014/27/EU. 
2 Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008. 
3 Council Directive 1999/70/EC. 
4 Directive 2014/54/EU. 

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Employment, social affairs and inclusion 

 

the  Directive  on  the  minimum  health  and  safety  requirements  to  be  observed 
when workers are exposed to electromagnetic fields.6 

b)  The Commission referred one case to the Court under Articles 258 and 260(3) TFEU. It 

concerned: 

 

Luxembourg:  late  transposition  of  the  Directive7  aligning  various  rules  to  the 
Regulation8  on  classification,  labelling  and  packaging  of  substances  and 
mixtures.9 

VI.  EARLY RESOLUTION OF INFRINGEMENT CASES 

Major cases closed without a Court judgment in 2016 

These concerned: 

  Denmark:  collective  agreements  in  the  municipal  education  sector  which 
excluded  part-time  staff  from  a  number  of  benefits  if  they  worked  less  than  8 
hours per week or were employed for less than 1 month; 

  Spain:  two  cases  related  to  the  incompatibility  of  national  law  on  the  Guardia 
Civil  with  the  Working  Time  Directive  as  regards  maximum  working  time, 
minimum rest periods and the protective provisions concerning night work;  

  Hungary:  paid  annual 

leave  granted 

to  members  of  so-called  school 

cooperatives; 

  Romania:  national  laws  on  government  employees  which  were  incompatible 
with  the  Working  Time  Directive  as  regards  workers'  right  to  acquire  annual 
leave  during  sick  leave  and  to  carry  over  untaken  annual  leave  due  to  sick 
leave; 
  Sweden: 

legislation  against  abuse  of 
in  national 
successive  fixed-term  employment  contracts.  This  allowed  employers  to  use 
various fixed-term contracts without limitation. 

insufficient  protection 

VII. 

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS 

1.  Court rulings10 

The Court ruled that: 

  Cyprus has treated migrant workers unequally by providing that those who left 
the  national  civil  service  to  work  within  the  EU  institutions  or  within  another 
international organisation lose their pension right and receive only a lump sum 
payment.  By  contrast,  civil  servants  who  remained  in  their  position  or  took  up 
another civil service position in Cyprus received the lump sum and retained their 
pension right;11 

  Malta did not violate EU social security rules when its laws deducted the value 
of  civil-service  old-age  pensions  from  other  Member  States  from  Maltese  old-
age pensions;12 

  United  Kingdom  did  not  violate  the  Regulation  on  the  coordination  of  social 
security  systems13  by  requiring  a person  claiming  certain  social  benefits  (child 
benefit and child tax credit) to satisfy the so-called right to reside test in order to 
be treated as habitually resident in the UK.14 

5   Directive 2014/67/EU. 
6   Directive 2013/35/EU. 
7   Directive 2014/27/EU. 
8   Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008. 
9   Commission v Luxembourg C-511/16, IP/16/2599. 
10   These rulings are almost exclusively handed down on infringement procedures. 
11   Commission v Cyprus, C-515/14. 
12   Commission v Malta, C-12/14. 
13   Regulation (EC) No 883/2004. 
14   Commission v United Kingdom, C30 8/14. 

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2.  Preliminary rulings 

In preliminary rulings, the Court held that: 

  Germany: a civil servant of a Member State who leaves his post voluntarily in 
order  to  be  employed  in  another  Member  State  should  not  lose  his  retirement 
pension rights under the retirement pension scheme for civil servants;15 

  Greece:  in  principle,  EU  law  allows  national  authorities  to  prohibit  collective 
redundancies.  However,  these  rules  must  strike  a  fair  balance  between  the 
protection of workers and employers’ freedom to conduct a business. The legal 
criteria  on  the  basis  of  which  the  authorities  may  oppose  planned  collective 
redundancies must therefore be formulated in specific and precise terms. Thus 
a  national  authorisation  regime 
for  collective  redundancies  would  be 
incompatible  with  the  Collective  Redundancies  Directive16  if  it  deprived  this 
Directive of its practical effect;17 

  Luxembourg:  the  grant  of  financial  aid  for  higher  education  studies  to  a  non-
resident  student  cannot  be  made  conditional  on  whether  at  least  one  of  the 
student’s parents worked in Luxembourg for a minimum and continuous period 
of  5  years  (while  no  such  condition  exists  in  respect  of  a  student  residing  in 
Luxembourg) ;18 

  Austria:  old-age  benefits  provided  under  an  occupational  pension  scheme  of 
one  Member  State  and  those  provided  under  a  statutory  pension  scheme  of 
another Member State are equivalent benefits, where both have the same aim 
of ensuring that their recipients maintain a standard of living commensurate with 
that which they enjoyed before retirement.19 

VIII.  OUTLOOK 

Important implementation work in 2017 includes: 

  monitoring the correct transposition of the Directives on: 

  protecting workers against electromagnetic fields;20  
  aligning occupational health and safety Directives to Regulation 1272/2008 on 

classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures;21 

  enforcing free movement of workers22 and 
  enforcing the posting of workers;23 and 
  working time in inland waterway transport24.  

 

following up on a preliminary ruling which is expected in 2017 in the de Lobkowicz case.25 
This  may  bring  clarifications  in  relation  to  the  principle  of  one  legislation  applicable  in 
social security coordination. 

15   Pöpperl, C-187/15. 
16   Council Directive 98/59/EC. 
17   AGET Iraklis, C-201/15, Court press release No 143/2016. 
18   Bragança Linares Verruga and Others, C-238/15. 
19   Knauer, C-453/14. 
20   Directive 2013/35/EU. 
21   Directive 2014/27/EU. 
22   Directive 2014/54/EU. 
23   Directive 2014/67/EU. 
24   Directive 2014/112/EU. 
25   De Lobkowicz C-690/15. 

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2016 Annual Report 

Energy 

All  the  main  indicators  in  the  area  of  energy  improved  in  2016.  New  complaints  dropped  to 
their  lowest  level  in  five  years  after  peaking  the  previous  year.  The  number  of  new  EU  Pilot 
files continued the downward trend seen since 2014. Infringement cases pending at the end of 
the year were down, while new late transposition cases reached an all-time low. 

I.  COMPLAINTS 

1.  New complaints received from members of the public (2012-2016) 

71 

72 

67 

91 

60 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  Public complaints open a year-end 

90 

60 

50 

>  Complaints open at end-2015 

>  New complaints registered in 2016 

>  Complaints handled in 2016 

= 100 

>  Complaints open at end-2016 

3.  New complaints registered in 2016: main policy sectors 

60 complaints in 2016 

Renewable 
energy 
18 

Energy 
efficiency 
9 

Internal energy 
market and 
consumer 
protection 
18 

Security of 
supply and 
offshore  safety 
8 

Euroatom 
7 

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Energy 

II.  EU PILOT 

1.  New EU Pilot files (2012-2016) 

124 

105 

88 

65 

50 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  EU Pilot files open at year-end 

At the end of 2016, 65 EU Pilot files remained open. 

3.  New EU Pilot files opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

65 EU Pilot files opened in 2016 

Energy 
efficiency  
29 

Other 
6 

Internal energy 
market and 
consumer 
protection 
4 

Energy 
infrastructure 
26 

4.  EU Pilot files: resolution rate for policies (2012-2016) 

82% 

68% 

90% 

75% 

75% 

70% 

71% 

2012

2013

2014

45% 
2015

Energy

General rate for all policy areas

19 

72% 

66% 

2016

 
 
 
 
 
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2016 Annual Report 
Energy 

III.  OWN-INITIATIVE CASES 

New own-initiative infringement cases 

In  2016,  the  Commission  opened  own-initiative  infringement  cases  concerning  the  Directives 
on: 

the energy performance of buildings;1 

 
  energy efficiency;2 
radioactive waste;3 
 
  drinking water;4 
 

the Third Internal Energy Market Package.5 

IV. 

INFRINGEMENT CASES 

1.  Infringement cases open on 31 December (2012-2016) 

93 

95 

71 

73 

56 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  Infringement cases open on 31 December 2016: main policy sectors 

56 infringement cases in 2016 

Renewable 
energy 
3 

Energy 
efficiency 
21 

Internal energy 
market and 
consumer 
protection 
10 

Euratom 
10 

Security of 
supply and 
offshore safety 
12 

1   Directive 2010/31/EU. 
2   Directive 2012/27/EU. 
3   Directive 2011/70/Euratom. 
4   Directive 2013/51/Euratom. 
5   Directives 2009/72/EC and 2009/73/EC. 

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Energy 

3.  New infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

30 new infringement cases in 2016 

Euratom 
12 

Security of 
supply and 
offshore safety 
2 

Internal energy 
market and 
consumer 
protection 
2 

Energy 
efficiency 
14 

4.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 30  new  infringement cases  in 2016. These, and  other major 

ongoing infringement cases, include the following: 

  Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Croatia, Hungary, Austria: failure to comply with 

the Third Internal Energy Market Package;6 

  Bulgaria,  Germany,  Greece,  Spain,  Netherlands,  Poland,  Portugal,  Romania, 

United Kingdom: failure to fully transpose the Offshore Safety Directive;7 

  Bulgaria, Spain, Slovenia: failure to comply with the Energy Efficiency and Energy 

Performance of Buildings Directives;8 

  Czech Republic: failure to comply with the Security of Gas Supply Regulation;9 
  Denmark,  Estonia,  Poland:  failure  to  fully  transpose  the  Energy  Efficiency 

Directive;10 

Directive;12 

  Latvia: failure to fully transpose the Radioactive Waste Directive;11 
  Poland, Portugal: failure to comply with the requirements of the Renewable Energy 

  Romania: failure to comply with the requirements of the Oil Stocks Directive.13 

b)  The Commission referred one case to the Court under Article 258 TFEU. It concerned: 

  Greece: non-compliance with  the  obligation  to  calculate  the  cost-optimal  levels  of 

minimum energy performance requirements for buildings.14 

c)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 260(2) TFEU. 

6   Directives  2009/72/EC  and  2009/73/EC;  MEMO/16/319,  MEMO/16/1452,  MEMO/16/2490,  MEMO/16/3125, 

and MEMO/16/4211. 

7   Directive 2013/30/EU; MEMO/16/319, MEMO/16/1452 and MEMO/16/3644. 
8   Directive 2012/27/EU; Directive 2010/31/EU, MEMO/16/3644, MEMO/16/319 and MEMO/16/2490. 
9   Regulation (EU) No 994/2010. 
10   Directive 2012/27/EU; MEMO/16/3125 and MEMO/16/1452. 
11   Directive 2011/70/Euratom; MEMO/16/1452. 
12   Directive 2009/28/EC; MEMO/16/1823 and MEMO/16/1452. 
13   Directive 2009/119/EC; MEMO/16/3644. 
14   Directive 2010/31/EU; Commission v Greece, C-160/16; IP/15/6007. 

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2016 Annual Report 
Energy 

V. 

TRANSPOSITION OF DIRECTIVES 

1.  New late transposition infringement cases (2012- 2016) 

33 

24 

25 

22 

2012

2013

2014

2015

4 
2016

2.  New late transposition infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

4 new late transposition infringement cases in 2016 

Euratom 
3 

Security of 
supply and 
offshore safety 
1 

3.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened four cases for late transposition in 2016. They concern: 

 
 

the Drinking Water Directive (3 cases);15 
the Offshore Safety Directive (1 case).16 

b)  The  Commission  did  not  refer  any  cases  to  the  Court  under Articles  258  and  260(3) 

TFEU.  

VI.  EARLY RESOLUTION OF INFRINGEMENT CASES 

Major cases closed without a Court judgment in 2016 

The Commission did not close any major infringement cases in 2016 in this area. 

15   Directive 2013/51/Euratom. 
16   Directive 2013/30/EU. 

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
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2016 Annual Report 
Energy 

VII. 

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS 

1.  Court rulings17 

There were no major Court rulings in 2016 in this area. 

2.  Preliminary rulings 

In preliminary rulings, the Court held that: 

  Belgium:  the  exemption  of  distribution  charges  limited  to  green  electricity  produced  in 
Flanders  is  incompatible  with  EU  law.  It  fails  to  achieve  the  objective  of  increasing  the 
production  of  green  electricity  and  is  thus  considered  non-proportionate  discrimination 
against imported electricity;18 

  France:  security  of  supply  and  territorial  cohesion  might  be  objectives  in  the  general 
economic interest which may justify state intervention in fixing the price of supply of natural 
gas  to  household  customers.  However,  such  intervention  would  be  compatible  with  the 
Gas  Directive19  only  if  strict  requirements  were  met,  including  proportionality  and  non-
discrimination.20 

VIII.  OUTLOOK 

Important implementation work in 2017 includes: 

  performing  transposition  and  conformity  checks  where  needed,  for  example  for  the 

Directives: 

  establishing  a  Community  framework  for  the  nuclear  safety  of  nuclear 

installations;21 

  on the quality of petrol and diesel fuels (Indirect Land-Use Change);22 

 

 
 

following up on non-conformity issues related to the Third Energy Package Directives and 
the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive;23 
checking compliance with the Energy Efficiency and Offshore Safety Directives;24 
following up a Court judgment expected on the applicability of the Aarhus Regulation in 
the field covered by the Euratom Treaty.25 

17   These rulings are almost exclusively handed down on infringement procedures. 
18   Essent Belgium NV v Vlaams Gewest and Others, C-492/14. 
19   Directive 2009/72/EC. 
20   ANODE, C-121/15, Court press release No 88/2016. 
21   Directive 2014/87/Euratom. 
22   Directive 2015/1513/EU. 
23   Directives 2009/72/EC, 2009/73/EC and 2010/31/EU. 
24   Directives 2012/27/EU and 2013/30/EU. 
25   Regulation (EU) No 1367/2006, case T-307/16. 

23 

 
 
                                                 
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2016 Annual Report 

Environment 

New complaints in the area of environment policy continued to decrease in 2016, reaching the 
lowest level in 6 years. The same goes for infringement cases open at the end of the year and 
new  late  transposition  cases.  In  contrast,  the  number  of  new  EU  Pilot  files  jumped,  while 
remaining below its 2012-2014 levels.    

I.  COMPLAINTS 

1.  New complaints received from members of the public (2012-2016) 

588 

520 

508 

363 

348 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  Public complaints open a year-end 

434  >  Complaints open at end-2015 

348  >  New complaints registered in 2016 

311  >  Complaints handled in 2016 

= 471  >  Complaints open at end-2016 

3.  New complaints registered in 2016: main policy sectors 

348 complaints in 2016 
Impact 
assessments 
70 

Nature 
protection  
87 

Chemicals 
49 

Other 
142 

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2016 Annual Report 
Environment 

II.  EU PILOT 

1.  New EU Pilot files (2012-2016) 

386 

279 

207 

2012

2013

2014

101 

2015

151 

2016

2.  EU Pilot files open at year-end 

At the end of 2016, 294 EU Pilot files remained open. 

3.  New EU Pilot files opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

151 EU Pilot files opened in 2016 

Water protection 
& management 
53 

Nature 
protection 
34 

Other 
42 

Chemicals 
24 

4.  EU Pilot files: resolution rate for policies (2012-2016) 

74% 

74% 

79% 

76% 

68% 

70% 

75% 

75% 

72% 

65% 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Environment

General rate for all policy areas

25 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 
Environment 

III.  OWN-INITIATIVE CASES 

New own-initiative infringement cases 

In 2016, the Commission opened own-initiative infringement cases over: 

 
 

shortcomings in the completion of the Natura 2000 network of nature protection areas; 
insufficient  designation  and  conservation  measures  regarding  special  areas  of 
conservation under the Habitats Directive;1 

  non-compliance  with  the  requirements  of  the  Waste  Framework  Directive2  and  the 

Landfill Directive;3 

  non-compliance with the Water Framework Directive;4 
incorrect transposition and application of the Floods Directive;5 
 
incorrect transposition of the Groundwater Directive;6 
 
incorrect transposition and application of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive;7 
 
shortcomings in the application of the Environmental Noise Directive;8 
 
incorrect transposition of the Industrial Emissions Directive;9 
 
incorrect transposition of the Environmental Liability Directive10 and 
 
  non-respect of air quality limit values set by the Air Quality Directive.11 

IV. 

INFRINGEMENT CASES 

1.  Infringement cases open on 31 December (2012-2016) 

334 

322 

276 

272 

269 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  Infringement cases open on 31 December 2016: main policy sectors 

1   Directive 92/43/EEC. 
2   Directive 2008/98/EC. 
3   Directive 1999/31/EC. 
4   Directive 2000/60/EC. 
5   Directive 2007/60/EC. 
6   Directive 2006/118/EC. 
7   Directive 2008/56/EC. 
8   Directive 2002/49/EC. 
9   Directive 2010/75/EU. 
10   Directive 2004/35/EC. 
11   Directive 2008/50/EC. 

26 

 
 
                                                 
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2016 Annual Report 
Environment 

269 infringement cases in 2016 

Other 
45 

Water protection 
& management 
69 

Air quality 
48 

Nature 
protection 
49 

Waste 
management 
58 

3.  New infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

89 new infringement cases in 2016 

Waste  
management 
30 

Other 
9 

Nature 
protection 
8 

Water protection 
& management 
21 

Air quality 
21 

4.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 89  new infringement cases  in 2016. These, and  other major 

ongoing infringement cases, include the following: 
  Belgium,  Spain,  France,12  Croatia,13  Cyprus,14  Romania15: 

lack  of  waste 
management  plans  and  waste  prevention  programmes  required  under  the  Waste 
Framework Directive;16 

  Belgium,  Czech  Republic,  Estonia, 

Ireland,17  Spain,  Malta  and  Portugal: 

inadequate urban waste water treatment; 

  Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Austria and Poland: non-respect of 

NO2  limit values set by the Air Quality Directive;18 

  Belgium,  Czech  Republic  and  Denmark:  non-compliant  transposition  of  the 

Environmental Liability Directive;19 

  Germany,  Spain,  Italy,  Hungary,  Slovenia  and  Slovakia:  lack  of  strategic  noise 

maps and/or action plans required by the Environmental Noise Directive;20 

12   MEMO/16/3644. 
13   MEMO/16/1452. 
14   MEMO/16/4211. 
15   MEMO/16/1823. 
16   Directive 2008/98/EC. 
17   MEMO/16/3125. 
18   Directive 2008/50/EC. 
19   Directive 2004/35/EC. 

27 

 
 
 
                                                 
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2016 Annual Report 
Environment 

 

Ireland21,  Greece,22  and  Portugal:23  bad  application  of  the  Habitats  Directive  as 
regards  designation  of  special  areas  of  conservation  and  establishment  of  the 
necessary conservation measures;24 

  Greece:  failure  to  notify  flood  hazard  and  risk  maps  required  under  the  Floods 

Directive;25 

  Spain  and  Slovenia26:  failure  to  ensure  that  waste  landfills  operate  in  compliance 

with EU standards; 

  France: non-compliant transposition of the Mining Waste Directive;27 
  Croatia,28  Finland  and  Sweden:  non-compliant 

transposition  of 

the  Waste 

Framework Directive;29 
Italy: non-respect of the PM10

 
  Slovakia: non-compliance with the EU Timber Regulation.32 
  Sweden: non-compliant transposition of the Water Framework Directive.33 

30 limit values set by the Air Quality Directive;31 

b)  The Commission referred six cases to the Court under Article 258 TFEU. They concern: 

  Germany:  failure  to  correctly  apply  the  requirements  of  the  Habitats  Directive  in 

relation to the authorisation of a coal power plant in Hamburg/Moorburg;34 

  Germany: failure to take sufficient measures to combat water pollution caused by 

nitrates from agricultural sources;35 

  Greece: poor management of the Temploni waste landfill on the island of Corfu;36 
  Poland:  widespread  non-respect  of  the  PM10  limit  values  set  by  the  Air  Quality 

Directive;37 

  Poland:  failure  to  ensure  that  the  environmental  impacts  of  exploratory  mining 

drillings are properly assessed;38 

  Slovenia: inappropriate treatment of waste tyres in Lovrenc na Dravskem polju.39 

c)  The  Commission  referred  two  cases  to  the  Court  under  Article  260(2)  TFEU.  They 

concern: 

  Greece:  failure  to  implement  a  Court  judgment  that  Greece  was  failing  to 
adequately collect and treat waste water discharged into the Gulf of Elefsina. The 
Commission  proposed  to  the  Court  to  impose  a  lump  sum  payment  of 
EUR 15 943 620  and  a  daily  penalty  payment  of  EUR 34 974  until  full  compliance 
with EU law is ensured;40 

  Slovakia: failure to implement a Court judgment that Slovakia was failing to ensure 
that  decisions  on  the  operation  of  the  landfill  in  Žilina–Považský  Chlmec  were 
taken in line with EU rules on landfilling of waste. The Commission proposed to the 

20   Directive 2002/49/EC. 
21   MEMO/16/1452. 
22   MEMO/16/319. 
23   MEMO/16/1823. 
24   Directive 92/43/EEC. 
25   Directive 2007/60/EC, MEMO/16/3644. 
26   MEMO/16/1452. 
27   Directive 2006/21/EC. 
28   MEMO/16/2490. 
29   Directive 2008/98/EC. 
30   PM10  is  an  air  pollutant  consisting  of  small  particles  with  an  aerodynamic  diameter  less  than  or  equal  to  a 
nominal  10  micrometres.  The  particles’  small  size  allows  them  to  penetrate  deep  into  the  lungs  where  they 
may be deposited and cause adverse health effects. (Source: European Environment Agency). 

31   Directive 2008/50/EC. 
32   Regulation (EU) No 995/2010. 
33   Directive 2000/60/EC. 
34   Directive 92/43/EEC, Commission v Germany, C-142/16 ; IP/15/4669. 
35   Commission v Germany, C-543/16; IP/16/1453. 
36   Commission v Greece, C-202/16; IP/15/6224. 
37   Directive 2008/50/EC, Commission v Poland, C-336/16; IP/15/6225. 
38   Commission v Poland, C-526/16; IP/16/1454. 
39   Commission v Slovenia, C-153/16; IP/15/4671. 
40   Commission v Greece, C-328/16; IP/15/6009. 

28 

 
                                                                                                                                                        
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2016 Annual Report 
Environment 

Court to impose a lump sum payment of EUR 939 000 and a daily penalty payment 
of EUR 6 793.80 until full compliance with EU law is ensured.41 

V.  TRANSPOSITION OF DIRECTIVES 

1.  New late transposition infringement cases (2012- 2016) 

168 

127 

63 

88 

50 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  New late transposition infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

50 new late transposition infringement cases in 2016 

Air quality 
10 

Waste  
management 
25 

Water protection 
& management 
15 

3.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 50 cases for late transposition in 2016. Most concern: 

 

 

 

a  Commission  Directive42  amending  the  Waste  Framework  Directive43  (11 
Member States); 
a  Commission  Directive44  amending  the  Stage  II  Petrol  Vapour  Recovery 
Directive45 (10 Member States); 
a Commission Directive46 amending the Groundwater Directive47 (nine Member 
States). 

41   Commission v Slovakia, C-626/16; IP/16/2099. 
42   Directive 2015/1127/EU . 
43   Directive 2008/98/EC. 
44   Directive 2014/99/EU. 
45   Directive 2009/126/EC. 

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2016 Annual Report 
Environment 

b)  The Commission referred one case to the Court under Articles 258 and 260(3) TFEU. It 

concerned: 

  Romania:  failure  to  transpose  the  Directive  on  the  sulphur  content  of  marine 

fuels.48 

VI.  EARLY RESOLUTION OF INFRINGEMENT CASES 

Major cases closed without a Court judgment in 2016 
These concerned: 

  Belgium,  Bulgaria,  Czech  Republic,  Denmark,  Estonia,  Greece,  Latvia, 
Lithuania,  Luxembourg,  Romania,  Slovenia,  Spain  and  United  Kingdom:  non-
communication of national measures transposing the Seveso III Directive;49 

  Czech  Republic:  non-compliant 

transposition  of 

the  Waste  Framework 

  Czech Republic: incorrect transposition of the Groundwater Directive;51 
  Czech Republic: incorrect transposition of the Environmental Quality Standards 

Directive;50 

Directive;52 

  Greece: operation of the landfill of Mesolonghi in breach of the Landfill Directive 

and the Waste Framework Directive;53 

  Spain: 

incorrect 

the  Environmental 

transposition  of 
Directive by the Tourism Act in the Balearic Islands;54 
Italy:  bad  application  of  the  Birds  Directive  in  relation  to  the  trapping  of  live 
decoys using nets;55 
Italy and Cyprus: non-communication of national measures transposing the new 
Batteries Directive;56 

Impact  Assessment 

 

 

  Cyprus: non-communication of national measures transposing the Directive on 

priority substances in the field of water policy;57 

  Hungary and Romania: failure to implement the EU Timber Regulation and the 

Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Regulation.58 

  Austria and Slovenia: non-communication of national measures transposing the 

Industrial Emissions Directive;59 

  Poland:  incorrect  transposition  of  the  Environmental  Impact  Assessment 

Directive and the Habitats Directive in relation to maintenance works;60 

  Poland: non-communication of national measures transposing the Directive on 

waste electrical and electronic equipment;61 

  Portugal: illegal landfills operated in breach of the Landfill Directive;62 
  Romania:  incorrect  application  of  the  Environmental  Impact  Assessment 
Directive in relation to the operation of the FCN Pitesti nuclear power plant;63 

46   Directive 2014/80/EU. 
47   Directive 2006/118/EC. 
48   Directive  2012/33/EU,  Commission  v  Romania,  C-62/16;  IP/15/6008.  Romania  subsequently  adopted  the 
necessary legislative measures and the Commission has therefore withdrawn this case from the Court. 

49   Directive 2012/18/EU. 
50   Directive 2008/98/EC. 
51   Directive 2006/118/EC. 
52   Directive 2008/105/EC. 
53   Directives 1999/31/EC and 2008/98/EC. 
54   Directive 2011/92/EU. 
55   Directive 2009/147/EC. 
56   Directive 2013/56/EU. 
57   Directive 2013/39/EU. 
58   Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 and Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005. 
59   Directive 2010/75/EU. 
60   Directives 2011/92/EU and 92/43/EEC. 
61   Directive 2012/19/EU. 
62   Directive 1999/31/EC. 
63   Directive 2011/92/EU. 

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Environment 

  Slovenia:  failure  to  adopt  a  national  waste  management  plan  and  a  waste 
prevention programme as required under the Waste Framework Directive;64 
  Slovakia:  failure  to  ensure  adequate  protection  of  wolves,  in  line  with  the 

Habitats Directive;65 

  Slovakia: incorrect transposition of the Floods Directive;66 
  Finland: incorrect transposition of the Water Framework Directive;67 
  Sweden: lack of access to justice in relation to hunting decisions taken by the 

County Administrative Boards; 

  United  Kingdom:  incorrect  application  of  the  Industrial  Emissions  Directive  by 
excluding  small  waste  oil  burners  from  the  scope  of  the  definition  of  waste 
incineration plants;68 

  United  Kingdom:  failure  to  comply  with  the  Habitats  Directive  as  regards 

protection of wild salmon in Scotland. 69 

VII. 

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS 

1.  Court rulings70 

The Court ruled that: 

 

Bulgaria  has  failed  to  protect  unique  habitats  and  endangered  species  in  the  Kaliakra 
region,  in  violation  of  the  Birds  Directive,  the  Habitats  Directive  and  the  Environmental 
Impact Assessment Directive;71 

  Greece  has  failed  to  comply  with  the  Habitats  Directive  by  not  providing  adequate 

protection for the endangered sea turtle Caretta caretta in the Bay of.Kyparissia;72 

 

 

 

  Greece  has  failed  to  take  all  the  necessary  measures  to  comply  with  the  Court's  2009 
judgment that Greece was not ensuring adequate management of hazardous waste. The 
Court ordered Greece to pay a lump sum of EUR 10 million and a daily penalty payment 
of EUR 30 000;73 
Spain  has  failed  to  ensure  the  adequate  treatment  of  urban  waste  water  from  four 
agglomerations discharging into sensitive areas;74 
Spain has not fulfilled its obligations under the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive 
in relation to a project to build a high-speed railway line between Seville and Almeria;75 
Spain has infringed the Landfill Directive as it has not taken the necessary measures to 
ensure that landfills do not continue to operate unless they satisfy the requirements of the 
Directive;76 
France has failed to provide adequate treatment of urban waste water in several smaller 
agglomerations;77 
the  action  brought  by  the  Commission  against  Austria  for  its  failure  to  fulfil  obligations 
under the Water Framework Directive in relation to the authorisation for the construction 
of a hydropower plant on the Schwarze Sulm River was unfounded;78 
Poland  has  failed  to  transpose  correctly  or  completely  into  its  national  legal  framework 
several provisions of the Water Framework Directive;79 

 

 

 

64   Directive 2008/98/EC. 
65   Directive 92/43/EEC. 
66   Directive 2007/60/EC. 
67   Directive 2000/60/EC. 
68   Directive 2010/75/EU. 
69   Directive 92/43/EEC. 
70   These rulings are almost exclusively handed down on infringement procedures. 
71   Directives 2009/147/EC, 92/43/EEC and 2011/92/EU, Commission v Bulgaria, C-141/14. 
72   Directive 92/43/EEC, Commission v Greece, C-504/14. 
73   Commission v Greece, C-584/14 and Court press release No 87/16. 
74   Directive 91/271/EEC , Commission v Spain, C-38/15. 
75   Directives 2009/147/EC and 92/43/EEC , Commission v Spain, C-461/14. 
76   Directive 1999/31/EC, Commission v Spain, C-454/14. 
77   Directive 91/271/EEC, Commission v France, C-314/15. 
78   Directive 2000/60/EC, Commission v Austria, C-346/14. 
79   Directive 2000/60/EC, Commission v Poland, C-648/13. 

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Environment 

 

 

Portugal  has  failed  to  execute  in  full  the  Court's  2009  judgment  that  Portugal  was  not 
ensuring adequate treatment of urban waste water in certain agglomerations discharging 
into normal areas. The Court ordered Portugal to pay a lump sum of EUR 3 million and 
daily penalty payment of EUR 8 000;80 
Portugal has failed to ensure adequate treatment of urban waste water in several smaller 
agglomerations;81 

  Romania  has  failed  to  take  the  necessary  measures  to  prevent  pollution  from  dust 
particles  coming  from  a  copper  mining  operation,  in  breach  of  the  Mining  Waste 
Directive;82 

  United Kingdom has incorrectly applied the Large Combustion Plants Directive in relation 
to  the Aberthaw  Power  Station  in  Wales,  by  not  respecting  the  emission  limit  value  for 
nitrogen oxides (NOx).83 

2.  Preliminary rulings 

In preliminary rulings, the Court held that: 

 

 

Belgium:  measures  contained  in  a  plan  or  project  not  directly  connected  with  the 
management of a site of Community importance which, before the occurrence of adverse 
effects on a natural habitat type present on it, are providing for the future creation of an 
area of that type may not be taken into account in the assessment of the effects of  the 
plan  or  project  on  the  site  when  that  assessment  precedes  the  completion  of  the 
respective  area.  Qualifying  such  measures  as  ‘compensatory  measures’  under  the 
Habitats Directive is strictly subject to the conditions it lays down;84 
Belgium:  a  regulatory  order  containing  provisions  on  the  installation  of  wind  turbines 
which  must  be  complied with  when administrative  consent  is  granted  for  the  installation 
and  operation  of  such  installations  comes  within  the  notion  of  ‘plans  and  programmes’ 
under the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive;85 

  Germany: when a plan or project not directly connected with the management of a nature 
site  was  authorised  following  a  study  not  meeting  the  requirements  of  the  Habitats 
Directive, and before the inclusion of this site in the list of sites of Community importance, 
a subsequent review of its effects is required if that is the only appropriate step to prevent 
significant  deterioration  or  disturbance  of  the  habitat  due  to  implementation  of  the 
respective plan or project. A review of the effects of a plan or project put in hand after the 
inclusion  of  a  site  in  the  list  of  sites  of  Community  importance  must  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  Habitats  Directive  and  take  into  account  all  factors  existing  at  the 
date  of  that  inclusion,  as  well  as  all  implications  arising  from  the  implementation  of  the 
plan or project after that date;86 

impact  assessment,  even 

  Germany: a road development project which concerns a stretch of road under 10 km in 
length  is  not,  solely  because  of  its  nature,  among  the  projects  subject  to  a  systematic 
environmental 
the  widening  or 
development  of  an  existing  road  with  four  or  more  lanes.  ‘Express  roads’  are  roads 
complying  with  the  technical  characteristics  set  out  in  Annex  II  to  the  European 
Agreement on Main International Traffic Arteries, even if those roads do not form part of 
the  network  of  main  international  traffic  arteries  or  are  located  in  urban  areas.  The 
concept  of  ‘construction’  covers  the  carrying-out  of  works  not  previously  existing  or  the 
physical alteration of existing installations;87 
France: roll cores in the form of rolls, tubes or cylinders, around which flexible material is 
wound and sold to consumers, constitute ‘packaging’ under the Packaging Directive;88 

it  consists 

though 

in 

 

80   Directive 91/271/EEC, Commission v Portugal, C-557/14 and Court press release No 67/16. 
81   Directive 91/271/EEC, Commission v Portugal, C-398/14. 
82   Directive 2006/21/EC, Commission v Romania, C-104/15. 
83   Directive 2001/80/EC, Commission v United Kingdom, C-304/15. 
84   Directive 92/43/EEC, Orleans and Others, joined cases C-387/15 and C-388/15. 
85   Directive 2001/42/EC, D’Oultremont and Others, C-290/15. 
86   Directive 92/43/EEC, Grüne Liga Sachsen and Others, C-399/14. 
87   Bund Naturschutz in Bayern and Wilde, C-645/15. 
88   Directive 94/62/EC, Eco-Emballages, joined cases C-313/15 and C-530/15. 

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2016 Annual Report 
Environment 

 

France: a national court may, exceptionally and on a case-by-case basis, limit in time the 
effects of a declaration of the illegality of a national provision adopted in disregard of the 
Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive, provided that such a limitation is dictated 
by  an  overriding  consideration  linked  to  environmental  protection  and  having  regard  to 
the specific circumstances of the case. However, this power may be exercised only if the 
following conditions are satisfied:  

 

the  contested  national  provision  is  a  measure  correctly  transposing  EU 
environmental law;  

  a  new  national  provision  would  not  avoid  damage  to  the  environment 

arising from annulment of the contested provision;  

  annulment  of  the  contested  provision  would  create  a  legal  vacuum  in  the 
transposition  of  EU  environmental  law  which  would  be  more  damaging  to 
the environment; and,  
the  effects  of  the  contested  provision  are  maintained  only  for  the  period 
strictly necessary to adopt the measures remedying the irregularity;89 

 

 

  Croatia: a national legislation which provides that the price of water services invoiced to 
the consumer includes not only a variable component calculated according to the volume 
of  water  actually  consumed  by  the  person  concerned,  but  also  a  fixed  component  not 
connected with that volume, is compatible with the Water Framework Directive;90 
Italy:  the  Mining  Waste  Directive  does  not  have  the  effect  of  making  subject  to  the 
requirements of the Landfill Directive an operation which entails the backfilling of a quarry 
with waste other than extractive waste, if that operation does not amount to a disposal but 
to a recovery of waste;91 
Italy: the term ‘small areas at local level’, under the Strategic Environmental Assessment 
Directive,  refers  to  areas  under  the  territorial  jurisdiction  of  the  local  authority  preparing 
and/or adopting the plan or programme concerned, and which are small in size relative to 
that territorial jurisdiction;92 

 

  Hungary: shipments of waste intended for recovery must be considered illegal, under the 
Waste  Shipment  Regulation,  when  the  shipment  document  contains  incorrect  or 
inconsistent  information  about  the  importer/consignee,  the  recovery  facility  and  the 
countries/states  concerned.  This  is  the  case  irrespective  of  whether  the  error  is  made 
intentionally,  that  information  is  correct  in  other  documents  available  to  the  competent 
authorities  or  procedures  for  taking  back  illegal  shipments  are  being  implemented.  The 
fine  for  such  an  illegal  shipment  may,  in  principle,  be  the  same  as  that  imposed  for 
infringements  of  the  obligation  to  complete  the  respective  document.  However,  in 
reviewing the proportionality of the penalty, account must be taken of the potential risks to 
the protection of the environment and human health;93 

  Netherlands: the concept of ‘emissions into the environment’ includes the release into the 
environment of products or substances, such as plant protection products or biocides or 
active substances contained in those products, to the extent that the release is actual or 
foreseeable under normal or realistic conditions of use of the product or substance. The 
concept of ‘information on emissions into the environment’ covers not only emissions as 
such  (the  nature,  composition,  quantity,  date  and  place  of  those  emissions),  but  also 
information enabling the public to check whether the assessment of actual or foreseeable 
emissions is correct, as well as data relating to the medium- or long-term effects of those 
emissions  on 
industrial 
information  may  not  be  invoked  to  preclude  the  disclosure  of  ‘information  on  emissions 
into the environment’;94 
Austria:  the  Environmental  Impact  Assessment  Directive  does  not  apply  to  a  project 
covered by a legislative provision according to which a project which has been the subject 
of a decision taken in breach of the obligation to assess its effects on the environment, for 
which the time limit for an action for annulment has expired, must be regarded as lawfully 

the  environment.  The  confidentiality  of  commercial  and 

 

89   Directive 2001/42/EC, Association France Nature Environnement, C-379/15. 
90   Directive 2000/60/EC, Vodoopskrba i odvodnja, C-686/15. 
91   Directives 2006/21/EC and 1999/31/EC, Edilizia Mastrodonato, C-147/15. 
92   Directive 2001/42/EC, Associazione Italia Nostra Onlus, C-444/15. 
93   Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006, Nutrivet, C-69/15. 
94   Bayer CropScience and Stichting De Bijenstichting, C-442/14 and Court press release No 128/16. 

33 

 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 
Environment 

 

authorised. However, EU law precludes such a legislative provision insofar as it provides 
that a prior impact assessment is deemed to have been carried out for the project;95 
Slovakia:  when  an  environmental  organisation  is  refused  the  status  of  party  to  a 
procedure for the authorisation of a project to be carried out on a site protected under the 
Habitats Directive, EU law precludes national rules which do not request the examination 
in the course of the authorisation procedure of an action against that refusal decision, do 
not  prevent  the  conclusion  of  the  authorisation  procedure  in  the  absence  of  a  definitive 
judicial decision on the status of party and consider the action automatically dismissed as 
soon as the project is authorised.96 

VIII.  OUTLOOK 

Important implementation work in 2017 includes: 

  pursuing legal action against Member States which have failed to transpose the Directive 

on reducing the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags;97 
carrying  out  a  comprehensive  check  on  Member  States’  compliance  with  EU  waste 
targets and key obligations; 

 

 

  pursuing  legal  action  against  Member  States  that  have  failed  to  fulfil  their  obligations 
under the Habitats Directive regarding the completion of the Natura 2000 network and the 
designation and conservation of special areas of conservation;98 
following up on the timely transposition by Member States of the Directive99 amending the 
Environmental  Impact  Assessment  Directive100  and  issuing  new  guidance  on  the 
screening, scoping and the environmental report;  
following  closely  the  notifications  submitted  by  Member  States  on  exemptions  from  the 
assessment procedure under the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive;101 

 

  presenting  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  the  second  report  on  the 
application  and  effectiveness  of  the  Strategic  Environmental  Assessment  Directive,  as 
well as launching work on its REFIT evaluation;102 

  enforcing  the  adoption  of  the  second  round  of  river  basin  management  plans  required 
under the Water Framework Directive and assessing compliance of these plans with EU 
requirements;103 
 
following up on situations of inadequate treatment of urban waste water; 
  pursuing  legal  action  against  Member  States  not  respecting  the  PM10

104  and  NO2   limit 

values in the Air Quality Directive;105 

  pursuing  legal  action  against  Member  States  which  have  failed  to establish  noise  maps 

and action plans required under the Environmental Noise Directive;106 

  continue  checking  compliance  of  national  measures  with  the  Industrial  Emissions 

Directive;107 

95   Directive 85/337/EEC amended by Directive 97/11/EC, Stadt Wiener Neustadt, C-348/15. 
96   Lesoochranárske zoskupenie VLK, C-243/15 . 
97   Directive (EU) 2015/720 amending Directive 94/62/EC. 
98   Directive 92/43/EEC. 
99   Directive 2014/52/EU. 
100   Directive 2011/92/EU. 
101   Directive  2011/92/EU.  In  2016,  Spain,  Greece  and  Cyprus  submitted  in  total  20  notifications  concerning 
exemptions of certain projects. 15 notifications concerned projects aimed at responding to civil emergencies 
resulting  from  natural  disasters.  Out  of  the  other  five  notifications,  one  concerned  erection  of  windfarms 
(Spain),  two  concerned  waste  management  projects  (Spain  and  Greece),  one  concerned  a  liquefied  natural 
gas  plant  (Spain)  and  one  concerned  road  improvements  (Cyprus).  For  18  notifications  the  conditions  on 
exemptions  under  the  Directive  were  met.  For  two  notifications  the  Commission  is  in  contact  with  the 
respective Member States to verify if the conditions for exemptions were properly applied. 

102   Directive 2001/42/EC. 
103   Directive 2000/60/EC. 
104   PM10  is  an  air  pollutant  consisting  of  small  particles  with  an  aerodynamic  diameter  less  than  or  equal  to  a 
nominal  10  micrometres.  The  particles’  small  size  allows  them  to  penetrate  deep  into  the  lungs  where  they 
may be deposited and cause adverse health effects. (Source: European Environment Agency). 

105   Directive 2008/50/EC. 
106   Directive 2002/49/EC. 
107   Directive 2010/75/EU. 

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2016 Annual Report 
Environment 

 

following  up  on  the  second  implementation  report  and  on  the  REFIT  evaluation  of  the 
Environmental Liability Directive.108 

108   Directive 2004/35/EC. 

35 

 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 

Financial stability, financial services and capital markets union 

In  2016  the  Commission  received  88  complaints  in  the  area  of  financial  stability,  financial 
services and capital markets union, well down on the 139 seen the previous year. It opened 12 
new EU Pilot files, less than a third the level of 2015. Infringement cases pending at the end of 
2015 totalled 230, up from 172 a year earlier. The number of new infringement procedures for 
late transposition opened during the year was 116, against 125 launched in 2015.1 

I.  COMPLAINTS 

1.  New complaints received from members of the public in 2016 

The Commission received 88 complaints from members of the public in 2016 in this area (139 
new complaints were submitted in 2015). 

2.  Public complaints open at year-end 

158  >  Complaints open at end-2015 

88  >  New complaints registered in 2016 

189  >  Complaints handled in 2016 

= 57  >  Complaints open at end-2016 

3.  New complaints registered in 2016: main policy sectors 

88 complaints in 2016 

Retail fnancial 
services and 
payments 
24 

Other 
8 

Financial 
markets 
18 

Free movement 
of capital rules 
19 

Insurance and 
pensions 
19 

II.  EU PILOT 

1.  New EU Pilot files (2015-2016) 

The Commission opened 12 new EU Pilot files in this area. In 2015, there were 42 new EU Pilot 
files. 

2.  EU Pilot files open at year-end 

There were 21 EU Pilot files open at end-2016. 

1  

The  Directorate-General  for  Financial  Stability,  Financial  Services  and  Capital  Markets  Union  (DG  FISMA) 
was created on 1 January 2015 as part of a reorganisation of the Commission. Consequently historical data 
for this area are available only from the above date. 

36 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 
Financial stability, financial services  
and capital markets union 

3.  New EU Pilot files opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

12 EU Pilot files opened in 2016 

Free movement 
of capital 
4 

Payment 
services 
3 

Banking 
3 

Insurance 
2 

4.  EU Pilot files: policies’ combined resolution rate in 2015-2016 

The combined resolution rate for financial stability, financial services and capital markets union 
in 2016 was 54 %. The general rate for all policy areas was 72 %. 

III.  OWN-INITIATIVE CASES 

New own-initiative infringement cases in 2016 

The Commission did not open any own-initiative infringement cases in this area in 2016. 

IV. 

INFRINGEMENT CASES 

1. 

Infringement cases open on 31 December (2015-2016) 
There were 230 infringement cases open on 31 December 2016 in this area. 

2.  Infringement cases open on 31 December 2016: main policy sectors 

230 infringement cases in 2016 

Audit/company 
reporting/credit 
rating agencies 
58 

Financial 
markets 
39 

Retail financial 
services and 
payments 
38 

Other 
66 

Banking 
29 

37 

 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 
Financial stability, financial services  
and capital markets union 

3.  New infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

120 new infringement cases in 2016 

Audit/company 
reporting 
39 

Financial 
markets 
38 

Other 
5 

Retail financial 
services and 
payments 
38 

4.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 120 new infringement cases in 2016. These, and other major 

ongoing infringement cases, include the following: 

  Belgium  and  Slovenia:  failure  to  communicate  all  national  measures  transposing 

the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive.2 

  Belgium,  Latvia,  Netherlands  and  Slovakia:  failure  to  communicate  all  national 

measures transposing the Capital Requirements Directive.3 

  Bulgaria,  Ireland  and  Cyprus:  failure  to  communicate  all  national  measures 

transposing the Accounting Directive.4 

  Bulgaria,  Latvia,  Lithuania  Hungary  and  Slovakia:  national  restrictions  on  the 
acquisition of agricultural land which limit the free movement of capital and freedom 
of establishment by being discriminatory and/or disproportionate.5 
Ireland,  Spain,  Latvia,  Portugal  and  Romania:  failure  to  communicate  all  national 
measures transposing the Transparency Directive.6 

 

  Greece:  failure  to  communicate  all  national  measures  transposing  the  Audit 

Directive.7 

  Greece, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland 
and  Sweden:  failure  to  communicate  all  national  measures  transposing  the 
Mortgage Credit Directive.8 

  Croatia: the special powers reserved for the state in the main energy company, INA 
(Industrija  Nafte  d.d.),  following  its  privatisation.  These  may  restrict  the  free 
movement of capital and freedom of establishment under the TFEU;9 

  Netherlands, Austria, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden: bilateral investment treaties 
signed before all state parties became members of the EU and which now overlap 
and conflict with the EU single market on cross-border investments.10 

b)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 258 TFEU. 

c)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 260(2) TFEU. 

Press releases IP/16/1827 and MEMO/16/1823. 

2   Directive 2014/59/EU and press release MEMO/16/1452. 
3   Directive 2013/36/EU and press release MEMO/16/1452. 
4   Directive 2013/34/EU, and press releases MEMO/16/2097 and MEMO/16/3644. 
5  
6   Directive 2013/50/EU and press release MEMO/16/3644. 
7   Directive 2014/56/EU and press release MEMO/16/3644. 
8   Directive 2014/17/EU, and press releases MEMO/16/3644 and MEMO/16/4211. 
9  
Press release MEMO/16/4211. 
10   Press release MEMO/16/3125. 

38 

 
 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 
Financial stability, financial services  
and capital markets union 

V.  TRANSPOSITION OF DIRECTIVES 

1.  New late transposition infringement cases (2015- 2016) 

The Commission opened 116 new late transposition infringement cases in 2016. 

2.  New late transposition infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

116 new late transposition infringement cases in 2016 

Audit/company 
reporting 
39 

Financial 
markets 
38 

Other 
1 

Retail financial 
services and 
payments 
38 

3.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 116 cases for late transposition in 2016. Most concern: 

 

 

 

 

 

the Directive modifying the rules on harmonisation of transparency requirements 
in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading 
on a regulated market (Transparency Directive);11 
the  Directive  modifying  the  rules  on  undertakings  for  collective  investment  in 
transferable  securities  as  regards  depositary  functions,  remuneration  policies 
and sanctions;12 
the  Directive  on  credit  agreements  for  consumers  relating  to  residential 
immovable property (Mortgage Credit Directive);13 and 
the  Directive  amending  EU  rules  on  statutory  audits  of  annual  accounts  and 
consolidated accounts (Audit Directive)14; and  
the Directive on the comparability of fees related to payment accounts, payment 
account  switching  and  access  to  payment  accounts  with  basic  features 
(Payment Accounts Directive)15. 

b)  The  Commission  did  not  refer  any  cases  to  the  Court  under Articles  258  and  260(3) 

TFEU. 

VI.  EARLY RESOLUTION OF INFRINGEMENT CASES 

Major cases closed without a Court judgment in 2016 

These concerned: 

11   Directive 2013/50/EU. 
12   Directive 2014/91/EU (so-called UCITS V). 
13   Directive 2014/17/EU. 
14   Directive 2014/56/EU. 
15   Directive 2014/92/EU. 

39 

 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 
Financial stability, financial services  
and capital markets union 

  Bulgaria,  Estonia,  Ireland,  France,  Italy,  Lithuania,  Luxembourg,  Malta,  Portugal, 
Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and United Kingdom: completing the notification of all national 
measures necessary to transpose the Capital Requirements Directive;16 

  Bulgaria,  the  Czech  Republic,  Estonia,  Ireland,  Greece,  Spain,  France,  Croatia,  Latvia, 
Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Finland,: notification of all 
national  measures  necessary 
the  Bank  Resolution  and  Recovery 
Directive;17 

transpose 

to 

  Czech  Republic,  Estonia,  Ireland,  Greece,  Spain  France,  Luxembourg,  Netherlands, 
Romania and Slovakia: completing the notification of all national measures necessary to 
transpose the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive.18 

VII. 

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS 

1.  Court rulings19 

There were no major Court rulings in 2016 in this area. 

2.  Preliminary rulings 

In preliminary rulings, the Court held that: 

  Latvia: monies deposited in the current account that are pledged to the bank as financial 
collateral to cover all the account holder’s debts fall within the scope of the Directive20 on 
financial collateral arrangements, if those monies have been ‘provided’ to the bank. That 
is to say, the collateral provider must be prevented from disposing of such monies lodged 
in  the  ordinary  bank  account.  The  Court  also  confirmed  that  the  collateral  does  not 
normally  fall  within  the  scope  of  the  Directive  if  it  was  provided  after  the  launch  of  an 
insolvency procedure, but can be enforceable in exceptional circumstances.21 

VIII.  OUTLOOK 

Important implementation work in 2017 includes: 

 

focusing on the transposition of the financial regulatory framework. This includes following 
up on Member States’ measures transposing directives whose deadline expired in 2016: 

 

 

 
 

 
 

the  Directive  modifying  the  rules  on  undertakings  for  collective  investment  in 
transferable  securities  as  regards  depositary  functions,  remuneration  policies 
and sanctions;22 
the  Directive  on  credit  agreements  for  consumers  relating  to  residential 
immovable property (Mortgage Credit Directive);23 
the Payment Accounts Directive;24 
the  Directive  amending  EU  rules  on  statutory  audits  of  annual  accounts  and 
consolidated accounts (Audit Directive);25 
certain provisions of the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive;26  
the  Directive  amending  EU  rules  as  regards  disclosure  of  non-financial  and 
diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups.27 

16   Directive 2013/36/EU. 
17   Directive 2014/59/EU. 
18   Directive 2014/49/EU. 
19   These rulings are almost exclusively handed down on infringement procedures. 
20   Directive 2002/47/EC. 
21   Private Equity Insurance Group, C-156/15. 
22   Directive 2014/91/EU (so-called UCITS V). 
23   Directive 2014/17/EU. 
24   Directive 2014/92/EU. 
25   Directive 2014/56/EU. 
26   Directive 2014/49/EU. 
27   Directive 2014/95/EU. 

40 

 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 

Health and food safety 

New complaints in the area of health and food safety rose in 2016 after falling for 4 years. Both 
the  number  of  infringement  cases  pending  at  the  end  of  the  year  and  new  late  transposition 
cases jumped to five-year highs. By contrast, new EU Pilot files fell further to their lowest level 
ever. 

I.  COMPLAINTS 

1.  New complaints received from members of the public (2012-2016) 

125 

102 

89 

2012

2013

2014

2.  Public complaints open a year-end 

94 

2016

74 

2015

66  >  Complaints open at end-2015 

94  >  New complaints registered in 2016 

68  >  Complaints handled in 2016 

= 92  >  Complaints open at end-2016 

3.  New complaints registered in 2016: main policy sectors 

94 complaints in 2016 

Public health 
34 

Food safety 
17 

Animal 
welfare/animal 
health 
43 

41 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2016 Annual Report 
Health and food safety 

II.  EU PILOT 

1.  New EU Pilot files (2012-2016) 

72 

42 

31 

17 

9 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  EU Pilot open at year-end 

At the end of 2016, 31 EU Pilot files remained open. 

3.  New EU Pilot files opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

9 EU Pilot files opened in 2016 
Animal 
welfare/animal 
health 
1 

Public health 
4 

Food safety 
4 

4.  EU Pilot files: resolution rate for policies (2012-2016) 

91% 

76% 

75% 

75% 

83% 

72% 

73% 

68% 

71% 

70% 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Health and food safety

General rate for all policy areas

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Health and food safety 

III.  OWN-INITIATIVE CASES 

New own-initiative infringement cases 

In 2016, the Commission opened own-initiative infringement cases over: 

  public health 
 
  plant health. 

food safety 

IV. 

INFRINGEMENT CASES 

1.  Infringement cases open on 31 December (2012-2016) 

98 

94 

107 

60 

2012

2013

2014

25 

2015

2016

2.  Infringement cases open on 31 December 2016: main policy sectors 

107 infringement cases in 2016 

Food safety 
14 

Animal 
welfare/animal 
health 
5 

Public health 
88 

3.  New infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

148 new infringement cases in 2016 

 Animal 
welfare/animal 
health 
7 

Food safety 
52 

Public health 
89 

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Health and food safety 

4.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 148 new infringement cases in 2016. These, and other major 

ongoing infringement cases, include the following: 

 

 

 

Ireland: non-compliance of the national food safety control system as regards the 
production and marketing of live bivalve molluscs with the EU health standards;1 
Spain,  Croatia,  Cyprus,  Luxembourg,  Slovenia  and  Sweden:  failure  to  notify 
transposition measures for the Tobacco Directive; 2 
Italy: non-compliance with the Commission’s Decision3 on measures to prevent the 
introduction  into  and  the  spread  within  the  EU  of  the  plant  bacterium  Xylella 
fastidiosa;4 

  Finland: non-conformity of national legislation with the Directive on patients’ rights 
in  cross-border  healthcare. The  cases  relates  to  the  level  of  costs  reimbursed  by 
the  Member  State  of  affiliation  to  an  insured  person  who  receives  cross-border 
healthcare.5 

b)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 258 TFEU. 

c)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 260(2) TFEU. 

V.  TRANSPOSITION OF DIRECTIVES 

1.  New late transposition infringement cases (2012- 2016) 

128 

147 

108 

58 

2012

2013

2014

18 

2015

2016

1   Regulation No 853/2004 and in Regulation No 854/2004. 
2   Directive 2014/40/EU; MEMO/16/4211. 
3   Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/789. 
4  

5   Directive 2011/24/EU; MEMO/16/1452. 

Xylella fastidiosa is one of the most dangerous plant bacteria  worldwide, causing a variety of diseases, with 
huge economic impact for agriculture; MEMO/16/2490. 

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Health and food safety 

2.  New late transposition infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

147 new late transposition infringement cases in 2016 

Animal 
welfare/Animal 
health 
7 

Food safety 
51 

Public health 
89 

3.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 147 cases for late transposition in 2016. Most concern: 

 

 

the Directives on the quality and safety of imported human tissues and cells (52 
cases);6 
the Tobacco Products Directives (31 cases).7 

b)  The  Commission  did  not  refer  any  cases  to  the  Court  under Articles  258  and  260(3) 

TFEU. 

VI.  EARLY RESOLUTION OF INFRINGEMENT CASES 

Major cases closed without a Court judgment in 2016 

These concerned: 

  Poland: non-conformity of national legislation with the Directive on the quality and safety 

of blood and blood components;8 

  Portugal and Finland: failure to apply correctly the Directive on the protection of pigs as 

regards group housing of sows.9 

VII. 

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS 

1.  Court rulings10 

There were no major Court rulings in 2016 in this area. 

2.  Preliminary rulings 

In preliminary rulings, the Court held that: 

 

Italy:  The  Commission  may  require  Member  States  to  remove  all  plants  capable  of 
being infected by the Xylella fastidiosa bacterium, even when there are no symptoms of 
infection,  when  such  plants  are  in  the  vicinity  of  plants  already  affected  by  the 
bacterium.  This  measure  is  proportionate  to  the  objective  of  protecting  plant  health  in 
the  EU  and  is  justified  by  the  precautionary  principle,  taking  into  consideration  the 
scientific evidence available to the Commission when the measure was adopted11; 

6   Directives 2015/565/EU and 2015/566/EU. 
7   Directives 2014/40/EU; 2014/109/EU. 
8   Directive 2002/98/EC. 
9   Directive 2008/120/EC. 
10   These rulings are almost exclusively handed down on infringement procedures. 
11  

Joined cases Pesce and Others, C-78/16. 

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Health and food safety 

  Germany: The labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs Directive12 must be 
interpreted as meaning that each of the individual portions of honey presented in the 
form  of  portion-cups  closed  by  an  aluminium  seal  and  packed  in  cartons  supplied  to 
mass  caterers  constitutes  a  ‘pre-packaged  foodstuff’  where  the  mass  caterers  sell 
those portions separately or offer them for sale to the ultimate consumer as part of pre-
prepared meals for an all-inclusive price13; and 

  Germany:  Regulation  (EC)  No 258/97  concerning  novel  foods  and  novel  food 
ingredients,  must  be  interpreted  as  meaning  that  the  expression  ‘new  primary 
molecular  structure’  relates  to  foods  or  food  ingredients  which  were  not  used  for 
human consumption in the territory of the European Union before 15 May 1997.14 

VIII.  OUTLOOK 

Important implementation work in 2017 includes: 

 

 

checking  the  compliance  of  national  transposition  measures  with  the  Cross-Border 
Healthcare and Tobacco Products Directives;15 
continuing to monitor plant health-related cases, in particular Xylella fastidiosa in Italy and 
the Pinewood Nematode in Portugal. 

12   Directive 2000/13/EC. 
13   Breitsamer und Ulrich, C-113/15. 
14   Davitas, C-448/14. 
15   Directives 2011/24/EU and 2014/40/EU. 

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Internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMES 

In 2016 new complaints received in the area of internal market, industry entrepreneurship and 
SMEs  fell,  while  the  number  of  new  EU  Pilot  files  was  broadly  stable.  Infringement  cases 
pending at the end of 2016 were more than double the level of a year earlier, with a parallel 
increase in new infringement procedures opened for late transposition of directives.1 

I.  COMPLAINTS 

1.  New complaints received from members of the public (2015-2016) 

The Commission received 483 complaints from the members of the public in the area of internal 
market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs. 

2.  Public complaints open a year-end 

527  >  Complaints open at end-2015 

483  >  New complaints registered in 2016 

379  >  Complaints handled in 2016 

631  >  Complaints open at end-2016 

3.  New complaints registered in 2016: main policy sectors 

483 complaints in 2016 

Public 
procurement 
88 

Other 
127 

Regulated 
professions 
133 

Services 
135 

II.  EU PILOT 

1.  New EU Pilot files (2015-2016) 
In 2016 the Commission opened 111 new EU Pilot files in this area, against 107 in 2015. 

2.  EU Pilot files open at year-end2 
At the end of 2016, 143 EU Pilot files remained open. 

1  

2  

The Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) was created 
on 1 January 2015 as part of a reorganisation of the Commission. Consequently historical data for this area 
are  not  available.  An  overview  of  the  practical  management  of  the  Single  Market  is  available  at:      
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/scoreboard/. 
See footnote 1. 

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3.  New EU Pilot files opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

111 EU Pilot files opened in 2016 

Other 
26 

Public 
procurement 
19 

Industry sectors 
35 

Horizontal 
legislation for 
goods & non-
harmonized 
sectors 
31 

4.  EU Pilot files: resolution rate for policies (2015-2016) 

The combined resolution rate for internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs in 2016 
was 62 %. The general rate for all policy areas was 72 %. 

III.  OWN-INITIATIVE CASES 

New own-initiative infringement cases 

In 2016, the Commission opened own-initiative infringement cases over: 

the automotive and mobility industries (7 cases);3 

 
  horizontal legislation for goods and non-harmonised sectors on mutual recognition and 

surveillance (1 case). 

IV. 

INFRINGEMENT CASES 

1.  Infringement cases open on 31 December (2015-2016) 

There were 270 infringement cases open on 31 December 2016 in this area. 

2.  Infringement cases open on 31 December 2016: main policy sectors 

270 infringement cases in 2016 

Industry sectors 
73 

Other 
93 

Public 
procurement 
61 

Horizontal 
legislation for 
goods & non-
harmonized 
sectors 
43 

3   Directive 2007/46/EC and Regulation 715/2007. 

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3.  New infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

292 new infringement cases in 2016 

Other 
34 

Regulated 
professions 
24 

Industry sectors 
112 

Horizontal 
legislation for 
goods & non-
harmonized 
sectors 
61 

Public 
procurement 
61 

4.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 292 new infringement cases in 2016. These, and other major 

ongoing infringement cases, include the following: 

  Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Hungary, 
Austria, Poland: excessive and unjustified obstacles in the area of professional 
services that run counter to the Services Directive;4 

  Belgium,  Bulgaria,  the  Czech  Republic,  Estonia,  Spain,  Ireland,  Greece,, 
Croatia,  Cyprus,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Luxembourg,  Malta,  Netherlands,  Austria, 
Poland,  Portugal,  Romania,  Slovenia, Finland,  Sweden:  failure  to  transpose  in 
three  Directives  on  public  procurement  and 
full  one  or  more  of 
concessions;5 

the 

  Czech  Republic,  Germany,  Greece,  Spain,  Lithuania,  Luxembourg,  United 
Kingdom:  failure  to  fulfil  the  obligations  under  EU  vehicle  type  approval 
legislation;6 

  Germany: limitation of approving certain motor vehicles to two specific technical 

testing centres, contrary to the Services Directive;7 

  Greece:  excessive  delays  in  the  examination  of  applications  for  recognition  of 

qualifications from other Member States;8 

  Croatia:  discriminatory  framework  for  the  purchase  of  sport  fishing  licences  to 

the disadvantage of non-residents, in breach of the Services Directive;9 

  Slovakia: incorrect implementation of the Remedies Directive.10 

b)  The  Commission  referred  two  cases  to  the  Court  under  Article  258  TFEU.  They 

concern: 

  Czech  Republic:  the  condition  of  nationality  laid  down  for  the  exercise  of  the 
profession of notary in the Czech legal system is discriminatory and constitutes 
a disproportionate restriction of the freedom of establishment.11 

  Austria:  direct  award  of  the  security  printing  of  official  documents  (such  as 
passports,  ID-cards,  residence  permits,  driving  licences)  to  the Austrian  State 

4   Directive 2006/123/EC; IP/16/323, MEMO/16/319, IP/16/3646 and MEMO/16/3644. 
5   Directives 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU; MEMO/16/1823. 
6   Directive 2007/46/EC and Regulation 2007/715/EC; IP/16/4214. 
7   Directive 2006/123/EC. 
8   Directive 2005/36/EC. 
9   Directive 2006/123/EC; MEMO/16/3125. 
10   Directive 92/13/EEC; MEMO/16/3125. 
11   Commission v Czech Republic, C-575/16; IP/16/322 and MEMO/16/319. 

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Printing Office (Österreichische Staatsdruckerei AG). This is in breach of public 
procurement legislation.12 

c)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 260(2) TFEU. 

V. 

TRANSPOSITION OF DIRECTIVES 

1.  New late transposition infringement cases (2015- 2016) 

There were 267 new late transposition infringement cases opened in 2016. 

2.  New late transposition infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

267 new late transposition infringement cases in 2016 

Other 
49 

Horizontal 
legislation for 
goods & non-
harmonized 
sectors 
56 

Industry sectors 
104 

Public 
procurement 
58 

3.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 267 cases for late transposition in 2016. Most concern: 
the three Directives on public procurement and concessions;13 
legal metrology Directives;14 
EU legislation on advanced engineering and manufacturing systems;15 
EU legislation on explosives for civil use and defence-related products;16 
the  Directive  amending  EU  legislation  on  the  recognition  of  professional 
qualifications and the Internal Market Information System.17 

 
 
 
 
 

b)  The  Commission  did  not  refer  any  cases  to  the  Court  under Articles  258  and  260(3) 

TFEU. 

VI.  EARLY RESOLUTION OF INFRINGEMENT CASES 

Major cases closed without a Court judgment in 2016 

The Commission did not close any major infringement cases in 2016 in this area. 

12   Directives 92/50/EC and 2004/18/EC; Commission v Austria, C-187/16; IP/15/6226. 
13   Directives 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU; MEMO/16/1823. 
14   Directives 2014/31/EU, 2014/32/EU and 2015/13/EU. . 
15   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. 

16   Directives 2014/28/EU and 2016/970/EU. 
17   Directive 2013/55/EU. 

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VII. 

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS 

1.  Court rulings18 

The Court ruled that: 

  Czech  Republic  failed  to  fulfil  its  obligations  concerning  the  free  movement  of  goods  by 
refusing  to  recognise  the  hallmarks  of  Waarborg  Holland,  the  Netherlands’  independent 
assay office for precious metals. Although in some cases the Member State is entitled not 
to  recognise  hallmarks  affixed  outside  the  EU  by  that  assay  office,  a  general  and 
systematic  refusal  to  recognise  any  of  that  office’s  hallmarks  is  a  disproportionate 
measure;19 

  Germany failed to fulfil its obligations under the Directive on the placing on the market of 
pyrotechnic  articles.20  This  was  because  Germany  provided,  over  and  above  the 
requirements  of  the  Directive  and  notwithstanding  a  previous  conformity  assessment  of 
pyrotechnic articles, that (i) those articles are to be subject to a specific national procedure 
(‘the SprengV’) before being placed on the market; and that (ii) pursuant to the SprengV, a 
national  body  is  to  have  the  power  to  review  and,  where  required,  to  modify  their 
instructions for use;21 

  Hungary: the fact that the revenue generated by the holder of a public or private monopoly 
providing  services  is  the  source  of  funding  for  social  programmes  does  not  justify  a 
restriction  on  freedom  of establishment  and  freedom  to  provide services.  Member  States 
are not free to establish a services monopoly in the context of their tax and wages policies, 
as  Member  States  must  exercise  their  competence  in  the  area  of  direct  taxation 
consistently  with  EU  law  and,  in  particular,  with  the  fundamental  freedoms.  National 
legislation  reserving  the  activity  of  issuing  leisure  cards  only  to  banks  or  financial 
institutions infringes the Services Directive,22 unless the measure satisfies the cumulative 
conditions of non-discrimination, necessity and proportionality.23 

2.  Preliminary rulings 

In preliminary rulings, the Court held that: 

  Belgium:  national  legislation  which  prohibits  retailers  from  selling  tobacco  products  at  a 
unit  price  lower  than  the  price  indicated  by  the  manufacturer  or  importer  on  the  revenue 
stamp affixed to those products, in so far as that price has been freely determined by the 
importer, is compatible with EU law;24 

  Belgium: national legislation by a federated entity of a Member State is incompatible with 
EU law if it requires every undertaking established within the territory of that entity to draw 
up all the details on invoices relating to cross-border transactions exclusively in the official 
language of that entity, failing which those invoices are to be declared null and void by the 
national courts of their own motion.25 

  Germany: imposing fixed prices for the sale by pharmacies of prescription-only medicines 
restricts  the  free  movement  of  goods  because  of  its  greater  impact  on  pharmacies 
established  in  other  Member  States.  Imposing  such  price-fixing  on  foreign  pharmacies  is 
thus incompatible with EU law on the free movement of goods. It is not justified as it could 
not  be  proven  to  be  an  appropriate  means  to  achieve  the  objective  of  protecting  human 
health and life by ensuring a safe and high-quality supply of medicinal products;26 

  Greece: in principle, EU law allows national authorities to prohibit collective redundancies. 
However,  these  rules  must  strike  a  fair  balance  between  the  protection  of  workers  and 
employers’  freedom  to  conduct  a  business.  The  legal  criteria  on  the  basis  of  which  the 
authorities  may  oppose  planned  collective  redundancies  must  therefore  be  formulated  in 

18   These rulings are almost exclusively handed down on infringement procedures. 
19   Commission v Czech Republic, C-525/14. 
20   Directive 2007/23/EC. 
21   Commission v Germany, C-220/15. 
22   Directive 2006/123/EC. 
23   Commission v Hungary, C-179/14. 
24   Etablissements Fr. Colruyt, C-221/15. 
25   New Valmar, C-15/15, Court press release No 66/2016. 
26   Deutsche Parkinson Vereinigung, C-148/15, Court press release No 113/2016. 

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terms.  Thus  a  national  authorisation  regime 

specific  and  precise 
for  collective 
redundancies  would  be  incompatible  with  the  Collective  Redundancies  Directive27  if  it 
deprived the Directive of its practical effect;28 
Italy: the Services Directive29 also applies to maritime concessions;30 

 
  Austria: all postal operators may have imposed on them a number of obligations, ranging 
from  a  contribution  to  the  financing  of  the  national  regulatory  authority,  to  the  respect  of 
working conditions and requirements on quality, availability and performance;31 

  Poland:  subjecting  the  organisation  of  games  of  chance  and  gaming  on  machines  to  the 
requirement to hold a licence to operate a gaming casino does not fall within the concept 
of ‘technical regulation’ under the Single Market Transparency Directive;32 

  Slovenia: when defining the concept of ‘undertaking’ under the Late Payment Directive33 all 
circumstances must be taken into account where a transaction forms part of the exercise 
of an independent economic or professional activity that is carried out in a structured and 
stable  way.  Therefore  a  natural  person  can  be  regarded  as  an  undertaking  and  the 
transactions concluded  are  also  to  be  considered  as  ‘commercial  transactions’  under  the 
Directive. Also, as the Directive lays down only a ‘minimum harmonisation framework’, it is 
lawful  for  a  Member  State  to  introduce  and  maintain  national  provisions  capping  the 
accrual of interests;34 

  United  Kingdom:  the  fee  demanded  for  services  licences  was  too  high  and  did  not 
correspond  to  the  real  cost  of  authorisation  procedures.  The  national  legislation  on 
granting the licences was therefore judged non-compliant with the Services Directive;35 
  United  Kingdom:  the  placing  on  the  EU  market  of  cosmetic  products  containing  some 
ingredients  that  have  been  tested  on  animals  outside  the  EU  in  order  to  market  those 
products in third countries may be prohibited if the data resulting from that testing is used 
to prove the safety of the products concerned for the purposes of placing them on the EU 
market.36 

VIII.  OUTLOOK 

Important implementation work in 2017 includes: 

  monitoring the transposition of important Directives: 

  on  the  safety  of  toys,  as  regards  formamide,37  benzisothiazolinone,38  and 

chloromethylisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone;39 
  on the maximum allowable pressure of aerosol dispensers;40 
following up expected Court judgments on the Late Payment Directive;41 
continuing to follow very closely national authorities’ enforcement of currently applicable 
EU rules in the automobile sector. 

 
 

Joined cases Promoimpresa, C-458/14 and Melis and Others, C-67/15, Court press release No 77/2016. 

27   Directive 98/59/EC. 
28   AGET Iraklis, C-201/15 and Court press release No 143/2016. 
29   Directive 2006/123/EC. 
30  
31   Directive 97/67/EC, DHL Express (Austria), C-2/15. 
32   Directive 2015/1535/EU, M. and S., C-303/15. 
33   Directive 2000/35/EC. 
34   Nemec,C-256/15. 
35   2006/123/EC, Hemming and Others, C-316/15, Court press release No 127/2016. 
36   European Federation for Cosmetic Ingredients, C-592/14, Court press release No 105/2016. 
37   Directive 2015/2115/EU. 
38   Directive 2015/2116/EU. 
39   Directive 2015/2117/EU. 
40   Directive 2016/2037/EU. 
41   Directive 2000/35, IOS Finance EFC, C-555/14 and C-229/16. 

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Justice and consumers 

In  2016  complaints  in  the  area  of  justice  and  consumers  jumped  to  their  highest  level  ever. 
Infringement cases pending at the end of the year and new late transposition cases rose again 
after easing back in 2015. By contrast, new EU Pilot files fell by more than half to their lowest 
level in 5 years. 

I.  COMPLAINTS 

1.  New complaints received from members of the public (2012-2016) 

919 

590 

596 

524 

2013

2014

2015

2016

491 

2012

2.  Public complaints open a year-end 

557  >  Complaints open at end-2015 

919  >  New complaints registered in 2016 

754  >  Complaints handled in 2016 

= 722  >  Complaints open at end-2016 

3.  New complaints registered in 2016: main policy sectors 

919 complaints in 2016 

Fundamental 
rights and rights of 
the child 
128 

Criminal law and 
procedure 
123 

Free movement of 
persons and 
citizenship rights 
235 

Civil and 
commercial justice 
109 

Other 
324 

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Justice and consumers 

II.  EU PILOT 

1.  New EU Pilot files (2012-2016) 

176 

103 

103 

74 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2.  EU Pilot files open at year-end 

At the end of 2016, 157 EU Pilot files remained open. 

3.  New EU Pilot files opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

51 EU Pilot files opened in 2016 

50 

2016

Free movement 
and citizenship 
rights 
22 

Consumers' and 
marketing law 
9 

Criminal law 
6 

Other 
14 

4.  EU Pilot files: resolution rate for policies (2012-2016) 

76% 

79% 

80% 

75% 

75% 

72% 

70% 

64% 

2013

2014

2015

2016

Justice and Consumers

General rate for all policy areas

68% 

49% 

2012

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III.  OWN-INITIATIVE CASES 

New own-initiative infringement cases 

In 2016, the Commission opened own-initiative infringement cases over: 

 

incomplete or incorrect transposition of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive,1 the 
Consumer  Rights  Directive2  and  the  Directive  on  alternative  dispute  settlement  in 
consumer cases;3 

  discrimination against Roma children in education. 

IV. 

INFRINGEMENT CASES 

1.  Infringement cases open on 31 December (2012-2016) 

88 

82 

80 

67 

61 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  Infringement cases open on 31 December 2016: main policy sectors 

88 infringement cases in 2016 

Criminal law and 
procedure 
40 

Other 
11 

Free movement of 
persons and 
citizenship's rights 
13 

Consumers' law 
24 

1   Directive 2005/29/EC. 
2   Directive 2011/83/EU. 
3   Directive 2013/11/EU. 

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Justice and consumers 

3.  New infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

38 new infringement cases in 2016 

Criminal law and 
procedures 
34 

Equality and non-
discrimination 
2 

Consumers' law 
2 

4.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 38  new infringement cases  in 2016. These, and  other major 

ongoing infringement cases, include the following: 

  Belgium:  non-communication  of  national  measures  transposing  the  European 

Protection Order Directive;4 

  Spain:  non-compliance  of  the  national  rules  and  the  case  law  of  the  Spanish 
Supreme  Court  on  mortgage  enforcement  with  the  Directive  on  unfair  terms  in 
consumer contracts;5 
Italy:  non-conformity  with  the  Directive  on  equal  treatment  for  men  and  women;6 
the  national  legislation  provides  for  ‘early  retirement’  after  a  number  of  years  of 
financial contributions, which differ depending on the sex of the worker;  

 

  Lithuania:  non-communication  of  national  measures  transposing  the  Directive  on 

interpretation and translation during criminal proceedings;7 
  Hungary: discrimination against Roma children in education.8 

b)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 258 TFEU. 

c) 

 The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 260(2) TFEU. 

V.  TRANSPOSITION OF DIRECTIVES 

1.  New late transposition infringement cases (2012- 2016) 

38 

30 

34 

19 

10 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

4   Directive 2011/99/EU; MEMO/16/2490. 
5   Directive 93/13/EEC; MEMO/16/1452. 
6   Directive 79/7/EEC. 
7   Directive 2010/64/EU; MEMO/16/3644. 
8   MEMO/16/1823. 

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2.  New late transposition infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 
All 34 new late transposition cases were opened in criminal law and procedures sector. 

3.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 34 cases for late transposition in 2016. They concern: 
the Directive on sanctions for market abuse (18 cases);9 
the Victims’ Rights Directive (16 cases).10 

 
 

b)  The  Commission  did  not  refer  any  cases  to  the  Court  under Articles  258  and  260(3) 

TFEU. 

VI.  EARLY RESOLUTION OF INFRINGEMENT CASES 

Major cases closed without a Court judgment in 2016 

These concerned: 

 

Belgium: refusal  to register  the double surname for children born to a parent of Belgian 
nationality and a parent with another EU nationality; 

  Malta: discriminatory application of water and energy tariffs; 
Slovenia: the independence of the national equality body;11 
 
 
Slovakia  and  Spain:  breach  of  EU  citizens’  right  to  stand  as  candidates  in  local  and 
European  elections  in  the  Member  State  of  residence  due  to  restrictions  on  their 
involvement in political parties. 

VII. 

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS 

1.  Court rulings12 

The Court ruled that: 

 

Italy  has  failed  to  fulfil  its  obligations  under  EU  law  by  failing  to  guarantee  just  and 
appropriate compensation for victims of all violent intentional crimes committed in cross-
border  situations.  The  Directive  on  compensation  to  victims  of  crime13  requires  that  all 
violent  intentional  crimes,  as  defined  in  the  national  legislation  of  each  Member  State, 
should  give  access  to  compensation  from  the  state.  Member  States  may  not  limit  the 
scope of the compensation scheme for victims to only certain violent intentional crimes. 
The Court also confirmed that the principle of the prohibition of discrimination on the basis 
of  nationality  should  be  observed  as  regards  access  to  compensation  for  the  victims  of 
crime in cross-border situations.14 

2.   Preliminary rulings 

In preliminary rulings, the Court held that: 

  Belgium: under the Consumer Sales Directive,15 the concept of ‘seller’ also covers a trader 
acting  as  an  intermediary  on  behalf  of  a  private  individual  if  the  trader  has  not  duly 
informed the consumer of the fact that the owner of the goods sold is a private individual. 
The Court's clarifications on intermediaries seem relevant for other areas of consumer law 
as well;16 

  Bulgaria: the custodial sentence of a prisoner may not be reduced, when he is transferred 
from one  Member  State to another, by reason of time spent working in prison in the first 

9   Directive 2014/57/EU. 
10   Directive 2012/29/EU.  
11   Directives 2000/43, 2004/113 and 2006/54. 
12   These rulings are almost exclusively handed down on infringement procedures. 
13   Directive 2004/80/EC. 
14   Commission v Italy, C-601/14 and Court press release No 109/16. 
15   Directive 1999/44/EC. 
16   Wathelet, C-149/15. 

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Member  State  if  that  Member  State  has  not,  under  its  national  law,  granted  such  a 
reduction in sentence;17 

  Germany:  Member  States  may  exclude  nationals  of  other  Member  States  from  social 
assistance during the first 3 months of residence. Such a refusal does not presuppose an 
assessment of the individual situation of the person concerned;18 

  Germany: the recognition of freely chosen forenames and the surname (acquired legally in 

another Member State) may be refused in order to ensure equality before the law;19 

  Germany:  the  execution  of  a  European  arrest  warrant  must  be  deferred  if  there  is  a  real 
risk  of  inhuman  or  degrading  treatment  because  of  the  conditions  of  detention  of  the 
person concerned in the Member State where the warrant was issued;20 

  Spain:  national  case-law  cannot  temporally  limit  the  restitutory  effects  connected  with  a 
finding of unfairness by a court, in respect of a clause contained in a contract concluded 
between  a  consumer  and  a  seller  or  supplier,  to  amounts  overpaid  under  such  a  clause 
after  the  delivery  of  the  decision  in  which  the  finding  of  unfairness  is  made.  The  case 
concerned  a decision  by  the  Spanish Supreme  Court  of  2013  which had  found  so-called 
floor clauses in loan contracts concluded by consumers to be unfair, but had ruled that this 
finding would have effect only from the date of its judgment, thereby excluding restitution 
claims by consumers for overpayments made in the past;21 

  Spain:  Member  States’  may  adopt  or  retain  in  force  stricter  measures  to  prevent  money 
laundering  and  terrorist  financing  than  the  rules  laid  down  in  the  Directive  on  the 
prevention of the use of the financial system for money laundering and terrorist financing.22 
These  measures,  however,  must  be  justified  by  the  level  of  risk  and  must  be 
proportionate;23 

  Spain and UK: a national of a non-EU country who has the sole care of an EU citizen who 
is a minor cannot be automatically refused a residence permit or expelled from the territory 
of the European Union on the sole ground that he has a criminal record. To be capable of 
being adopted, an expulsion measure must be proportionate and founded on the personal 
conduct  of  the  national  of  a  non-EU  country.  Moreover,  that  conduct  must  constitute  a 
genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat adversely affecting one of the fundamental 
interests of the society of the host Member State.24 

  Latvia: a Member State is not required to grant every EU citizen who has moved within its 
territory  the  same  protection  against  extradition  as  that  granted  to  its  own  nationals. 
However, before extraditing the citizen, the Member State concerned must give priority to 
the exchange of information with the Member State of origin and allow that Member State 
to request the citizen’s surrender for the purposes of prosecution;25 

  Austria:  processing of  personal  data carried  out  by  an  undertaking  engaged  in  electronic 
commerce is governed by the law of the Member State to which that undertaking directs its 
activities, if it is shown that the undertaking carries out the data processing in question in 
the context of the activities of an establishment situated in that Member State. It is for the 
national court to ascertain whether that is the case;26 

  Poland:  the  use  of  standard  contract  terms  with  content  identical  to  that  of  terms  which 
have been declared unlawful by a judicial decision having the force of law and which have 
been entered in a national register of unlawful standard contract terms can be regarded, in 
relation to another seller or supplier which was not a party to the proceedings culminating 
in the entry in that register, as an unlawful act, provided that that seller or supplier has an 
effective judicial remedy against the decision declaring the terms to be equivalent as well 
as against the decision fixing the amount of the fine imposed. Such a national register of 
unlawful  standard  contract  terms  must  comply  with  the  requirements  of  Directive 

17   Ognyanov, C-554/14 and Court press release No 117/16. 
18   García-Nieto and Others, C-299/14, Court press release No 18/16. 
19   Bogendorff von Wolffersdorff, C-438/14, Court press release No 119/16. 
20   Aranyosi and Căldăraru, joined cases C-404/15 and C-659/15, Court press release No 36/16. 
21   Gutiérrez Naranjo, joined cases C-154/15, C-307/15 and C-308/15. 
22   Directive 2005/60/EC. 
23   Safe Interenvios, C-235/14. 
24   Rendón Marín and CS, joined cases C-165/14 and C-304/14 and Court press release No 95/16. 
25   Petruhhin, C-182/15, Court press release No 84/16. 
26   Verein für Konsumenteninformation, C-191/15. 

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93/13/EEC27  and  of  EU  law  more  generally.  It  must  in  that  regard  be  managed  in  a 
transparent  manner  in  the  interest  not  only  of  consumers  but  also  of  sellers  or  suppliers 
and kept up to date; 

  Slovakia:  a  lender  must  include  in  a  consumer  credit  agreement  all  the  information 
required under the Directive on  consumer credit.28  Failure to do so may be penalised by 
Member States by depriving the lender of an entitlement to interest and charges. Such a 
penalty is permitted where such information covers matters which, if not included, prevents 
the consumer from assessing the full extent of his contractual liability as the lack of such 
information may compromise the consumer's ability to assess the extent of his liability.29 

VIII.  OUTLOOK 

Important implementation work in 2017 includes: 

 

 

closely monitoring that Member States transpose on time: 

 
 

the Directive on the European Investigation Order in criminal matters; 30 
the  Directive  on  the  prevention  of  the  use  of  the  financial  system  for  money 
laundering or terrorist financing; 31 
checking that Member States correctly transpose: 

 
 
 

the Victims’ Rights Directive;32 
the Framework Decision on the European arrest warrant; 33 
the Directive on payment accounts.34 

27   Directive 93/13/EEC. 
28   Directive 2008/48/EC. 
29   Home Credit Slovakia, C-42/15 and Court press release No 56/16. 
30   Directive 2014/41/EU. 
31   Directive 2015/849/EU. 
32   Directive 2012/29/EU. 
33   Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA. 
34   Directive 2014/92/EU. 

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Monitoring the Application of European Union Law - 2016 Annual Report 

Maritime affairs and fisheries 

In  2016  new  complaints  in  the  area  of  maritime  affairs  and  fisheries  continued  to  drop.  The 
number of new EU Pilot files was only marginally lower than their 2015 level. New infringement 
cases rose. 

I.  COMPLAINTS 

1.  New complaints received from members of the public (2012-2016) 

16 

12 

4 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

8 

6 

2.  Public complaints open at year-end 

20  >  Complaints open at end-2015 

6  >  New complaints registered in 2016 

9  >  Complaints handled in 2016 

= 17  >  Complaints open at end-2016 

I.  EU PILOT 

1.  EU Pilot files open at year-end 

There  were  15  EU  Pilot  files  registered  in  2016,  and  27  EU  Pilot  files  remained  open  at  end-
2016. 

2.  EU Pilot files: policies’ combined resolution rate in 2012-2016 

91% 

92% 

88% 

90% 

84% 

68% 

no files processed 
in 2011 

70% 

75% 

75% 

72% 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Maritime affairs and fisheries

General rate for all policy areas

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Maritime affairs and fisheries 

II.  OWN-INITIATIVE CASES 

New own-initiative infringement cases in 2016 

In 2016, the Commission opened own-initiative infringement cases over: 

  non-compliance  with  the  fisheries  control  obligations,  in  particular  the  enforcement 

requirements for serious infringements of the common fisheries policy rules; 

  non-compliance  with  the  obligations  undertaken  in  the  framework  of  international 

fisheries management organisations; 

  non-respect of the EU’s exclusive competence for the conservation of marine biological 

resources. 

III. 

INFRINGEMENT CASES 

Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened nine new infringement cases in 2016. These concern: 

  Bulgaria,  Greece,  Spain,  Croatia,  Cyprus,  France,  Lithuania,  Finland:  non-
communication  of  national  measures  transposing  the  Maritime  Spatial  Planning 
Directive.1 
Italy: fishing activities of Italian-flagged vessels in the waters under the jurisdiction 
of  Guinea-Bissau  and The  Gambia  in  violation  of  EU  provisions and  the  fisheries 
partnership agreements. 

 

b)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 258 TFEU. 

c)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 260(2)TFEU. 

IV.  EARLY RESOLUTION OF INFRINGEMENT CASES 

Major cases closed without a Court judgment in 2016 

This concerned: 

  Spain:  non-compliance  with  the  Mediterranean  Regulation  regarding  the 
obligation to adopt management plans for fisheries conducted by dredges.2 

V. 

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS 

1.  Court rulings3 

There were no major Court rulings in 2016 in this area. 

2.  Preliminary rulings 

There were no major preliminary rulings in 2016 in this area. 

VI.  OUTLOOK 

Important implementation work in 2016 includes: 

 

 

giving particular attention to the complete and correct transposition by the Member States 
of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive;4 
continuing  the  evaluation  of  the  impact  of  the  Control  Regulation,  to  determine  to  what 
extent this legal act has achieved its general objective;5 

1   Directive 2014/89/EU. 
2   Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006. 
3  
4   Directive 2014/89/EU. 

These rulings are almost exclusively handed down on infringement procedures. 

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 

ensuring  appropriate  follow-up  to  the  recommendations  formulated  in  the  context  of  the 
assessment  of  the  Member  States’  sanctioning  systems  for  contraventions  to  the 
common  fisheries  policy  rules;  particular  focus  will  be  put  on  how  to  improve  the 
effectiveness  of  the  sanctioning  systems  and  how  to  prioritise  investigations  of  the 
deficiencies found; 

 

  where appropriate, addressing by means of action plans certain systemic irregularities in 
Member States’ fisheries control systems, in accordance with the Control Regulation;6 
giving  particular  attention  to  the  implementation  of  the  constituent  components  of  the 
common fisheries policy and more specifically to the application of the landing obligation 
set out in the basic common fisheries policy Regulation.7 

5   Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009. 
6   Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009. 
7   Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013. 

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Migration and home affairs 

In  2016  the  numbers  of  new  complaints  and  pending  infringement  cases  in  the  area  of 
migration and home affairs both rose quite steeply to their highest levels for 5 years. At the 
same  time,  new  EU  Pilot  files  dropped  sharply  and  new  late  transposition  cases  slightly 
decreased. 

I.  COMPLAINTS 

1.  New complaints received from members of the public (2012-2016) 

137 

132 

120 

89 

90 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  Public complaints open a year-end 

91  >  Complaints open at end-2015 

137  >  New complaints registered in 2016 

128  >  Complaints handled in 2016 

= 100  >  Complaints open at end-2016 

3.  New complaints registered in 2016: main policy sectors 

137 complaints in 2016 

Asylum 
38 

Visas 
28 

Other 
44 

Migration and 
integration 
27 

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Migration and home affairs 

II.  EU PILOT 

1.  New EU Pilot files (2012-2016) 

61 

60 

45 

37 

35 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  EU Pilot files open at year-end 

At the end of 2016, 54 EU Pilot files remained open. 

3.  New EU Pilot files opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

35 EU Pilot files opened in 2016 

Visas 
9 

Other 
13 

Police 
cooperation & 
information 
exchange 
7 

Legal migration 
& integration 
6 

4.  EU Pilot files: resolution rate for policies (2012-2016) 

68% 

70% 

60% 

47% 

80% 

75% 

80% 

75% 

72% 

65% 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Migration and Home Affairs

General rate for all policy areas

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III.  OWN-INITIATIVE CASES 

New own-initiative infringement cases 

In 2016, the Commission opened own-initiative infringement cases over: 

  disproportionate charges levied for residence permits. 

IV. 

INFRINGEMENT CASES 

1.  Infringement cases open on 31 December (2012-2016) 

138 

109 

79 

44 

22 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  Infringement cases open on 31 December 2016: main policy sectors 

138 infringement cases in 2016 

Other 
31 

Asylum 
66 

Organised crime  
18 

Legal migration 
23 

3.  New infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

51 new infringement cases in 2016 

Other 
6 

Legal migration 
21 

Police 
cooperation & 
information 
exchnage 
6 

Organised crime 
18 

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Migration and home affairs 

4.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 51 new infringement cases in 2016. These, and other major 

ongoing infringement cases, include the following: 

  Belgium,  Bulgaria  and  Ireland:  incorrect  implementation  of  the  Directive  on 

attacks against information systems;1 

  Bulgaria:  incorrect  implementation  of  the  Directive  on  the  status  of  third-country 
nationals  who  are  long-term  residents  by  imposing  disproportionate  charges  for 
resident permits;2 

 

  Germany and Greece: non-communication of national measures transposing the  

Asylum Procedures and Reception Conditions Directives;3 
Ireland,  Greece,  Croatia,  Italy  and  Portugal:  non-compliance  with  the  Prüm 
Decisions on information-sharing to combat terrorism and serious crime;4 
  Spain,  France,  Cyprus,  Luxembourg,  Romania:  non-compliance  with 

the 

Regulation on the marketing and use of explosives precursors;5 

  Greece,  Spain  and  Italy:  non-conformity  of  national  legislation  with  the  Return 

Directive;6 
Italy:  non-communication  of  national  measures  transposing  the  Long-Term 
Residents Directive;7 

 

  Luxembourg:  non-communication  of  national  measures 

the 
Framework  Decision  on  the  ‘Swedish  initiative’  on  simplifying  the  exchange  of 
information and intelligence between law enforcement authorities of EU Member 
States.8 

transposing 

b)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 258 TFEU. 

c)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 260(2)TFEU. 

V. 

TRANSPOSITION OF DIRECTIVES 

1.  New late transposition infringement cases (2012- 2016) 

48 

37 

23 

39 

1 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1   Directive 2013/40/EU; MEMO/16/4211. 
2   Directive 2003/109/EC. 
3   Directives 2013/32/EU and 2013/33/EU. 
4   Council Decisions 2008/615/JHA and 2008/616/JHA; MEMO/16/3125. 
5   Regulation (EU) No 98/2013; MEMO/16/3125. 
6   Directive 2008/115/EC. 
7   Directive 2011/51/EU. 
8   Council Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA. 

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2.  New late transposition infringement cases opened in 2016: policy sectors 

39 new late transposition infringement cases in 2016 

Police 
cooperation and 
infrormation 
exchange 
1 

Organised crime 
18 

Legal migration 
and integration 
20 

3.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 39 cases for late transposition in 2016. Most concern: 

 

 

the  Directive  on  the  conditions  of  entry  and  stay  of  third-country  nationals  for  the 
purpose of employment as seasonal workers (20 cases); 9 
the Directive on the freezing and confiscation of instrumentalities and proceeds of 
crime in the European Union (18 cases).10 

b)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Articles 258  and 260(3) 

TFEU. 

VI.  EARLY RESOLUTION OF INFRINGEMENT CASES 

Major cases closed without a Court judgment in 2016 

These concerned: 

  Greece, Cyprus and Italy: failure to implement the Eurodac Regulation, which sets up an 

EU asylum fingerprint database;11 

  Greece and Slovenia: non-communication of national measures transposing the Directive 

on attacks against information systems.12 

VII. 

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS 

1.  Court rulings13 

There were no major Court rulings in 2016 in this area. 

2.  Preliminary rulings 

In preliminary rulings, the Court held that: 

  Germany:  the  Qualification  Directive14  does  not  prevent  beneficiaries  of  subsidiary 
protection status from being subject to a residence condition to promote their integration 
where they are not in a comparable situation to non-EU citizens;15 

9   Directive 2014/36/EU. 
10   Directive 2014/42/EU. 
11   Regulation (EU) 603/2013; MEMO/16/4211. 
12   Directive 2013/40/EU; MEMO/16/4211. 
13   These rulings are almost exclusively handed down on infringement procedures. 
14   Directive 2011/95/EU. 

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 

Ireland:  the  principle  of  effectiveness  must  be  interpreted  as  precluding  a  national 
procedural rule which requires an application for subsidiary protection status to be made 
within 15 working days of notification, by the competent authority, that an applicant whose 
asylum application has been rejected may make an application for subsidiary protection;16 
  Spain:  a  Member  State  may  refuse  an  application  for  family  reunification  if  the  sponsor 
does  not  have  sufficient,  stable  and  regular  resources  to  maintain  himself  and  the 
members of his family without recourse to the social assistance system of that Member 
State. Such a decision could be based on the prospective assessment of the likelihood of 
the sponsor  retaining, or failing  to retain, the necessary stable and regular resources in 
the  year  following  the  date  of  submission  of  the  application  for  family  reunification. The 
assessment is based on the pattern of the sponsor’s income in the 6 months preceding 
the date of the application;17 

  Hungary: a Member State has the right to send an applicant for international protection to 
a safe third country, if that Member State was responsible for examining an application for 
international  protection  submitted  by  the  applicant  who  left  that  Member  State  before  a 
decision on the substance of his first application for international protection was taken;18 
  Netherlands:  the  Reception  Conditions  Directive19  allows  for  an  asylum  seeker  to  be 
detained  when  the  protection  of  national  security  or  public  order  so  requires.  The 
introduction of a fresh asylum application by a person who is subject to a return decision 
does not render that decision inoperative under the Return Directive;20 

  Sweden:  an  asylum  applicant  may,  in  an  action  challenging  a  transfer  decision  made 
about  him,  invoke  an  infringement  of  the  rule  set  out  in  the  Dublin  Regulation21 
concerning  an  absence  of  at  least  3  months  from  the  territory  of  the  Member  State 
concerned.22 

VIII.  OUTLOOK 

Important implementation work in 2017 includes: 

  ensuring  the  full  and  correct  implementation  by  the  Member  States  of  instruments 

identified as priorities under the European Agenda on Security. This includes: 

 
 
 

 

 

the Regulation on explosives precursors;23  
the ‘Prüm’ system;24  
the  Framework  Decision  on  the  ‘Swedish  initiative’  on  simplifying  the 
exchange of information and intelligence between law enforcement authorities 
of the EU Member States;25  
the  Framework  Decision  on  accreditation  of  forensic  service  providers 
carrying out laboratory activities;26 and   
the  Directives  on  combating  the  sexual  abuse  and  sexual  exploitation  of 
children  and  child  pornography27  and  on  attacks  against 
information 
systems;28 

15   Kreis Warendorf v. Ibrahim Alo and Amira Osso v. Hannover Region, joined cases C-443/14 and C-444/14. 
16   Danqua, C-429/15. 
17   Mimoun Khachab, C-558/14. 
18   PPU - Mirza, C-695/15. 
19   Directive 2013/33/EU. 
20   Directive 2008/115/EC; J.N., C-601/15..  
21   Article 19(2) of Regulation (EU) 604/2013. 
22   Karim, C-155/15. 
23   Regulation (EU) No 98/2013. 
24   Council Decisions 2008/615/JHA and 2008/616/JHA. 
25   Council Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA  
26   Council Framework Decision 2009/905/JHA. 
27   Directive 2011/93/EU. 

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  continuing  to  assess  Member  States’  compliance  with  the  rules  on  legal  migration,  in 
particular the Directives on the conditions of entry and stay of third-country nationals for 
the  purpose  of  employment  as  seasonal  workers29  and  on  the  conditions  of  entry  and 
residence of third-country nationals in the framework of an intra-corporate transfer;30 
in the area of asylum, continuing to follow up on the timely and correct implementation of 
the Qualifications Directive31 and the Long-Term Residents Directive.32 

 

28   Directive 2013/40/EU. 
29   Directive 2014/36/EU. 
30   Directive 2014/66/EU. 
31   Directive 2011/95/EU. 
32   Directive 2011/51/EU. 

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Monitoring the Application of European Union Law - 2016 Annual Report 

Mobility and transport 

In  2016  the  Commission  received  the  highest  number  of  new  complaints  in  the  area  of 
mobility and transport since 2012. By contrast, new EU Pilot files fell further from their 2013 
peak to the lowest level for 5 years. The number of infringement cases pending at the end of 
the year and of new late transposition cases both fell markedly. 

I.  COMPLAINTS 

1.  New complaints received from members of the public (2012-2016) 

193 

155 

124 

102 

68 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  Public complaints open a year-end 

49 

>  Complaints open at end-2015 

193 

>  New complaints registered in 2016 

199 

>  Complaints handled in 2016 

= 43 

>  Complaints open at end-2016 

3.  New complaints registered in 2016: main policy sectors 

193 complaints in 2016 

Road 
131 

Maritime 
13 

Aviation 
9 
Rail 
5 
Other 
35 

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II.  EU PILOT 

1.  New EU Pilot files (2012-2016) 

286 

170 

156 

123 

106 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  EU Pilot files open at year-end 

At the end of 2016, 92 EU Pilot files remained open. 

3.  New EU Pilot files opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

106 EU Pilot files opened in 2016 

Other 
25 

Road 
48 

Aviation 
16 

Maritime 
17 

4.  EU Pilot files: resolution rate for policies (2012-2016) 

70% 

75% 

76% 

75% 

75% 

72% 

68% 

68% 

62% 

63% 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Mobility and transport

General rate for all policy areas

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III.  OWN-INITIATIVE CASES 

New own-initiative infringement cases 

In 2016, the Commission opened own-initiative infringement cases over: 

  Railway sector: 
 
 

railway safety and interoperability;1 
the single European railway area;2 

  Road sector: 

  breach  of  Treaty  principles  on  non-discrimination,  free  movement  of  goods 

 

 

and persons, and provision of services; 
restrictions  on  the  provision  of  transport  services  and  free  movement  of 
goods; 
incorrect  implementation  of  the  Directive  on  the  European  electronic  toll 
service;3 

  Air sector: 

  non-conformity with the provisions on airport charges;4 

  Maritime sector: 

  port State control;5 
  accident investigation;6 
 

flag state.7 

IV. 

INFRINGEMENT CASES 

1.  Infringement cases open on 31 December (2012-2016) 

205 

165 

223 

241 

191 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1   Directives 2004/49/EC, 2008/57/EC. 
2   Directive 2012/34/EU. 
3   Directive 2004/52/EC. 
4   Directive 2009/12/EC. 
5   Directive 2009/16/EC. 
6   Directive 2009/18/EC. 
7   Directive 2009/21/EC. 

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2.  Infringement cases open on 31 December 2016: main policy sectors 

191 infringement cases in 2016 

Other 
36 

Road 
34 

Aviation 
85 

Rail 
36 

3.  New infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

72 new infringement cases in 2016 

Other 
7 

Road 
10 

Maritime 
35 

Rail 
20 

4.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 72 new infringement cases in 2016. These, and other major 

ongoing infringement cases, include the following: 

  Belgium,  Bulgaria,  Italy,  Poland,  Finland,  Sweden: 

implement the Airport Charges Directive;8 

failure  to  correctly 

  Belgium,  Lithuania:  restrictions  on  the  freedom  to  provide  port  services  and 

the freedom of establishment; 

  Belgium,  Ireland,  Cyprus,  Portugal:  incorrect  implementation  of  the  Directive 

on accident investigations;9 

  Germany,  France,  United  Kingdom:  restrictions  on  the  provision  of  transport 

services and free movement of goods;10 

  Germany,  Slovenia,  Slovakia:  failure  to  fulfil  air  safety  oversight  obligations 

regarding initial and continuous airworthiness;11 

  Greece,  Spain,  Luxembourg:  incorrect  application  of  the  Regulation  on 

passenger rights;12 

8   Directive 2009/12/EC; MEMO/16/319. 
9   Directive 2009/18/EC. 
10  
11   Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 and Regulation (EC) No 1321/2014. 
12   Regulation (EU) No 1177/2010; MEMO/16/3644.  

IP/16/2101 and IP/16/1456. 

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  France, Italy: breach of the rules on the separation of accounts under the First 

Railway Package;13 

  Cyprus,  Portugal:  incorrect  implementation  of  the  Directive  on  port  State 

control;14 

  Netherlands:  failure  to  correctly  implement  the  Directive  on  the  qualification 

and training of road drivers;15 

  Portugal: incorrect implementation of the Flag State Directive.16 

b)  The  Commission  referred  nine  cases  to  the  Court  under  Article  258  TFEU.  They 

concern: 

  Czech  Republic:  failure  to  fulfil  obligations  under  the  Directive  on  driving 

licences;17 

  Denmark,:  failure  to  comply  with  cabotage  rules,  as  laid  down  in  the 

Regulation on access to the international road haulage market;18 

  Germany,19  Finland:20  failure  to  correctly  transpose  EU  rules  on  driving 

licences; 

  Germany: failure to fulfil the duty of sincere cooperation at the 25th session of 
for 
the 

Intergovernmental  Organisation 

the  Revision  Committee  of 
International Carriage by Rail;21 

  Germany: failure to fully implement, in North Rhine-Westphalia, the Directive 

 

 

 

on enhancing port security;22 
Luxembourg:  failure  to  meet  the  obligation  of  interconnecting  a  national 
electronic register of road transport undertakings;23 
Poland:  failure  to  meet  the  obligation  of  establishing  a  national  electronic 
register of road transport undertakings;24 
Poland:  failure  to  correctly  transpose  and  implement  European  rules  on  rail 
safety.25 

c)  The  Commission  referred  one  case  to  the  Court  under  Article  260(2)  TFEU.  It 

concerned: 

 

Spain: failure to comply with a previous Court judgment concerning freedom of 
establishment at Spanish ports.26 

13   Directives 2001/12/EC, 2001/13/EC and 2001/14/EC. 
14   Directive 2009/16/EC; MEMO/16/319. 
15   Directive 2003/59/EC. 
16   Directive 2009/21/EC; MEMO/16/2490 and MEMO/16/3125. 
17   Directive 2006/126/EC; Commission v Czech Republic, C-314/16; IP/15/6013. 
18   Regulation (EC) 1072/2009; Commission v Denmark, C-541/16; MEMO/16/2097. 
19   Directive 2006/126/EC; Commission v Germany, C-30/16; IP/15/6229 and MEMO/15/6223. 
20   Directive 2006/126/EC; IP/15/6229 and MEMO/15/6223. The Commission subsequently decided to withdraw 
the case from the Court as Finland remedied the breach before a Court judgment was handed down. 

21   Commission v Germany, C-620/16; IP/16/2104 and MEMO/16/2097. 
22   Directive 2005/65/EC; Commission v Germany, C-58/16; IP/15/5659 and MEMO/15/5657. 
23   Commission v Luxembourg, C-152/16; IP/15/5829 and MEMO/15/5826. 
24   Commission v Poland, C-23/16; IP/15/6012 and MEMO/15/6006. 
25   Commission v Poland, C-530/16; IP/16/324 and MEMO/16/319. 
26   Commission v Spain, C-388/16; IP/16/1455 and MEMO/16/1452. 

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V. 

TRANSPOSITION OF DIRECTIVES 

1.  New late transposition infringement cases (2012- 2016) 

115 

94 

54 

76 

36 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  New late transposition infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

54 new late transposition infringement cases in 2016 

Other 
2 

Road 
6 

Maritime 
30 

Rail 
16 

3.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The  Commission  opened  54  cases  for  late  transposition  in  2016.  Most  concern  the 

Directives on: 

  driving licences (11 cases);27 
  marine equipment (15 cases);28 
 

language requirements (8 cases).29 

b)  The Commission referred one case to the Court under Articles 258 and 260(3) TFEU. 

It concerned: 

  Luxembourg:  failure  to  transpose  the  Directive  on  a  single  European  railway 

area.30 

27   Directive 2014/85/EU. 
28   Directive 2014/90/EU. 
29   Directive 2016/882/EU. 
30    Directive 2012/34/EU; Commission v Luxembourg, C-489/16; IP/16/2494 and MEMO/16/2490. 

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VI.  EARLY RESOLUTION OF INFRINGEMENT CASES 

Major cases closed without a Court judgment in 2016. 

These concerned: 

  Belgium,  Spain:  incorrect  implementation  of  the  Regulation  on  the  rights  of  passengers 

travelling by sea and inland waterway;31 

  Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Austria: failure to meet the obligation to interconnect a 

national electronic register of road transport undertakings;32 

  Czech  Republic,  Ireland:  non-ratification  of  or  reservations  against  appendices  to  the 

Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail; 

  Czech  Republic,  Greece,  Hungary,  Poland,  Portugal:  incorrect  implementation  of  the 

Directive on a European electronic toll service;33 

  Germany: inadequate application of EU aviation security legislation;34 
  Estonia, Spain, Greece, France, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, 

Finland: failure to fulfil obligations under the Directive on driving licences;35 

  Estonia, Italy: failure to meet the requirements of the Regulation on the investigation and 

prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation;36 

  Spain, Croatia, Lithuania: non-compliance with the Railway Safety Directive;37 
  Spain, Greece: non-compliance with the Airport Charges Directive;38 
  Croatia, Italy: non-compliance with the rules on maritime cabotage;39 
  France, United Kingdom: non-compliance with the First Railway Package; 
  Cyprus:  possible  discrimination  of  nationals  of  other  Member  States  regarding  bus 

fares;40 
Italy: incorrect implementation of the principles governing the investigation of accidents in 
the maritime transport sector;41 

 

  Lithuania: lack of implementation of the Regulations on airworthiness;42 
  Poland:  failure  to  correctly  transpose  and  apply  EU  legislation  on  the  separation  of 

accounts in rail;43 

by rail and by road;44 

  Portugal:  non-ratification  of  the  Protocol  of  Accession  to  the  Eurocontrol  International 

Convention; 

  Romania: incorrect application of the Regulation on public passenger transport services 

  Slovakia: non-compliance with the Directive on the interoperability of the rail system.45 
  Finland:  non-compliance  with  the  rules  on  access  to  the  occupation  of  road  transport 

operator and with rules on cabotage.46 

31   Regulation (EU) No 1177/2010; MEMO/16/1452. 
32   Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009. 
33   Directive 2004/52/EC.  
34   Regulations (EC) No 300/2008 and (EU) No 18/2010. 
35   Directive 2006/126/EC; IP/15/6229, MEMO/15/6223 and IP/16/2105.  
36   Regulation (EU) No 996/2010. 
37   Directive 2004/49/EC. 
38   Directive 2009/12/EC. 
39   Regulation (EEC) No 3577/92. 
40   Regulation (EU) No 492/2011. 
41   Directive 2009/18/EC. 
42   Regulations (EU) 748/2012 and 1321/2014. 
43   Directive 2012/34/EU. 
44   Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007. 
45   Directive 2008/57/EC. 
46   Regulations (EC) No 1071/2009 and (EC) No 1072/2009. 

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VII. 

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS 

1.  Court rulings47 

The Court ruled that: 

  Luxembourg,48  Poland49and  Portugal50  failed  to  establish  a  national  electronic  register 

and to interconnect with the national electronic registers of other Member States; 

  Portugal  failed  to  fulfil  its  obligations  under  the  Regulation  on  common  rules  for 
allocating  slots  at  Community  airports.  The  Court  also  provided  clarification  on  the 
notion of independence of the slot allocation body under the Regulation.51 

2.  Preliminary rulings 

In preliminary rulings, the Court held that: 

  Belgium:  a  person  making  a  train  journey  while  not  in  possession  of  a  ticket  for  that 
purpose, and who fails to regularise his situation within the periods laid down in national 
provisions  may  be  deemed  to  not  have  a  contractual  relationship  with  the  railway 
undertaking;52 

  Belgium:  the  Directive  on  the  systems  of  chartering  and  pricing  in  national  and 
international inland waterway transport53 must be interpreted so that contracts are to be 
freely  concluded  between  the  parties  concerned.  National  legislation  may  therefore 
determine that a person who does not correspond to the Directive’s definition of ‘carrier’ 
may nevertheless conclude a contract of carriage as a carrier;54 

  Czech Republic: it is not incompatible with EU legislation55 to impose the completion of a 
periodic training, before they carry out the driving activity, on persons who are exempted 
from the requirement that drivers of certain vehicles obtain an initial qualification;56 

  Germany:  the  subcontracting  rules  in  the  Regulation  on  public  passenger  transport 
services by rail and by road57 apply to contracts awarded for public passenger transport 
by bus. Also, a subcontracting limitation of 30 % of the transport services remains within 
the discretion of the competent authorities;58 

  Hungary: the requirements of the principle of proportionality are not met when a vehicle 
of  a  transport  undertaking  is  immobilised  if  the  driver,  employed  by  the  undertaking, 
drove  in  breach  of  the  EU  law  on  recording  equipment,59  and  if  the  competent  national 
authority did not establish the liability of that undertaking;60 

  Lithuania: an air carrier which has concluded a contract of international carriage with an 
employer of persons carried as passengers is liable to that employer for damage caused 
by a delay in flights on which its employees were passengers under that contract;61 
  Hungary:  both  the  driver  and/or  the  transport  undertaking  employing  the  driver  can  be 
held  liable  for  infringements  of  the  Regulation  on  the  harmonisation  of  certain  social 
legislation relating to road transport;62 

  Netherlands: the national authorities carrying out general monitoring tasks with regard to 
air  passengers’  rights63  are  not  required  to  take  enforcement  action  in  each  individual 

47   These rulings are almost exclusively handed down on infringement procedures. 
48   Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, Commission v Luxembourg, C-152/16. 
49   Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, Commission v Poland, C-23/16. 
50   Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, Commission v Portugal, C-583/15.  
51   Regulation (EEC) No 95/93, Commission v Portugal, C-205/14. 
52   Demey, C-261/15. 
53   Directive 96/75/EC. 
54   Mathys, C-92/15. 
55   Directive 2003/59/EC. 
56  
57   Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007. 
58   Hörmann Reisen GmbH v Stadt Augsburg, Landkreis Augsburg, C-292/15. 
59   Regulation No 3821/85. 
60   EL-EM-2001, C-501/14. 
61   Air Baltic Corporation, C-429/14. 
62   Regulation (EC) No 561/2006, Eurospeed, C-287/14. 

Ivo Muladi v Krajský úřad Moravskoslezského kraje, C-447/15. 

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case  with  a  view  to  compelling  air  carriers  to  pay  compensation.  However,  Member 
States  have  discretion  in  allocating  the  powers  which  they  will  give  to  such  authorities 
and can nevertheless empower them to act on individual complaints.64 

VIII.  OUTLOOK 

Important implementation work in 2017 includes: 

  monitoring  and  following  up  on  the  transposition  of  Directives  with  a  transposition 
deadline in 2016. This includes three that aim to improve road safety and set minimum 
common standards across the European Union, namely the Directives on: 

  periodic vehicle inspections;65 
registration documents;66 
 
roadside inspections of commercial vehicles;67 
 

 

following  up  Court  judgments  expected  on  several  issues  relating  to  the  incorrect 
implementation  of  the  Directive  on  the  separation  of  accounts  of  railway  undertakings 
and  railway 
for  railway 
infrastructure;68 

infrastructure  managers  and  on 

the  use  of  charges 

  assessing  the  transposition  and  conformity  of  national  measures  implementing  the 

Directive on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure;69 
closely  monitoring  general  issues  regarding  limitations  on  market  access  as  well  as 
safety and security in all modes of transport. 

 

63   Steef Mennens v Emirates Direktion für Deutschland, C-255/15. 
64  

Joined  Cases  Ruijssenaars  and  Jansen,  C-145/15  and  Dees-Erf,  C-146/15,  Court  press  release 
No 31/2016. 

65   Directive 2014/45/EU. 
66   Directive 2014/46/EU. 
67   Directive 2014/47/EU. 
68   Directive 91/440/EEC. 
69   Directive 2014/94/EU. 

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Taxation and customs union 

The number of new complaints in the area of taxation and customs union fell again slightly in 
2016 while the number of new EU Pilot files increased somewhat. There were slightly more 
infringement  cases  pending  at  the  end  of  the  year  than  a  year  before.  The  number  of  late 
transposition cases sharply increased due to the expiry of the deadlines for transposing three 
directives. 

I.  COMPLAINTS 

1.  New complaints received from members of the public (2012-2016) 

452 

384 

429 

423 

406 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  Public complaints open a year-end 

335  >  Complaints open at end-2015 

406  >  New complaints registered in 2016 

401  >  Complaints handled in 2016 

= 340  >  Complaints open at end-2016 

3.  New complaints registered in 2016: main policy sectors 

406 complaints in 2016 

Indirect taxation 
- VAT 
122 

Customs 
39 

Other 
80 

Direct taxation 
165 

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II.  EU PILOT 

1.  New EU Pilot files (2012-2016) 

144 

132 

130 

106 

90 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  EU Pilot files open at year-end 

At the end of 2016, 127 EU Pilot files remained open. 

3.  New EU Pilot files opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

127 EU Pilot files opened in 2016 

Direct taxation 
31 

Indirect taxation 
- excise duties 
13 

Other 
15 

Indirect taxation 
- VAT 
68 

4.  EU Pilot files: resolution rate for policies (2012-2016) 

79% 

72% 

75% 

68% 

75% 

69% 

68% 

56% 

70% 

60% 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Taxation and customs

General rate for all policy areas

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III.  OWN-INITIATIVE CASES 

New own-initiative infringement cases 

In 2016, the Commission opened own-initiative infringement cases over the following: 

 
 

 

in the area of indirect taxation: difficulties in refund of VAT; 
in  the  area  of  direct  taxation:  most  own-initiative  cases  stem  from  an  EU-wide 
compliance  check1  which  examines  the  tax  treatment  of  persons  who  actually  move 
from one EU Member State to another; and 
in the area of customs: own-initiative cases were launched over cash control. 

IV. 

INFRINGEMENT CASES 

1.  Infringement cases open on 31 December (2012-2016) 

193 

174 

130 

118 

108 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.  Infringement cases open on 31 December 2016: main policy sectors 

118 infringement cases in 2016 

Indirect taxation 
- VAT 
29 

Indirect taxation 
- excise duties 
13 

Other 
12 

Direct taxation 
64 

1  

Press release IP/14/31. 

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3.  New infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

40 new infringement cases in 2016 

Other 
2 

Indirect taxation 
- excise duties 
2 

Indirect taxation 
- VAT 
8 

Direct taxation 
28 

4.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 40 new infringement cases in 2016. These, and other major 

ongoing infringement cases, include the following: 

 

 

Bulgaria:  disproportionate  fines  for  not  declaring  cash  entered  into  the 
customs union; 
Estonia: 
the  Directive  on  administrative 
cooperation  on  taxation2  though  a  general  provision  broadly  referring  to  the 
application of EU law in the relevant matters; 

transposition  of 

incomplete 

  Croatia: the reduced excise duty rate for small producers of ethyl alcohol. This 
seems  to  be  incompatible  with  the  Excise  Duty  Directive  on  alcohol  and 
alcoholic beverages;3 
Portugal:  the  airport  tax  applied  by  the  Lisbon  municipality  on  passengers 
arriving at the Lisbon airport. As passengers with their domicile in Portugal are 
exempted from the tax, it may constitute a covert discrimination by reason of 
nationality that infringes Article 18 TFEU. 

 

b)  The  Commission  referred  three  cases  to  the  Court  under  Article  258  TFEU.  They 

concern: 

  Germany:  the  exclusion  of  travel  services  used  by  taxable  persons  for  their 
business from the special scheme for the travel agents scheme (which allows 
travel  agents  to  determine  on  a  flat-rate  basis  the  tax  assessment  base  for 
groups  of  services  and  for  each  taxable  period)  when  the  customer  is  a 
taxable person not reselling the travel services;4 

  Greece:  national  rules  allowing  service  stations  at  its  land  borders  with  Kipi 
(Turkey), Kakkayia (Albania) and Evzoni (FYROM)  to sell fuel without excise 
duties.  Under  the  Horizontal  Excise  Duty  Directive,5  excise  duties  should  be 
charged on the sale of such fuel;6 

  Greece: legacies bestowed on certain non-profit entities established in Greece 
which  are  treated  more  favourably  than  those  bestowed  on  similar  entities 
established  in  other  EU  Member  States.  For  Greek  non-profit  entities,  a 
preferential tax rate of 0.5 % is automatically available. However, similar non-

2   Directive 2011/16/EU. 
3   Directive 92/83/EEC. 
4   Commission v Germany C-380/16 IP/16/1461. 
5   Directive 2008/118/EU.  
6   Commission v Greece C-590/16. 

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profit  entities  from  other  Member  States  are  taxed  at  a  rate  of  20  to  40 % 
unless  their  Member  State  also  affords  preferential  tax  treatment  to  Greek 
non-profit entities.7 

c)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Article 260(2) TFEU. 

V. 

TRANSPOSITION OF DIRECTIVES 

1.  New late transposition infringement cases (2012- 2016) 

34 

34 

18 

11 

2012

2013

0 
2014

2015

2016

2.  New late transposition infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

34 new late transposition infringement cases in 2016 

Indirect taxation 
- VAT 
7 

Direct taxation 
27 

3.  Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

a)  The Commission opened 34 cases for late transposition in 2016. Most concern: 

 

 

the Directives on the common system of taxation applicable in the case of parent 
companies and subsidiaries of different Member States;8 and 
the Directive on mandatory automatic exchange of information on taxation.9 

b)  The Commission did not refer any cases to the Court under Articles 258  and 260(3) 

TFEU. 

7   Commission v Greece C-98/16 IP/15/4674. 
8   Directive 2014/86/EU and Directive 2015/121/EU. 
9   Directive 2014/107/EU. 

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VI.  EARLY RESOLUTION OF INFRINGEMENT CASES 

Major cases closed without a Court judgment in 2016 

These concerned: 

  Belgium: reduced rate for online newspapers and publications; 
  France:  enactment  of  administrative  provisions 

the  proportionality 
requirements  as  regards  the  3 %  tax  on  properties  in  France  owned  by  foreign 
companies; 

respecting 

  Luxembourg: repeal of the minimum entity tax. This is incompatible with the Directive on 
the  common  system  of  taxation  applicable  in  the  case  of  parent  companies  and 
subsidiaries of different Member States.10 

VII. 

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS 

1.  Court rulings11 

The Court ruled that: 

  Greece: it is a restriction on the freedom to provide services to levy the full amount of 
car  registration  tax  (as  provided  for  under  its  national  legislation)  at  the  time  of 
registration of a vehicle hired or leased by a Greek customer from a supplier established 
in another Member State, if the duration of the hire or lease contract and the duration of 
the vehicle’s use in Greek territory is not taken into consideration;12 

  Greece:  national  rules  exempting  the  primary  residence  from  inheritance  tax  only  for 
nationals of EU Member States who are resident in Greece restricts the free movement 
of capital; 13 

  Netherlands:  the  VAT  Directive  exempts  from  VAT  the  supply  of  sport  or  physical 
education  services  by  non-profit  making  organisations.  However,  the  Netherlands 
granted  this  exemption  only  if  such  organisations  employ  volunteers,  not  workers,  to 
supply  these  services.  By  contrast,  the  letting  of  berths  and  moorings  for  vessels 
(provided by non-profit water sport organisations) was exempted from VAT even when it 
was not linked to sports activities;14 
Portugal:  the  depreciation  rates  applied  in  Portugal  on  used  vehicles  for  vehicle 
registration tax purposes were not in compliance with Article 110 TFEU. This is because  
no  depreciation  is  taken  into  account  before  the  vehicle  is  1  year  old  and  no  further 
depreciation is taken into account in the case of vehicles older than 5 years.15 

 

2.  Preliminary rulings 

In preliminary rulings, the Court held that: 

  Germany:  inheritance  rules  that  oblige  German  financial  institutions  (including  their 
branches)  to  notify  the  tax  authorities  about  a  client's  assets  upon  his  death  do  not 
restrict  the  freedom  of  establishment.  Thus,  branches  of  German  banks  in  another 
Member State may also be required to notify such information, even if inheritance tax is 
not  levied  in  the  other  Member  State  and  even  if  notification  would  be  considered  as 
incompatible with the other Member State’s banking secrecy rules;16 

  Germany:  the  EU-Switzerland  agreement  on  the  free  movement  of  persons  requires 
that the income of German resident nationals paid by a legal person governed by public 

10   Directive 2011/96/EU. 
11   These rulings are almost exclusively handed down on infringement procedures. 
12   Commission v Greece, C-66/15. 
13   Commission v Greece, C-244/15. 
14.  Commission v Netherlands, C-22/15. 
15   Commission v Portugal, C-200/15. 
16   Sparkasse Allgäu, C-522/14. 

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law  established  in  Switzerland  must  be  granted  the  same  tax  exemptions  as  those 
granted to incomes paid by a legal person governed by public law established;17 

  Germany:  although  the  Inheritance  Tax  Act  restricts  the  free  movement  of  capital  by 
providing that tax reduction can be claimed only if a multiple inheritance occurred under 
German rules (thus inheritance taxes paid to other Member States cannot be taken into 
account),  this  restriction  could  be  justified  by  the  need  to  safeguard  the  coherence  of 
the tax system;18 

 

  Germany: for the purposes of customs rules,19 remunerated helicopter-flight training, if 
an  instructor  and  the  trainee  pilot  are  present  in  the  cockpit,  is  not  commercial  use  of 
the aircraft;20 
Spain: the Commission’s decisions on remission of import duties, addressed to one or 
more  Member  States,  are  not  of  direct  and  individual  concern  to  the  operators 
concerned;  thus  they  are  not  challengeable  by  way  of  direct  action  under Article  263 
TFEU,  fourth  paragraph,  but  by  way  of  indirect  action  before  a  national  court  via  the 
preliminary ruling procedure set out in Article 267 TFEU;21 
Luxembourg:  national  laws  may  not  limit  access  to  pensioners'  tax  credit  to  resident 
taxpayers  receiving  domestic  pension  income;  the  tax  credit  must  also  be  open  to 
residents receiving a pension from other Member States;22 

 

 

  Hungary:  the  customs  authorities  may  disregard  the  declared  price  of  imported  goods 
and  use  secondary  methods  (laid  down  in  the  Community  Customs  Code23)  to 
determine  the  transaction  value,  if  they  still  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  declared  value 
after asking for additional information or documents and providing the person concerned 
with a reasonable opportunity to clarify those doubts;24 
Portugal:  the  freedom  to  provide  services  under  the  TFEU  allows  Member  States  to 
apply  a  withholding  tax  at  source  to  the  income  of  non-resident  banks  without  levying 
such  a  tax  on  resident  banks,  if  such  a  tax  is  justified  by  an  overriding  reason  in  the 
general interest and necessary to achieve the objective. However, Member States may 
not  tax  non-resident  banks  by  prohibiting  them  from  deducting  business  expenses 
directly related to their activities while this opportunity is given to resident banks;25 
  Romania: Member States may not repay taxes incompatible with EU law by instalments 

over 5 years.26 

VIII.  OUTLOOK 

Important implementation work in 2017 includes: 

 

Indirect taxation: 
  monitoring  cases  affecting  the  economic  situation  of  businesses  (VAT  refund)  as 
well  as  cases  which  aim  to  remove  obstacles  to  the  free  circulation  of  goods  and 
services;  
the  assessment  of  car  registration  tax  for  the  same  car  in  each  Member  State, 
which is perceived by citizens as contrary to the EU freedoms. The Commission will 
ensure correct application of the advantageous case law of the Court of Justice in 
this matter; 

 

  excise  duties  area:  tax  markings  on  excise  products,  such  as  cigarettes  and 

alcohol, as potential obstacles of free movement of goods. 

  Direct taxation 

 

cross-border inheritances;27 

17   Radgen, C-478/15. 
18   Feilen, C-123/15. 
19   Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93. 
20   Robert Fuchs, C-80/15. 
21   Makro autoservicio mayorista v Commission, C-264/15P and Vestel Iberia v Commission, C-265/15P. 
22   Kohll and Kohll-Schlesser, C-300/15. 
23   Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92. 
24   EURO 2004, Case C-291/15. 
25   Brisal and KBC Finance Ireland, C-18/15. 
26   Câmpean, C-200/14 and Ciup, C-288/14. 

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cross-border workers;28 

 
  mobile persons;29 and 
  assessment  will  start  of  the  results  of  the  study  on  discriminatory  tax  obstacles  to 

cross-border investment by pension funds and life insurance companies. 

  Customs 

  problems  potentially  arising  under 

the  new  EU  Customs  Code30  and 

its 

implementing rules; 

  horizontal inquiry relating to the penalty provisions in the Cash Control Regulation;31 

and 

  possible horizontal inquiry in the area of postal fees. 

27   Press release IP/11/1551. 
28   Press release IP/12/340. 
29   Press release IP/14/31. 
30   Regulation (EU) No 952/2013. 
31   Regulation (EC) No 1889/2005. 

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METHODOLOGY AND EXPLANATIONS 

ANNEX I — POLICY AREAS 

1.  COMPLAINTS 

First chart: New complaints received from members of the public (2012-2016) 

This shows the number of public complaints the Commission registered in relation to the given policy 
field in 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 sectors 

The number of registered complaints for the current reporting year is broken down by policy sector. In 
general, this breakdown shows the three policy sectors in which the most complaints were received in 
2016.  Four  (or  more)  policy  sectors  are  mentioned  if  two  (or  more)  policy  sectors  attracted  the  third 
highest number of complaints. The number of sectors covered varies according to the breadth of each 
policy area. 

2.  EU PILOT 

First chart: New EU Pilot files (2012-2016) 

This  shows  the  number  of  EU  Pilot  files  the  Commission  opened  in  the  given  policy  area  in  2012-
2016. 

Second chart: New EU Pilot files opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

The number of new EU Pilot files opened in the current reporting year is broken down by policy sector. 
This breakdown shows the three policy sectors in which the most EU Pilot files were opened in 2016. 
Four  (or  more)  policy  sectors  are  included  if  two  (or  more)  policy  sectors  tied  for  the  third  highest 
number of new EU Pilot files. 

Third chart: EU Pilot files: policies’ combined resolution rate in 2012-2016 
The  Member  States’  combined  resolution  rate  in  the  given  policy  field  is  the  percentage  of  EU  Pilot 
files handled for which the Commission accepted the Member States’ responses. The chart shows the 
combined resolution rate for the last 5 years. 

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METHODOLOGY AND EXPLANATIONS 

3.  OWN-INITIATIVE CASES 

New own-initiative cases 

This section contains a list of the most important infringement cases the Commission launched in the 
given policy area in 2016. The list is not exhaustive. 

4. 

INFRINGEMENT CASES 

First chart: Infringement cases open on 31 December (2012-2016) 

These figures include all procedures the Commission initiated in the policy area 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. 

Accordingly, this number includes all cases that, on 31 December of the years 2012 to 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 and 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; and 
 

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 in the policy area. It also does not include 
EU Pilot files for which the Commission had already rejected a Member State’s response but had not 
yet sent a letter of formal notice under Article 258 TFEU. 

Second chart: Infringement cases open on 31 December 2016: main policy sectors 

This shows, for the given policy area, the sectors in which the most infringement cases were still open 
on 31 December 2016. The number of sectors shown varies according to the breadth of each policy 
area. 

Third chart: New infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

This shows, for the given policy area, the sectors in which the most infringement cases were launched 
in 2016. 

Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

This section has three parts: 

Part a) shows the number of new infringement cases launched in the policy area in 2016 and lists the 
most important new cases under Article 258 TFEU. 

Part b) lists the cases which the Commission referred to the Court solely under Article 258 TFEU by 
31 December  2016.  The  cases  submitted  to  the  Court  under  Article  258  and  260(3)  TFEU  are 
discussed in the ‘transposition of directives’ section (see below). 

Part c) contains the cases which the Commission referred to the Court under Article 260(2) TFEU by 
31 December 2016. 

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METHODOLOGY AND EXPLANATIONS 

5.  TRANSPOSITION OF DIRECTIVES 

First chart: New late transposition infringement cases (2012-2016) 

This shows the number of letters of formal notice sent to Member States under Article 258 TFEU for 
missing or partial notification of national measures transposing directives in the given policy area. This 
figure is already included in the total number of new infringement cases initiated in the policy area 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. 

Second chart: New late transposition infringement cases opened in 2016: main policy sectors 

This shows the policy sectors in which the most late transposition procedures were launched in 2016. 

Key infringement cases and referrals to the Court 

This section has two parts: 

Part a) lists, for the given policy area, the most important directive(s) for which the Commission had to 
launch infringement procedures against a relatively high number of Member States. 

Part b) lists the cases which the Commission referred to the Court under Article 258 TFEU and Article 
260(3) by 31 December 2016. 

6.  EARLY RESOLUTION OF INFRINGEMENT CASES 

Major cases closed without a Court judgment in 2016 

This  section  contains  a  list  of  the  most  important  infringement  cases  the  Commission  closed  in  the 
given policy area in 2016 without a Court judgment. The list is not exhaustive. 

7. 

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS 

This section contains two lists: 

The  first  list  contains  the  Court’s  most  important  judgments  in  the  given  policy  area  in  2016.  These 
judgments are almost exclusively handed down under Article 258 or Articles 260(2) TFEU. 

The second list contains the most important preliminary rulings that the Court issued to the Member 
State’s judiciary in the given policy area. 

These lists are not necessarily exhaustive. 

89