COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT General Statistical Overview Accompanying the document Report from the Commission Monitoring the application of European Union law 2020 Annual Report
Date: 2021-07-23
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: EU Member State, EU environmental policy, activity report, area of freedom, security and justice, coronavirus disease, epidemic, infringement procedure (EU), national implementing measure, single market

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 23.7.2021 
SWD(2021) 212 final 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

General Statistical Overview 

Accompanying the document 

Report from the Commission 

Monitoring the application of European Union law    

2020 Annual Report 

{COM(2021) 432 final} 

EN 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

I.  Working with Member States to ensure proper implementation of EU law ............................................. 2 

1. 

Guidelines ................................................................................................................................................. 2 

2.  Meeting-based compliance tools .............................................................................................................. 6 

2.1. 

2.2. 

2.3. 

3. 

4. 

II. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Committees, networks, expert groups and workshops ........................................................................ 6 

Package meetings .............................................................................................................................. 11 

Other compliance tools ...................................................................................................................... 11 

Explanatory documents .......................................................................................................................... 13 

Implementation plans ............................................................................................................................. 14 

Infringement procedures – from detecting breaches to penalties .......................................................... 15 

Complaints .............................................................................................................................................. 17 

Petitions .................................................................................................................................................. 18 

EU Pilot ................................................................................................................................................... 19 

Pre-litigation phase ................................................................................................................................. 21 

Referrals and judgments of the Court of Justice under Articles 258 and 260(2) TFEU ............................ 24 

III. 

Transposition of directives ...................................................................................................................... 25 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

EU directives to be transposed in 2016-2020 ......................................................................................... 25 

Transposition deadlines .......................................................................................................................... 26 

Transparency .......................................................................................................................................... 26 

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

Referrals and judgments of the Court of Justice under Articles 258 and 260(3) TFEU ............................ 29 

IV.  Methodology and explanations .............................................................................................................. 30 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

I.  WORKING WITH MEMBER STATES TO ENSURE PROPER IMPLEMENTATION OF EU LAW 

The Member States1 and the European Commission share responsibility for ensuring compliance with EU law. 
In line with the principle of sincere cooperation set out in Article 4(3) of the Treaty on European Union, they 
should ‘in full mutual respect, assist each other in carrying out tasks which flow from the Treaties’. 

The ultimate purpose of the Commission’s enforcement actions is to ensure compliance with EU law, and in 
this sense infringement procedures are an option of last resort to achieve that purpose. In many cases, good 
cooperation  and  communication  between  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States  is  more  conducive  to 
reaching compliance at an early stage than having to resort to infringement procedures. In its Communication 
‘EU  law:  Better  results  through  better  application’2,  the  Commission  committed  to  strengthening  its 
partnership with Member States. 

In line with this approach, the Commission has developed a number of tools to help Member States transpose, 
apply and implement EU law correctly and on time. These include guidance documents, implementation plans, 
expert  groups,  explanatory  documents,  providing  training,  organising  workshops  and  holding  package 
meetings. Some of these tools are used to avoid (‘prevent’) breaches of EU law, while others are intended to 
be used in parallel with infringement procedures to resolve (‘correct’) breaches of EU law and to avoid having 
to refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The Commission often uses a combination 
of these tools to address problems and promote compliance with EU law. 

The  Commission  is  committed  to  better  explaining  its  role  as  guardian  of  the  treaties  and  its  work  with 
Member States on issues concerning the application and implementation of EU law. Information provided in 
this  section  of  the  report  goes  beyond  the  dialogue  engaged  with  the  Member  States  during  the  formal 
infringement procedures. It gives a brief overview of other types of action taken by the Commission in 2020 
to assist Member States in implementing and applying EU law.   

1.  Guidelines 

The Commission often provides written guidance to Member States on how to implement and apply certain 
EU legal instruments. In 2020, the Commission issued guidelines on interpreting and implementing EU law in 
the following policy areas. 

In the field of agriculture, the Commission has provided extensive guidance on most sectors of the common 
agricultural  policy.  This  includes:  product-specific  guides  to  facilitate  the  submission  of  applications  for 
registrations of  geographical indications; several guidelines on organic farming, especially  on the additional 
controls required for certain imports from specific non-EU States3; dedicated guidelines to ensure a pragmatic 
implementation of the exceptional measures adopted in 2020, either due the COVID-19 pandemic or Brexit, 
both  in  the  fields  of  income  support  and  rural  development.  Moreover,  in  view  of  the  upcoming  common 
agricultural policy reform, the Commission has proactively issued detailed recommendations to assist Member 
States in the preparation of the common agricultural policy strategic plans. 

In  the  policy  area  of  communication  networks,  content  and  technology,  in  particular  the  electronic 
communications  networks,  the  Commission  issued  a  Recommendation4  calling  on  Member  States  to  boost 
investment  in  very  high-capacity  broadband  connectivity  infrastructure,  including  5G.  This  Recommendation 
sets out guidance for developing best practices and for fostering connectivity in support of economic recovery 
from the COVID-19 crisis. 

1   On 1 February 2020, the Withdrawal Agreement setting out arrangements for the orderly withdrawal of the United 
Kingdom from the Union entered into force and the United Kingdom became formally a third country. The Withdrawal 
Agreement  provided  for  a  transition  period  which  started  on  1  February  2020  and  ended  on  31  December  2020. 
During  that  transition  period,  and  unless  otherwise  provided,  Union  law  continued  to  apply  to  and  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  including  infringement  procedures.  Any  reference  to  Member  States  should  therefore  be  understood  as 
including the United Kingdom. 
Communication ‘EU law: Better results through better application’, C(2016)8600. 
The  Commission  has  sent  more  than  100  interpretation  letters  to  Member  States,  the  European  Parliament,  and 
stakeholders, in order to clarify the EU legislative framework on organic farming. 
C(2020)6270. 

2 
3  

4  

2 

 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

In the same policy  sector the Commission also adopted a Recommendation on relevant product and service 
markets  within  the  electronic  communications  sector  susceptible  to  ex-ante  regulation5.  It  constitutes  an 
important  regulatory  and  harmonisation  tool,  which  helps  to  focus  ex-ante  regulatory  intervention  to  those 
product and geographic markets in which significant market failures persist while allowing lifting it where it is 
no longer needed.  

In order to improve trust and fairness in doing business online, the Commission also adopted guidelines on 
ranking transparency provided by online platforms6. 

In  July  2020,  the  Commission  issued  guidelines  on  video  sharing  platforms.  The  guidelines  aim  to  assist 
Member  States  in  applying  the  rules  of  the  revised  Audiovisual  Media  Services  Directive7  which  extends 
certain rules to video sharing platforms, including audiovisual content shared on some social media services.  

In  the  area  of  environment  and  in  particular  waste  management,  the  Commission  published  several  new 
studies,  including  one  on  the  extended  producer  responsibility,  separate  waste  collection,  the  end-of-waste 
and  by-products  criteria,  the  methodology  for  the  reporting  on  the  reuse  of  products,  the  definition  of 
backfilling, the revision of the essential requirements for packaging, and another one on the assessment of 
environmental benefits associated with compostable packaging. The Commission has also issued guidance on 
separate  collection  of  household  hazardous  waste  and  guidelines  on  the  reporting  and  calculation  of 
packaging  recycling.  It  also  issued  two  COVID-19  crisis  related  guidance  documents,  one  on  shipments  of 
waste in the EU and another on waste management in the context of COVID-198.  

The  Commission  also  published  guidance  on  wind  energy  developments  and  Natura  20009.  It  aims  to  help 
national authorities and stakeholders apply the Habitats  and Birds Directives when considering wind energy 
developments. Eight training sessions have been organised to promote these and related guidance documents 
in 13 Member States. The Commission also completed the second habitat action plan for the conservation of 
the habitat type10, which provides comprehensive information on the status and trends of, and the pressures 
and  threats  to,  the  relevant  species  and  habitats  and  the  measures  needed  to  address  them  in  order  to 
achieve  the  Nature  Directives’11  objectives.  Furthermore,  the  Commission  prepared  ‘FAQ  notes’  on  how  the 
Nature Directives relate respectively to the Nitrates Directive and to the Invasive Alien Species Regulation and 
how coordination can be improved between these instruments following consultation with stakeholders12. 

On environmental impact assessments, the Commission departments updated a booklet explaining the rulings 
of  the  Court  of  Justice  of  the  EU  on  the  Environmental  Impact  Assessment  and  Strategic  Environmental 
Assessment Directives13. This will help Member States apply the directives correctly as knowledge of EU case-
law is necessary for the understanding of the directives.  

The  Commission  issued  a  vademecum  on  environmental  compliance  assurance  in  rural  areas.  The 
Environmental Compliance and Governance Forum recommended wide use of the vademecum by all national, 
regional and local authorities involved in ensuring compliance with EU environmental law in rural areas. The 
vademecum can be used to help draft strategies and can be a source of information on specific methods for 
monitoring compliance. 

5  

Recommendation on relevant product and service markets within the electronic communications sector susceptible to 
ex  ante  regulation  in  accordance  with  Directive  (EU)  2018/1972  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council 
establishing the European Electronic Communications Code, C(2020)8750. 

6   Guidelines on ranking transparency pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the 

Council, C(2020)8579. 
7   Directive (EU) 2018/1808. 
8  
9   Guidance document on wind energy developments and EU nature legislation, COM(2020)7730.  
10 

https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/waste_management_guidance_dg-env.pdf 

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/management/pdf/EU%20HABITAT%20ACTION%20PLAN%2 
04030.pdf 

11   Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC and Birds Directive 2009/147/EC. 
12   https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/management/docs/FAQ_IAS.pdf 

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/management/docs/Web_Cover_Nature_Directives.pdf 

13   Directives 2011/92/EU and 2001/42/EC, respectively. 

3 

 
                                                 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

In  the  employment  policy  area,  notably  health  and  safety  at  work,  the  Commission,  together  with  the 
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, has prepared guidelines to help employers prevent COVID-19 
in  the  workplace.  These  guidelines  are  available  in  all  official  EU  languages  and  are  regularly  updated14. 
Moreover,  to  better  implement  the  occupational  safety  and  health  legislation,  a  working  party  within  the 
Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work completed draft non-binding guidelines on the Directive on 
safety and/or health signs at work15, which were adopted at the plenary meeting of the Advisory Committee in 
December 2020.  

In  the  area  of  labour  mobility,  where  free  movement  of  people  met  with  challenges  in  2020  due  to  the 
COVID-19  pandemic,  the  Commission  issued  guidelines  on  free  movement  of  workers16  and  on  seasonal 
workers17.  The  aim  was  to  inform  workers  about  the  general  rules  applicable  to  their  work  contract,  the 
potential  measures  that  they  may  have  to  take  regarding  their  health  insurance  and  the  social  security 
coverage  during  this  period.  These  documents  provide  general  information  and  answers  to  most  of  the 
questions  that  frontier  workers and other workers who reside  in a  Member  State and  work  in another  may 
have in relation to their situation. 

Moreover, in July 2020, the Commission published a report on minimum requirements for enhancing worker 
mobility  between  Member  States  by  improving  the  acquisition  and  preservation  of  supplementary  pension 
rights18.  

In  the  area  of  financial  services,  the  Commission  published  two  Notices19  with  answers  to  the  questions 
submitted  by  Member  States  during  the  two  transposition  workshops  to  help  them  transpose  the  Bank 
Resolution and Recovery Directive20 consistently and accurately. 

To  improve  the  application  of  internal  market  legislation,  the  Commission  published  the  Communication 
‘Coordinated economic response to the COVID-19 Outbreak’ in March 202021. It provides guidance to Member 
States on how to put in place adequate control mechanisms to ensure security of supply across Europe. While 
Member  States  may  under  certain  strict  conditions  adopt  restrictive  measures,  any  such  measure  must  be 
justified  by  the  protection  of  human  health  and  must  be  suitable,  necessary  and  proportionate  to  achieve 
such  objective.  In  particular,  any  planned  national  measure  restricting  access  to  medical  and  protective 
equipment must be notified to the Commission in accordance to the Single Market Transparency Directive22, 
which in turn informs the other Member States. If Member States do not sufficiently adapt their rules to bring 
them  in  line  with  EU  law,  the  guidance  makes  it  clear  that  the  Commission  will  take  legal  action.  Some 
national measures prevent exports of essential supplies to non-EU countries, the ultimate objective being to 
preserve  the  viability  of  the  EU’s  healthcare  systems.  Should  exports  to  non-EU  countries  jeopardise  the 
response capacity of the EU to the COVID-19 outbreak, the guidance clarifies that a system of authorisations 
for exports of certain products can be put in place, as was the case during 2020. 

The  Commission  also  published  guidance  on  the  Recommendation  on  conformity  assessment  and  market 
surveillance procedures within the context of the COVID-19 threat23.  

In the area of justice and consumers, notably the data protection field, the Commission published guidance 
on the development of new apps that support the fight against coronavirus24 to align it with the General Data 

14   https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/COVID-19-back-workplace-adapting-workplaces-and-protecting-workers/view 
15   Directive 92/58/EEC. 
16   Guidelines concerning the exercise of the free movement of workers during COVID-19 outbreak, C(2020)2051.  
17   Guidelines on seasonal workers in the EU in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak, C(2020)4813. 
18   COM(2018)789.  
19   Notice relating to the interpretation of certain legal provisions of the revised bank resolution framework in reply to 
questions  raised  by  Member  States’  authorities,  C(2020)6417  and  Notice  relating  to  the  interpretation  of  certain 
legal provisions of the revised bank resolution framework in reply to questions raised by Member States’ authorities 
(second Commission Notice), C(2020)8279. 

20   Directive (EU) 2019/879. 
21   COM(2020)112. 
22   Directive (EU) 2015/1535. 
23   C(2020)1712.  
24   Guidance on Apps supporting the fight against COVID 19 pandemic in relation to data protection, C(2020)2523.  

4 

 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

Protection Regulation25. This guidance aims to offer the necessary framework to guarantee that citizens have 
sufficient protection of their personal data and limitation of intrusiveness while using such apps. 

In 2020, the Commission continued to monitor the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation 
in the Member States. It also actively contributed to the work of the European Data Protection Board on the 
preparation  of  guidelines  and  recommendations.  In  that  context,  the  Commission  prepared  draft  Standard 
Contractual Clauses (SCCs)26 for controllers and processors located in the EU and draft modernised SCCs for 
transferring  personal  data  to  non-EU  countries.  Their  purpose  is  to  equip  stakeholders  with  a  consistent 
package of modern and user-friendly tools that facilitate compliance with the regulation. The draft SCCs were 
subject to a public consultation and discussion with stakeholders; they were also shared with the European 
Data Protection Board and the European Data Protection Supervisor for their joint opinion.  

In  the  area  of  migration  and  home  affairs,  the  Commission  published  guidelines27  on  implementing  the 
Regulation on marketing and use of explosives precursors28. These guidelines should help national authorities, 
economic  operators  and  online  marketplaces  apply  the  rules  on  chemicals  that  can  be  misused  to  build 
homemade  explosives.  The  Commission  issued  two  guidelines  in  response  to  the  COVID-19  pandemic: 
Guidance on the implementation of relevant EU provisions in the area of asylum and return procedures and 
on  resettlement29  and  guidelines  for  border  management  measures  to  protect  health  and  ensure  the 
availability of goods and essential services30. 

The transport sector was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Several clarifications were needed, in 
particular for air transport, notably in the area of passenger rights31 and air safety32. For maritime transport, 
the Commission issued guidelines on protection of health, repatriation and travel arrangements for seafarers 
and other persons on board ships33.  

The  Commission also published guidelines  to facilitate  the implementation of the recently  adopted Mobility 
Package 134. This took the form of Q&A addressing the most pressing questions raised by the sector on the 
application of the social provisions on driving times and rest conditions of drivers.  

In the area of taxation, and notably indirect taxation, the Commission published guidelines on value added 
tax (VAT)35 and  explanatory  notes  on the  new  VAT e-commerce rules36. These documents provide  extensive 
explanations and clarifications on the new rules and include practical examples on how they should be applied 
by  a  supplier  or  an  electronic  interface  (e.g.  marketplace,  platform)  involved  in  e-commerce  transactions. 
These explanatory notes are meant to help online businesses and in particular SMEs to understand their VAT 
obligations arising from cross-border commerce to consumers in the EU.  

To improve and simplify the application of the Commission Decision to temporarily suspend customs duties 
and  VAT37  and  to  help  Member  States  affected  by  the  COVID-19  pandemic,  the  Commission  published 
guidelines38 on how to implement the Decision as well as an indicative list of goods which may benefit from 
it. 

25   Regulation (EU) 2016/679. 
26 

https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/international-dimension-data-protection/standard-contractual-
clauses-scc_en  
27   C(2020)3756.  
28   Regulation (EU) 2019/1148. 
29   C(2020)516. 
30   C(2020)1753.  
31  

Interpretative Guidelines on EU passenger rights regulations in the context of the developing situation with COVID-19 
C(2020)1830 and Commission Recommendation (EU) 2020/648. 

32   The joint EASA-ECDC COVID-19 Aviation Health Protocol and its addendum the Guidelines for COVID-19 testing and 

quarantine of air travellers. 

33   C(2020)3100. 
34   https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/road/mobility-package-qa_en 
35   https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/sites/taxation/files/guidelines-vat-committee-meetings_en.pdf  
36   https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/sites/taxation/files/vatecommerceexplanatory_28102020_en.pdf 
37   C(2020)2146.  
38   https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/COVID-19-taxud-response_en  

5 

 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

As for improving the application of customs legislation, the Commission published an update of the customs 
audit guide and guidelines on prioritising risks for customs controls and managing the impact of the common 
risk criteria and standards of COVID-19 related risks. 

2.  Meeting-based compliance tools 

The Commission deploys a wide range of meeting-based tools, such as committees, networks, expert groups 
and workshops, to promote the good implementation of EU law across policy areas. 

2.1. Committees, networks, expert groups and workshops 

Since  the  introduction  of  the  common  agricultural  policy,  the  Commission  has  made  intensive  use  of 
committees to ensure compliance with EU law. Beyond their institutional role in adopting implementing acts, 
the agricultural committees  provide an important forum to discuss, explain, clarify and interpret the rules39. 
The  Commission  has  also  helped  Member  States  on  the  transposition  of  the  Directive  on  unfair  trading 
practices40 and with the implementation of agricultural law, through discussions in experts groups, workshops, 
reports on implementation, formulating or updating guidelines, disseminating good practices and exchanging 
experience.  In  2020,  the  Commission  departments  held  76  committee  meetings  and  66  meetings  of  the 
expert  groups  with  Member  States, mainly  online. The  Member States were also consulted on a  number  of 
draft  implementing  and  delegated  acts  to  maintain  their  level  of  involvement  in  the  preparation  of 
agricultural legislation despite the exceptional circumstances due to COVID-19.  

In  the  policy  area  of  communication  networks,  content  and  technology,  in  particular  the  electronic 
communications  networks,  the  Communications  Committee  (COCOM)41  assists  the  Commission.  COCOM  is 
composed of Member States’ representatives and its main role is to provide an opinion on the measures that 
the Commission intends to adopt. In 2020, four COCOM meetings took place and was involved in the adoption 
of three implementing regulations. 

In  the  policy  sector  of  audio-visual  media  services,  the  Contact  Committee  assists  the  Commission.  The 
Contact Committee is composed of representatives of Member States’ competent authorities and chaired by a 
representative of the Commission. Among their main tasks, the Contact Committee is entrusted to facilitate 
the  effective  implementation  of  the  Audiovisual  Media  Services  Directive42  through  regular  consultation  on 
any practical problems arising from its application, as well as on any other matters deemed useful. In 2020, 
the  Commission  has  consulted  the  Contact  Committee  on  the  Guidelines  on  Video  Sharing  Platforms  and 
European  works  issued  in  July  (mentioned  under  herein  below).  Additionally,  a  virtual  meeting  was  held  in 
September  2020  to  discuss  the  status  of  national  transpositions  and  to  inform  Member  States  how  the 
Commission  monitors  the  transposition  and  implementation  of  the  directive.  Furthermore,  the  committee 
discussed  the  setting  up  of  the  centralised  database  of  the  media  service  providers  under  Member  States 
jurisdiction, foreseen by the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. 

On copyright policy, the Copyright Contact Committee43 assists the Commission. In 2020, three meetings of 
that committee took place, in which issues such as fair remuneration in exploitation contracts of authors and 
performers  or  the  preparation  of  the  Commission’s  guidance  on  the  application  of  Article  17  of  Directive 
2019/790/EU on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market44 were discussed. 

39   These  Committees  include  notably:  the  Committee  for  the  Common  Organisation  of  the  Agricultural  Markets;  the 
Rural  Development  Committee;  the  Committee  on  the  Agricultural  Funds;  the  Committee  for  Direct  Payments;  the 
Agricultural Product Quality Policy Committee; the Committee for Spirit Drinks; the Committee on Organic Production; 
the Committee on Agricultural Structures and Rural Development; and the Committee for the Farm Accountancy Data 
Network. 

40   Directive (EU) 2019/633. 
41   https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/communications-committee  
42   Directive (EU) 2018/1808. 
43   https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expert-

groups/consult?do=groupDetail.groupDetail&groupID=1419  

44   Directive 2019/790/EU.  

6 

 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

The  Expert  Group  on  Voice  Call  Termination  Rates  in  the  EU45,  formed  by  representatives  of  national 
regulatory  authorities  held  two  meetings  in  2020  and  was  consulted  on  the  adoption  of  a  delegated  act 
setting EU wide a single maximum mobile and fixed voice termination rate46. 

The European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) consists of the representatives of the 
independent  national  regulatory  authorities  of  Member  States’  in  the  audiovisual  sector  and  advises  the 
Commission on the consistent implementation of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive and other matters 
related to audiovisual media services. In 2020, ERGA established a voluntary cooperation mechanism among 
its members for efficient enforcement of the applicable rules. ERGA also set up three main working groups, 
namely  (i)  on  strengthening  the  Digital  Single  Market  by  enforcing  European  rules  and  values  in  the  online 
environment,  (ii)  on  disinformation  and  (iii)  on  ensuring  prominence  and  non-discriminatory  access  of 
audiovisual media content to all platforms. In addition, in reaction to the pandemic, ERGA set-up an ad-hoc 
action group on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the audiovisual media sector. Over the course of 
2020, the various  groups within ERGA  held  a total of  21  meetings  and seven workshops  with  stakeholders 
and experts, on topics such as disinformation and questions regarding the regulation of bloggers. 

In  the  area  of  environment,  and  in  particular  air  quality,  two  expert  group  meetings  with  Member  States 
were  organised  on  the  implementation  of  the  Directive  on  the  reduction  of  national  emissions  of  certain 
atmospheric pollutants47 and two expert group meetings on the implementation of the Air Quality Directives48.  

In the area of waste management, the Commission departments held 14 technical committee meetings and 
22 expert group meetings as well as many other meetings with stakeholders. These meetings concerned both 
the preparation of new legislation and the implementation of existing directives and regulations. In the area 
of water protection, the Commission departments held 14 expert meetings to discuss the implementation of 
the water directives.  

The Commission has also further supported the Natura 2000 biogeographical cooperation process that takes 
place between various stakeholders at the level of a biogeographical region. The Member States in which the 
region  lies  are  involved  in  improving  the  implementation,  management,  monitoring,  financing  and  reporting 
for the Natura 2000 network on the basis of agreed roadmaps. One  Natura 2000 biogeographical seminar 
was organised in 2020 for the Alpine region. 

The  Commission  has  also  organised  one  Member  State  and  stakeholder  meeting  to  exchange  knowledge, 
information, good practices on licencing and inspection under the Zoo Directive49.  

In  2020,  two  expert  group  meetings  were  organised  on  the  practical  implementation  of  the  Environmental 
Impact Assessment Directive50 and Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive51.  

On  health  and  food  safety,  to  help  Member  States  implement  the  Directive  on  the  sustainable  use  of 
pesticides52 (SUD), the Commission organised a series of initiatives through the SUD Working Group, audits, 
and the better training for safer food programme53. 

In  the  area  of  employment,  notably  working  conditions,  the  expert  group  for  the  transposition  of  the  key 
Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions54 held four meetings in 2020.  

45   https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=groupDetail.groupDetail&groupID=3699&news=1  
46   https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/regdel/#/delegatedActs/1206  
47   Directive (EU) 2016/2284. 
48   Directives 2008/50/EC and 2004/107/EC. 
49   Directive 1999/22/EC. 
50   Directive 2011/92/EU.  
51   Directive 2001/42/EC. 
52   Directive 2009/128/EC. 
53   https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/btsf_en  
54   Directive (EU) 2019/1152. 

7 

 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

The  standing  sub-group  of  Member  States’  Directors-General  for  industrial  relations  on  working  time  met 
once  in  2020,  giving  Member  States  and  the  Commission  a  forum  to  discuss  the  implementation  of  the 
directive in the light of recent case-law.  

On health  and  safety  at work, the cooperation between  Member  States, Commission  and social  partners to 
make  the  EU  occupational  safety  and  health  legislative  framework  future-proof  and  ensure  proper 
compliance  and  enforcement  continued  and  was  reinforced  in  the  context  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic.  In 
particular exchanges took place within the tri-partite Advisory Committee for Safety and Health at Work and 
the Senior Labour Inspectors Committee. 

The  Commission  also  made  regular  use  of  committees  and  expert  groups  to  discuss  the  proper 
implementation and application of the occupational safety and health legislation (OSH). In 2020, the Senior 
Labour Inspectors’ Committee adopted two documents on ‘Training of labour inspectors on OSH – with regard 
to work equipment’ and on ‘Basic training module for labour inspectors – with regard to chemical risks at the 
workplace’. It also adopted an opinion on ‘Future EU OSH enforcement priorities contributing to a renewed EU 
OSH strategy’.  

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission has updated the Biological Agents Directive55 to add the 
new SARS-CoV-2 virus to the list of biological agents. The Commission and the European Agency for Safety 
and Health at Work have also created guidelines to help employers prevent COVID-19 in the workplace and 
properly  and  fully  apply  the  directive's  measures  on  improving  the  safety  and  health  of  workers  at  work56. 
This includes, in particular, assessing the risks and taking the appropriate risk management measures in line 
with  the  hierarchy  of  controls.  The  guidelines  are  available  in  all  official  EU  languages  and  are  regularly 
updated57. To analyse the lessons learnt from this unprecedented pandemic and discuss appropriate means to 
improve preparedness in the future, a tri-partite Working Party on Pandemics of the Advisory Committee on 
Safety and Health at Work has been established. 

On  disability  and  inclusion,  the  Commission  held  four  meetings  with  Member  State  representatives  to  help 
them  with  the  transposition  of  the  Directive  on  accessibility  of  products  and  services58.  Issues  addressed 
included provisions for products and standards; electronic communications; audio visual services, e-commerce 
and copyright; and transport.  

In  the  area  of  labour  mobility,  the  expert  group  for  the  transposition  of  the  Directive  on  the  Posting  of 
Workers59 held one meeting in 2020. 

On  the  coordination  of  social  security  systems,  the  Administrative  Commission  met  four  times  (virtually) 
during  2020  for  national  authorities  to  share  information  on  the  application  of  the  Regulation  on  the 
coordination  of  social  security  systems60.  They  also  discussed  difficulties  in  applying  the  rules,  including 
challenges  connected  to  the  COVID-19  pandemic  and  Withdrawal  Agreement  concluded  between  the 
European Union and the United Kingdom. The network of experts in social security also helped with the correct 
application of the regulation by developing information tools, ad hoc analyses and reports on specific issues, 
and organising seminars in Member States.  

The Commission regularly discussed the implementation of the energy legislation with Member States in the 
relevant  committees  and  expert  groups.  Topics  discussed  included  governance  of  the  Energy  Union,  energy 
efficiency,  energy  labelling,  energy  performance  of  buildings,  the  internal  energy  market,  nuclear 
decommissioning and safety, oil coordination, biofuels, bioliquids and biomass.  

For climate change and energy policies, the Commission organised one Technical Working Group meeting with 
experts from all Member States in July 2020, notably to discuss the links between the national energy and 
climate plans and the recovery and resilience plans as part of the Recovery and Resilience Facility. 

55   Directive 2000/54/EC. 
56   Directive 89/391/EEC. 
57   https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/COVID-19-back-workplace-adapting-workplaces-and-protecting-workers/view 
58   Directive (EU) 2019/882. 
59   Directive (EU) 2018/957. 
60   Regulation (EC) 883/2004. 

8 

 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

In May 2020, the Energy Union Committee held its first meeting where it discussed the draft implementing 
regulation on the EU renewable energy financing mechanism. A second meeting was held in July to continue 
the work and also prepare the revised draft implementing regulation. 

In 2020, the Commission used the Concerted Action forum, which gathers representatives of Member States 
and other interested parties, to exchange best practices when applying  specific EU instruments. Discussions 
were mainly on the implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive61, the Energy Efficiency 
Directive62 and the Renewable Energy Directive63. 

Furthermore,  on  nuclear  safety  and  radioactive  waste,  the  Commission  held  several  meetings  with  the 
European  Nuclear  Safety  Regulators  Group,  and  on  radiation  protection  it  worked  in  cooperation  with  the 
group of health experts established under Article 31 of the Euratom Treaty. 

In the area of financial services, the Commission organised transposition workshops to help Member States 
ensure  compliance  with  the  Capital  Requirements  Directive64,  the  Bank  Resolution  and  Recovery  Directive65, 
Covered Bond Directive66, Investment Firms  Directive67. Afterwards, the Commission published two Notices68 
with the answers to the questions submitted by Member States during the workshops on the Bank Resolution 
and Recovery Directive. 

In the area of justice and consumers, the Commission set up an expert group69 comprising representatives 
of Member States’ authorities responsible for the transposition of the Directive on the protection of persons 
who  report  breaches  of  Union  law70  to  facilitate  a  timely  and  correct  transposition.  The  directive  aims  to 
protect whistleblowers reporting breaches in 13 Union policy areas. The expert group met three times in 2020. 

With regard to data protection, the Commission consulted the Multistakeholder group71 in view of preparing 
an  evaluation  report  on  two  years  of  applying  the  General  Data  Protection  Regulation.  Moreover,  the 
Commission  organised  a  dedicated  meeting  with  that  expert  group  concerning  the  draft  implementing 
decisions on (i) Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) between controllers and processors located in the EU and 
(ii) SCCs for transferring personal data to non-EU countries. The concrete feedback received from the group’s 
members has been duly considered for the revision of the two draft SCCs.  

On internal market policy, the Mutual Recognition Committee delivered its positive opinion by unanimity on 
the  Draft  Commission  implementing  regulation  specifying  the  details  and  functions  of  the  information  and 
communication system to be used for the Regulation on the mutual recognition of goods lawfully marketed in 
another  Member  State72.  The  Commission  implementing  regulation  was  adopted  and  published  on 
11 November 202073 and the Mutual Recognition Expert Group was established on 7 December 2020.  

In addition, a webinar with national authorities and stakeholders to discuss options for the setting up of the 
EU Observatory on payment delays in commercial transactions took place on 6 November 2020. 

The Commission regularly exchanged information with Member States on the implementation of the security 
and  migration  legislation  in  various  committee  meetings,  notably  on  legal  migration,  asset  recovery, 

61   Directive 2010/31/EU. 
62   Directive 2012/27/EU. 
63   Directive 2009/28/EC. 
64   Directive (EU) 2019/878. 
65   Directive (EU) 2019/879. 
66   Directive (EU) 2019/2162. 
67   Directive (EU) 2019/2034. 
68   See footnote 15 above.  
69   https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=groupDetail.groupDetail&groupID=3709  
70   Directive 2019/1937. 
71   https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expert-

groups/consult?do=groupDetail.groupDetail&groupID=3537  

72   Regulation (EU) 2019/515.  
73   Regulation (EU) 2020/1668. 

9 

 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

explosive precursors, passenger name record data, document security, information systems for borders and 
security and the fight against child sexual abuse. 

On  the  fight  against  child  sexual  abuse,  the  Commission  organised  three  expert  workshops  on  the 
implementation  of  the  Child  Sexual  Abuse  Directive74.  Topics  explored  during  these  workshops  included 
technical solutions for the prevention of child sexual abuse. 

In  the  transport  and  mobility  area,  the  Commission  has  made  intensive  use  of  committees  and  expert 
groups  to  ensure  compliance  with  EU  law.  No  less  than  16  meetings  were  held  in  2020  to  discuss  cross-
cutting  maritime  and  aviation  security  issues,  while  eight  meetings  were  held  with  National  Enforcement 
Bodies to discuss passenger rights for all modes of transport (air, rail, waterborne and bus and coach). Two 
workshops were also organised to discuss aviation security issues.  

In the road sector, five committee meetings on road transport, roadworthiness, transport of dangerous goods 
and  20  expert  meetings  on  issues  as  diverse  as  smart  tachograph,  tunnels,  transport  of  dangerous  goods 
roadworthiness and training of professional drivers took place. They contributed to a better understanding and 
enforcement  of  the  vast  road  sector  rules.  These  meetings  were  followed  by  the  first  Digital  Enforcement 
Workshop, held in October 2020. 

In the rail sector, three meetings of the Rail Safety and Interoperability Committee took place, one of which 
with a dedicated agenda point on the transposition of the Fourth Railway Package’s Technical Pillar. 

In the maritime and  inland  waterways sector,  the Committee on Safe  Seas and  the  Prevention of Pollution 
from  Ships  met  twice  in  2020.  Over  50  expert  group  meetings  were  also  organised  that  year  on  a  broad 
range of issues, including the implementation of the European Maritime Single Window environment and of 
the  Regulation  on  electronic  freight  transport  information,  passenger  ship  safety,  ship-source  pollution, 
governance  of  digital  maritime  system  and  services,  marine  equipment,  inland  waterways  and  European 
ports. A workshop on the development of the European Hull database was held in November 2020. 

In the air sector, the Thessaloniki Forum75 met three times in 2020, as did the Commission expert group on 
the Aviation Internal Market. On Single European Sky (SES) issues, the SES Committee met seven times, and 
several meetings were held by bodies including the National Supervisory Authority Coordination Platform, the 
Expert  Group  on  the  Human  Dimension  of  the  SES  and  the  Industry  Consultation  Body.  SESAR  (Single 
European  Sky  Air  Traffic  Management  Research),  which  is  the  technological  pillar  of  the  SES  initiative,  was 
discussed  at  over  50  meetings.  The  European  Union  Aviation  Safety  Agency  Committee  organised  three 
meetings on aviation safety to discuss the application of common safety rules for civil aviation. The Air Safety 
Committee  also  organised  three  meetings  to  update  the  Air  Safety  List  Regulation.  Several  expert  group 
meetings  took  place,  in  particular  to  consult  with  Member  States  on  the  topic  of  drones.  The  European 
Network  of  Civil  Aviation  Safety  Investigation  Authorities  met  in  February  and  in  October.  Finally,  three 
meetings took place with EASA to synchronise potential Member State-related enforcement action. 

In the policy area of taxation and customs, notably value added tax (VAT) policy, the VAT Committee76 met 
twice  and  agreed  guidelines  establishing  which  Member  State  is  entitled  to  tax  the  admission  to  events, 
clarified the scope of an exemption relevant for the financial sector and the application of the exemption for 
cross-border sales of goods77.  

With regard to excise duties policy, the Commission met regularly with the Member States in the framework 
of its Indirect Tax Expert Group, the Excise Duty Committee and the Fiscalis Project Group. 

On customs policy, the Cash Controls Committee and the Expert Group prepared draft implementing acts for 
the  Regulation  on  controls  on  cash  entering  or  leaving  the  EU78.  The  Cultural  Goods  Committee  and  Expert 

74   Directive 2011/93/EU.  
75   An expert group dealing with the implementation of the Airport Charges Directive 2009/12/EC. 
76 

The VAT Committee consists of representatives of the Member States and of the Commission. It examines questions 
concerning the application of EU VAT provisions raised by the Commission or a Member State. 
These issues concerned Articles 53, 132(1)(f) and 138 of Directive 2006/112/EC, respectively. 

77 
78   Regulation (EU) 2018/1672. 

10 

 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

Group on customs issues related to cultural goods also met to discuss and prepare an implementing act on 
the introduction and import of cultural goods79. 

2.2. Package meetings 

On internal market policy, the Commission organised a series of meetings on enforcement80 among other 
topics, notably to discuss the Professional Qualifications Directive with Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Greece, Italy, 
Poland and Spain. Meetings with the other Member States are scheduled for 2021. 

In the policy  area of  communication  networks,  content  and technology, the Commission held  package 
meetings  with  Czechia, Greece, France  and  Poland  to  discuss open infringement cases and to find  an early 
solution thereon. 

2.3. Other compliance tools 

In the area of the common agricultural policy, general enforcement practices are accompanied by tailored 
compliance  tools,  both  to  prevent  and  sanction  violations  of  EU  law.  For  example,  on  the  protection  of 
geographical indications, the Commission regularly audits Member States’ official control systems (in 2020, 
only remote audits were possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic). To properly enforce legislation on organic 
farming,  an  Organic  Farming  Information  System  has  been  developed  to  ensure  information  exchange 
between  Member  States  and  the  Commission,  in  particular  to  notify  any  suspicion  of  irregularity.  The 
Commission monitors this system and evaluates the performance of the control bodies and non-EU countries.  

On sustainability and income support, EU rules oblige Member States to notify the Commission of their policy 
decisions  and  provide  data  on  annual  implementation.  The  Commission  uses  these  notifications  to  guide 
Member  States  towards  more  uniform  implementation  and  issues  annual  reports  on  direct  payments.  The 
Commission also uses conformity audits to check whether the Member States have set up adequate control 
systems  to  make  sure  that  payments  from  the  EU  funds  to  beneficiaries  are  made  correctly.  If  there  are 
weaknesses  in  the  control  systems,  these  audits  can  result  in  recommendations  and  financial  corrections. 
Where systemic deficiencies are found, the Commission requests that remedial action plans be developed and 
ensures their follow-up. A suspension or reduction of payments to the Member State may follow if an action 
plan  is  not  implemented.  Sixteen  actions  plans  on  rural  development  were  adopted  in  2020,  mainly 
addressing  deficiencies  in  the  implementation  of  public  procurement,  the  lack  of  information  exchange 
between the authorities implementing the measures, and the failure to achieve minimum control rates.  

In  the  area  communication  networks,  content  and  technology,  the  high-speed  digital  communications 
foster innovation and better services for the economy and for society as a whole. The development of Gigabit 
connectivity, fixed and mobile, as well as 5G are priorities for this Commission. A pro-investment regulatory 
framework  is  in  place,  the  cornerstone  of  which  is  the  European  Electronic  Communications  Code  (EECC), 
applicable  as  of  21  December  2020.  Throughout  the  two-year  transposition  process  for  the  EECC,  the 
Commission  provided  technical  assistance  to  the  Member  States  with  the  view  to  facilitating  the  correct 
transposition  of  the  new  rules,  closely  monitored  the  assignment  of  the  5G  pioneer  bands  and  cooperated 
with Member States in their efforts to ensure their availability and assignment under conditions conducive to 
investment. 

On  the  Geo-blocking  Regulation81,  the  Commission  published  the  first  short-term  review82.  It  included  the 
overall  findings  on  the  first  months  of  implementation  of  the  regulation  and  an  assessment  of  the 
implementation activities carried out by the Commission and by Member States since its adoption in February 
2018. 

79   Regulation (EU) 2019/880. 
80  

In line with Action 22 of the Communication ‘Long term action plan for better implementation and enforcement of 
single market rules’, COM(2020)94. 

81   Regulation (EU) 2018/302.  
82 

https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/commission-publishes-its-short-term-review-geo-blocking-
regulation  

11 

 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

On the environment, particularly air quality, a capacity building contract was launched in 2020 to improve 
air  pollutants  emissions  inventories  under  the  NEC  Directive,  open  to  around  10  Member  States.  Another 
capacity  building contract was launched for improving ecosystem  monitoring of air pollution under the NEC 
Directive, open to around 10 Member States. 

To encourage Member States to discuss key challenges in implementing the Nature Directives, three nature 
dialogues  were organised  in  2020.  These dialogues  have  involved  24 Member  States  so far, and  follow-up 
dialogues  are  still  taking  place  to  monitor  the  implementation  of  the  agreed  roadmaps.  In  each  of  these 
dialogues,  the  coordination  between  all  authorities  involved  in  the  management  of  Natura  2000  sites  was 
discussed and awareness was raised on the important links with agricultural, forestry and fisheries policies. 

In the area of water protection, the Commission organised an online workshop on strengthening the economic 
knowledge base for the financing of the EU Water Framework Directive83 and Floods Directive84.  

Also in the environment policy area, a pilot training was organised, covering all aspects of the Zoo Directive85 
for Member State authorities, zoos and their associations. 

Regarding  employment,  and  notably  working  conditions,  the  Interpretative  Communication  on  the  working 
time directive86 is updated on the Commission’s website87 after each judgment of the Court.  

On health and safety at work, the Commission continued cooperating with Member States and social partners 
to  make  the  EU  occupational  safety  and  health  legislative  framework  future-proof  and  ensure  proper 
compliance and enforcement. 

The Commission continues to support an initiative on the exchange of good practices, namely the 'roadmap 
on carcinogens', a joint action between the Commission and stakeholders. This is a voluntary scheme to raise 
awareness about the risks of exposure to carcinogens in the workplace and exchange good practices between 
companies and organisations. 

In the field of energy, the Commission shared with Member States a voluntary correlation table to facilitate 
the notification of the transposition measures of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, the Energy 
Efficiency Directive, the Renewable Energy Directive and the Directive on the internal market for electricity. 

Regarding radiation protection, the Commission finalised its technical exchanges with the Member States on 
issues related to the conformity of their transposition with the Euratom Drinking Water Directive.88. 

On radioactive  waste, the Commission continued  its  technical exchanges  with  the  Member States on issues 
related to the conformity of their transposition with the Radioactive Waste Directive and the conformity of the 
national programs issued under the Directive.89  

In the area of internal market, the Commission continued to expand the Internal Market Information System 
- its default tool for administrative cooperation - and introduced a new module for the Consumer Protection 
Cooperation network. The Your Europe portal was upgraded in December 2020 to become the ‘single digital 
gateway’90. Greater availability of information on rights and obligations in the single market will enable the 
correct application of EU law.  

The  Commission  monitors  SOLVIT  reports  on  single  market-related  difficulties  identified  by  the  SOLVIT 
network  in  order  to  gather  more  evidence  on  structural  issues.  In  line  with  the  single  market  enforcement 

83   Directive 2000/60/EC. 
84   Directive 2007/60/EC. 
85   Directive 1999/22/EC. 
86  C(2017)2601.  
87   The relevant webpage can be accessed here: 

https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=706&intPageId=5115&langId=en  

88   Directive 2013/51/Euratom. 
89   Directive 2011/70/Euratom. 
90   Regulation 2018/1724. 

12 

 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

action plan adopted in March  202091, the Commission transferred relevant individual complaints to SOLVIT, 
the single market dispute resolution tool.  

In  the  area  of  justice  and  home  affairs,  the  EU  has  created  the  Schengen  evaluation  mechanism92  -  a 
specific monitoring tool designed to verify that the EU's Schengen legislation is correctly applied. The relevant 
EU legislation covers  borders, visas, returns,  police cooperation, information systems  and  data  protection. It 
aims  to  ensure  that  high  uniform  standards  are  applied  in  practice  by  the  EU’s  Schengen  area  countries93, 
which are characterised by having no internal border controls. The Schengen evaluation mechanism is a multi-
layered tool involving the Commission, Member States (as well as the Schengen associated countries) and the 
European  Parliament.  Countries  belonging  to  the  Schengen  area  are  subject  to  monitoring  and  evaluation 
according to an evaluation programme. 

To enforce the EU’s maritime affairs and fisheries legislation, the Commission relies heavily on a system 
of verifications, inspections and audits by Commission inspectors. In addition, the control action plans adopted 
by  the  Commission  in  close  cooperation  with  the  Member  State  concerned  are  a  strong  tool  to  ensure  the 
correct enforcement of EU legislation and of the sanctioning system. In 2020, the Commission adopted new 
action  plans  for  several  Member  States  and  actively  monitored  their  implementation.  On  the  common 
organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products, the Commission ensures that Member States 
carry out regular checks on the proper implementation of the relevant EU legislation.94 

In the area of health and food safety, audits remained a key tool in the implementation and enforcement 
of  the  EU’s  extensive  legal  framework  on  food  and  feed  safety,  animal  health,  plant  health  and  animal 
welfare  and  also  an  important  element  for  maintaining  quality  control  for  pharmaceutical  products  and 
medical devices. 

On  taxation  and  customs,  notably  direct  taxation,  the  Commission  published  a  report95  on  the 
implementation  of  the  Directive  laying  down  rules  against  tax  avoidance  practices  that  directly  affect  the 
functioning of the internal market including hybrid mismatches with non-EU countries. The report is the first 
step in the evaluation of the impact of the Administrative Tax Avoidance Directive96 and provides an overview 
of  the  implementation  of  its  early  applicable  measures  (interest  limitation,  general  anti  avoidance  rule, 
controlled foreign company rule) across Member States. 

In  the  customs  area,  the  Commission  manages  six  IT  tools  that  help  ensure  the  uniform  and  good 
implementation of the customs tariff policy. These IT tools are available to the public and receive over 100 
million hits per year. 

3.  Explanatory documents 

Explanatory documents play an essential role in allowing the Commission to understand how Member States 
transpose  EU  directives.  They  help  to  make  monitoring  compliance  easier:  without  these  documents,  the 
Commission would need considerable resources and numerous contacts with national authorities to track the 
methods  of  transposition  in  all  Member  States.  Often,  transposing  measures  must  fit  into  a  complex  legal 
framework.  The  resulting  transposition  exercise  thus  produces  hundreds  of  measures  that  the  Commission 
needs to examine.  

In  its  judgment  of  8  July  2019,97  the  Court  of  Justice  clarified  that,  when  notifying  national  transposition 
measures  to  the  Commission,  Member  States  must  provide  sufficiently  clear  and  precise  information,  and 
identify, for each provision of the directive, the national provision(s) ensuring its transposition. If they fail to 
provide  documents  explaining  the  correlation  between  the  provisions  of  a  directive  and  the  corresponding 

91   COM(2020)94. 
92   Regulation (EU) 1053/2013. 
93   An  area  comprising  26  countries,  22  of  which  are  EU  Member  States  and  four  of  which  are  non-EU  countries 

associated to the Schengen area (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein). 

94   Regulation (EC) 1379/2013. 
95   COM(2020)383.  
96   Directive (EU) 2017/952.  
97   Commission v Belgium, C-543/17.  

13 

 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

provisions of national law, the Commission will pursue the infringement procedures under Article 260(3) TFEU. 
This Treaty provision allows the Commission to request the Court to impose financial penalties if a Member 
State  fails  to  fulfil  its  obligation  to  notify  measures  transposing  a  directive  adopted  under  a  legislative 
procedure.  The  Court’s  judgment  did  not  impose  an  obligation  on  the  Member  States  to  notify  explanatory 
documents  to  the  Commission  in  the  form  of  correlation  tables.  Member  States  remain  free  to  choose  the 
form of their explanatory documents.  

Since  then,  the  Court  of  Justice  has  confirmed  this  jurisprudence  in  further  judgments.98  Given  that  the 
requirement for Member States to provide sufficiently clear and precise information on the national provisions 
transposing  a  directive  is  now  firmly  established  as  a  legal  obligation  for  each  directive  and  not  merely 
optional,  the  Commission  considers  that  it  is  no  longer  necessary  to  report  on  the  numbers  of  explanatory 
documents notified by the Member States.   

4.  Implementation plans 

The  Commission  prepares  implementation  plans  for  certain  legislative  proposals  for  directives  and 
regulations.  An  implementation  plan  identifies  the  challenges  that  the  Member  States  will  face  and  which 
need  to  be  taken  into  account  when  they  prepare  to  transpose  and  implement  the  respective  directive  or 
regulation. The plans also provide for a wide range of tools to help Member States implement EU laws, such 
as  guidance  documents,  expert  groups  and  dedicated  websites.  Implementation  plans  could  also  include 
actions  and  monitoring  arrangements  by  the  Member  States  to  track  progress  and  report  on  their 
implementation. 

In the policy area of communication networks, content and technology, and notably on the Geo-blocking 
Regulation99, the Commission published the first short-term review100 of that regulation. This report included 
the  overall  findings  on  the  first  months  of  implementation  of  the  Regulation  and  an  assessment  of  the 
implementation  activities  carried  out  by  the  Commission  and  by  Member  States  as  from  its  adoption  in 
February 2018.  

On environment, notably air quality, the Commission report on progress made in implementing the National 
Emissions Ceilings Directive101 includes assessments of the national air pollution control programmes and a 
related risk assessment for each Member State, together with recommendations to individual Member States.  

In the area  of  financial  services,  the Commission prepared  one implementation  plan for  the  Directive on 
Cross-border  distribution  of  investment  funds102.  Member  States  are  required  to  adopt  and  publish  the 
measures transposing this Directive into national law by 2 August 2021. 

The  directive’s  main  objective  is  to  harmonise  rules  applicable  to  all  collective  investment  undertakings: 
Undertakings  for  the  Collective  Investment  in  Transferable  Securities  and  alternative  investment  funds.  It 
addresses the remaining  barriers  to cross-border  distribution of investment funds with  the  aim of  boosting 
the Capital Markets Union. 

In the area of taxation and customs, the Commission provided Member States with an implementation plan 
on reporting requirements for payment service providers103 and to combat VAT fraud104. 

98   See judgments in Cases Commission v Romania, C-549/18 and Commission v Ireland, C-550/18.  
99   Regulation (EU) 2018/302.  
100   https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/commission-publishes-its-short-term-review-geo-blocking-

regulation  
101   COM(2020)266. 
102   Directive (EU) 2019/1160. 
103   Directive (EU) 2020/284.  
104   Regulation (EU) 2020/283.  

14 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

II. 

INFRINGEMENT PROCEDURES – FROM DETECTING BREACHES TO PENALTIES 

There are four main types of infringements of EU law: 

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

transpose a directive; 

b)  non-conformity/non-compliance:  the  Commission  considers  that  a  Member  State’s  legislation  is 

not in line with the requirements of EU directives; 
infringement  of  the  Treaties,  regulations  or  decisions:  the  Commission  considers  that  a 
Member  State’s  legislation  is  not  in  line  with  the  requirements  of  the  Treaties,  EU  regulations  or 
decisions; 
incorrect application: EU law is not applied correctly, or not applied at all, by national authorities. 

c) 

d) 

Infringements  may  be  detected  by  the  Commission’s  own  investigations  or  brought  to  its  attention  by 
complaints or petitions from members of the public, businesses, NGOs or other organisations. 

The Commission actively informs complainants of the decisions taken throughout all stages of the procedure. 

The infringement procedure under Article 258 TFEU is divided into a pre-litigation phase and a litigation 
phase. 

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

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

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

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

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

Over  recent  years,  the  Commission  has  taken  concrete  measures  to  improve  the  transparency  of  its 
monitoring  activities  and  decisions  on  infringement  procedures.  It  has  set  up  a  centralised  platform  for 
disseminating infringement-related information on the Europa portal105. This provides detailed information on 
the decisions  the Commission takes  on infringement procedures, including press material  on specific cases. 
Since 2017, the press material covers all formal steps of the infringement procedure. 

105   http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en  

15 

 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

In  addition,  every  year  the  Commission  provides  information  in  its  annual  reports  on  monitoring  the 
implementation  of  EU  legislation,  on  the  follow-up  given  to  complaints  and  on  parliamentary  petitions  and 
infringement procedures. 

The  Commission  remains  committed  to  improving  the  transparency  of  its  enforcement  action.  At  the  same 
time, it has to give due account to the legitimate need for confidentiality with regard to the Member States in 
infringement procedures, as recognised by the Court of Justice. 

Trends in complaints and investigations about potential breaches of EU law

3 715

3 450

3 783

3 786

3525

986

790

716

178

2016

2017

644

110

2018

797

190

2019

903

212

2020

New complaints registered

New EU Pilot files

New infringement cases

Time taken to investigate potential breaches of EU law 

99

60

39

87

69

37

90

91

37

146

109

47

152

98

40

116

109

44

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Average time for handling complaints (in weeks)

Average time for handling EU Pilot (in weeks)

Average time for handling infringement cases (in weeks)

16 

 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

1.  Complaints 

Public complaints open at year-end 

3 308  >  Complaints open at end-2019 

3 727  >  New complaints registered in 2020 

3 207  >  Complaints handled in 2020 

= 3 828   >  Complaints open at end-2020 

The three Member States against which the Commission received the most complaints were Spain, Italy and 
France. 
•  Spain:  612  complaints,  especially  in  connection  with:  justice  and  consumers  (252  complaints); 

• 

employment (91 complaints); and taxation and customs (50 complaints);  
Italy:  419  complaints,  mainly  related  to:  justice  and  consumers  (109  complaints);  employment  (65 
complaints); and industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs (55 complaints); and 

•  France:  362  complaints,  most  of  them  related  to:  justice  and  consumers  (122  complaints);  industry, 

entrepreneurship and SMEs (50 complaints); and taxation and customs (46 complaints). 

The following chart shows the main policy areas for which new complaints were registered in 2020. Together 
they account for 89% of all complaints received in 2020. 

New complaints registered in 2020: main policy areas

Employment, social 
affairs and inclusion
384

Environment
397

Internal market, 
industry, 
entrepreneurship 
and SMEs
332

Taxation and customs
298

Mobility and transport
209

Migration and home affairs
204

Health and food safety
141

Justice and 
consumers
1243

Other
420

Financial stability, financial services 
and capital markets union
99

The Commission handled 3 207 complaints in 2020. Once it has assessed complaints, the Commission 
may  launch  an  investigation  using  the  EU  Pilot  mechanism  or  through  formal  infringement  procedures  to 
clarify whether EU rules have been breached. Not all complaints in 2020 led to such investigations, because 
either  no  EU  laws  were  breached  (2 068  complaints)  or  the  correspondence  did  not  qualify  as  a  complaint 
(859)106.  The  Commission  did  not  pursue  84  cases  as  the  complainants  withdrew  their  complaint.  It  also 

106  According to the conditions set out in point 3 of the Annex on administrative procedures for the handling of relations 
with the complainant regarding the application of European Union law to the Communication ‘EU law: Better results 
through better application’, C(2016)8600. 

17 

 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

transferred  6  complaints  to  other  redress  mechanisms,  such  as  SOLVIT.  The  Commission  therefore  closed 
3 017 complaints. 

In 2020, the Commission pursued 190 complaints further by investigating in the EU Pilot mechanism or in the 
framework of an infringement procedure. 

Complaints leading to investigations

441

135

185

150

3458

3611

3882

3813

190

3207

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Complaints closed

Complaints pursued

Complaints leading to investigations using the EU Pilot mechanism were most frequently related to taxation 
and  the  customs  union,  mobility  and  transport,  and  financial  stability,  financial  services  and  the  Capital 
Markets Union. These complaints mainly concerned Spain, France, Luxembourg, Poland and Austria. 

In 2020, complaints leading to formal infringement procedures were most frequently related to taxation and 
the  customs  union;  environment,  the  internal  market,  industry,  entrepreneurship  and  SMEs,  mobility  and 
transport, and financial stability, financial services and the Capital Markets Union. These new infringements 
procedures mainly concerned Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg and Sweden. 

2.  Petitions 

Through petitions and questions, the European Parliament alerted the Commission to shortcomings in the way 
some  Member  States  were  implementing  and  applying  certain  EU  laws  in  2020.  The  Commission 
systematically  ensures  follow-up  to  the  petitions  received.  However,  not  all  petitions  lead  to  investigations 
about breaches of EU law, because either no EU laws were breached or the Commission had no power to act. 
In many cases, the situation presented in a petition is already being investigated by the Commission through 
EU Pilot or a formal infringement procedure. 

This  section  provides  an  overview  of  the  follow-up  the  Commission  gave  to  petitions  in  2020  in  the  policy 
areas most concerned. 

On the common agricultural policy, the Commission dealt with 17 petitions in 2020. These petitions mainly 
concerned income support to farmers and alleged breaches of EU agricultural legislation. 

In the policy area of communication networks, content and technology, the Commission dealt with eight 
petitions, which related to issues such as geo-blocking, net neutrality or telecommunications. 

Regarding the environment, the Commission received 120 petitions in 2020. Many of those petitions were 
linked to complaints or to structural infringements that were already being investigated. A number of petitions 
raised  individual  complaints  of  incorrect  application,  which  are  in  general  no  longer  pursued  by  the 
Commission in line with the December 2016 Communication, and therefore did not lead to investigations. 

18 

 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

In  the  area  of  employment,  and  particularly  working  conditions,  the  Commission  continued  to  handle 
petitions,  notably  concerning  the  abuse  of  fixed-term  work  contracts  and  discriminatory  employment 
conditions.  

On  health  and  safety  at  work,  the  Commission  continued  to  handle  petitions,  for  example  on  exposure  to 
asbestos  at  work,  and  on  personal  protective  equipment  and  work  equipment.  It  also  handled  petitions  in 
related  fields,  such  as  the  use  of  pesticides,  where  occupational  safety  and  health  aspects  were  raised  in 
addition  to  public  health  issues.  In  this  field,  the  Commission  handled  three  new  petitions  in  2020  and 
provided information to the European Parliament. However, these petitions did not lead to new investigations 
on breaches of EU law on health and safety at work.  

The Commission received four petitions regarding disability and inclusion. However, they did not merit further 
investigation because they did not fall under EU competence or because competent national authorities were 
better placed to assess the facts and assist the petitioners.  

Ten petitions were received in the area of social security coordination. Their analysis led to a conclusion that 
there was no breach of EU law. 

In the area of financial services, the Commission received one petition concerning restitution of properties 
falling under Article 63 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union on free movement of capital. 

In the area of migration and home affairs, the Commission received 29 petitions. 

On  maritime  affairs  and  fisheries,  the  Commission  followed  up  on  four  petitions  concerning  the 
implementation and application of EU law. The issues raised were already covered by ongoing investigations. 

In  the  transport  field,  a  petition  on  air  passengers’  rights  to  reimbursement  or  compensation107  for  flight 
cancellation  in  COVID-19  times  reinforced  the  Commission’s  determination  to  monitor  the  evolution  of  the 
situation  not  only  in  the  Member  State  that  gave  rise  to  the  petition,  but  in  all  other  Member  States.  This 
monitoring led to the opening of infringement proceedings against Italy and Greece. 

On customs and taxation, the Commission received 23 petitions on the implementation and application of 
EU law. The petitions concerned cases already opened by the Commission. 

3. 

EU Pilot 

The  EU  Pilot dialogue between the Commission and  Member States  was set  up to  quickly  resolve potential 
breaches of EU law at an early stage in appropriate cases. However, the recourse to EU Pilot should not add a 
lengthy step to the infringement process, which in itself is a means to enter into a problem-solving dialogue 
with a Member State. The Commission thus uses the EU Pilot for cases where a quick solution within a short 
period appears attainable108. 

The Commission opened 212 new EU Pilot files in 2020. Of these, 58 were triggered by complaints and 
154 were opened by the Commission on its own initiative.  

EU Pilot files open at year-end 

499  >  EU Pilot files open at end-2019 

212  >  New EU Pilot files registered in 2020 

171  >  EU Pilot files handled in 2020 

107   Regulation (EC) 261/2004. 
108   Communication  ‘Long  term  action  plan  for  better  implementation  and  enforcement  of  single  market  rules’, 

COM(2020)94. 

19 

 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

= 540  >  EU Pilot files open at end-2020 

The following pie chart shows the policy areas in which the Commission opened the most new EU Pilot files in 
2020: 

EU Pilot files opened in 2020: main policy areas

Environment 
49

Maritime affairs and 
fisheries
11

Mobility and 
transport
45

Taxation and 
customs union
23

Defence industry 
and space
18

Other
31

Energy
35

The Commission handled 171 EU Pilot files in 2020. It closed 108 of these after receiving satisfactory 
answers from the Member States concerned. This gives a resolution rate of 63%, which is below the 2019 
level.  

Altogether,  41  EU  Pilot  files  were  followed  up  by  formal  infringement  procedures.  While  9  of  these 
procedures were based on complaints, the Commission launched the remaining 32 on its own initiative. 

Most  EU  Pilot  files  which  led  to  formal  infringement  procedures  concerned  the  policy  areas  of  energy  and 
environment policy areas (15 and 14 cases respectively). Romania and France had the highest number of files 
in EU Pilot that were pursued further through infringement procedures (5 and 4 files, respectively), followed 
by Malta, Latvia and Greece (3 files each). 

EU Pilot files (2015-2019)

875

72%

77%

512

73%

77%

397

244

63%

212

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Average resolution rate

EU Pilot files handled

20 

 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

At the end of 2020, 540 EU Pilot files were open. The main Member States concerned were Italy (46), 
Poland (35) and Germany (33). The main policy area concerned continued to be environment (136 open files), 
followed by justice and fundamental rights (59), migration and home affairs (56) and mobility and transport 
(56). 

4.  Pre-litigation phase 

The Commission launched 903 new procedures by sending a letter of formal notice in 2020. Out of these, the 
Commission launched procedures on its own initiative in 306 cases. 

The following chart gives the breakdown by Member State. 

New infringement cases at 
31 December 2020

55 55

53

44

41

38 40

37

34 34 35 36 36 36

32 32

28 29 30

26

24

22 23

20

16 17 17

13

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

Most new infringement cases are for late transposition of EU directives. 

Trends in new infringement procedures

847

112

27

558

129

29

2016

2017

419

406

151

74

2018

292

99

2019

599

170

134

2020

Late transposition

Treaties, regulations & decisions

Other (incorrect application and non-conformity)

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

21 

 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

New infringement cases opened in 2020: main policy areas

Energy
117

Taxation and 
Customs
70

Migration and Home 
Affairs
63

Mobility and 
Transport
154

Health and Food 
Safety
52

Financial stability, 
Financial Services 
and Capital Markets 
Union
50

Employment, Social 
Affairs and Inclusion
46

Environment
236

Others
115

The  Commission  also  sent  152  reasoned  opinions  to  Member  States  in  2020.  The  main  policy  areas 
concerned were environment (37), mobility and transport (26), justice and consumers (25) and energy (20). 

Reasoned opinions sent to Member States in 2020

12

11

10

9

9

9 9

9

8

8

6

5

5

5

3

3

3 3

3

3

4

4

4

4

1

1

1

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

22 

 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

At the end of 2020, 1 786 infringement cases remained open. This is an increase from the previous year, as 
the following chart shows. 

Infringement cases open at year-end (2016-2020)

1657

1559

1571

1564

1786

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

The following chart shows the number and type of open infringement cases for the Member State at the end 
of 2020: 

Infringement cases open on 31 December 2020

73 74

70

64 66 67

56 57 59 61

19

32

31 32

78 78 79 80 81

26 27 33

30 33

86 88

18 24

97 99

30

55

32

28 30

26

37 30

53 47

52

36 28

41

26

46 46 46 47

37 39 40 41

31

11

15 21 21

15 25 22 18

11 17

14 12

15

12 16 21

14

21

9

5

4

7 11 9

8

7

12 8

25

25 27

19

33 38

29

22

23 21

22 19

9 12 13 9

9

16 12 14 12 11 15 12

17 20

15 17 16 17

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

Late transposition infringements

Infringements for incorrect transposition and/or bad application of directives

Infringements of regulations, treaties and decisions

Top figures: Total number of infringements per Member State

23 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

The following chart shows the breakdown of the infringement cases open at the end of 2020, by policy area: 

1786 infringement cases open at end-2020: Policy areas

Internal Market, Industry, 
Entrepreneurship and SMEs
194

Energy
186

Migration and Home 
Affairs 
167

Mobility and 
Transport
277

Justice, 
Fundamental Rights 
and Citizenship
120

Taxation and 
Customs Union
106

Financial Stability, 
Financial Services 
and Capital Markets 
Union
97

Environment
444

Other
195

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

In 2020, the Commission closed: 

  510 infringements after sending letters of formal notice109; 

  144 cases after sending reasoned opinions;  

  Nine cases after deciding to refer the case to the Court but before submitting the application and 13 cases 
following  a Court  judgment.  In addition, the Commission  withdrew five  cases  from the Court  before the 
latter  handed  down  its  ruling.  The  Commission  withdrew  these  cases  as  the  Member  States  concerned 
took the necessary measures to comply with EU law. 

5.  Referrals and judgments of the Court of Justice under Articles 258 and 260(2) TFEU 

In  2020,  the  Commission  referred  11  cases  to  the  Court  under  Article 258  TFEU  and  one  case  under 
Article 260(2) TFEU. 

In  2020,  the  Court  issued  25  judgments  under  Article 258  TFEU  and  three  judgments  under  Article 260(2) 
TFEU. Of these, 27 were in the Commission’s favour and one was in the Member State’s favour110. Hungary 
(five),  Belgium,  Spain,  Italy  and  Austria  (two  each)  were  the  subject  of  the  most  Court  judgments  under 
Article 258 TFEU in 2020. 

109  This includes two letters of formal notice under Article 260 TFEU and one letter of formal notice under Article 106 

TFEU. 

110  Commission v. Portugal, C-49/19. 

24 

 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

Judgments under Articles 258 and 260(2) TFEU 

5

1

2

1

2

2

2

1

1

HU

BE

IT

AT

ES

EL

1

IE

1

1

1

1

RO

BG

CY

CZ

1

FI

1

1

1

DE

PL

PT

1

SI

1

UK

Referral to Court Art.258 - Judgment

Referral to Court Art.260(2) - Judgment

Member States frequently take the measures needed to comply with a Court judgment promptly. However, at 
the  end  of  the  year,  112  infringement  procedures  were  still  open  after  a  Court  ruling  because  the 
Commission  considered  that  the  judgments  under  Article 258  TFEU  had  not  yet  been  complied  with.  This 
concerned mainly Greece (18) Italy (16), Spain and the United Kingdom (each eight) and Germany (seven) The 
main policy areas concerned were the environment (52), transport and mobility (14), and the internal market, 
industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs (11). 

Of these 112 cases, the  Commission referred  two cases to the Court for  the second time.  When the Court 
imposes financial penalties under Article 260(2) TFEU, the defaulting Member State must pay the lump sum 
immediately and  continue to pay the periodic penalty until it complies fully with the first and second Court 
judgments.  In  2020,  the  Court  delivered  three  judgments  under  Article 260(2)  TFEU.  It  imposed  penalty 
payments on  Italy, Greece  and  Belgium111.  At the end  of  2020, 11 infringement  procedures  were still  open 
after a Court ruling under Article 260(2) TFEU. 

In addition, the Court imposed penalties in four judgments handed down under Article 260(2) TFEU in the area 
of competition112. 

III. 

TRANSPOSITION OF DIRECTIVES 

1.  EU directives to be transposed in 2016-2020 

In 2020, the Parliament and the Council adopted 22 directives. Most of these directives modify existing laws. 
There were no base directives and only one codifying directive (which does not impose a new transposition 
deadline). The main policy areas concerned were: environment (8), taxation (5), mobility and transport (3) and 
employment (2).  

At the same time, 47 directives  had to be transposed in 2020, which is more than in 2019 (42). For these 
directives,  Member States notified  4383 national  transposition measures  to the Commission by the end  of 
2020113. On average, Member States notified 93 measures per directive. 

111   Commission v. Italy, C-576/18; Commission v. Greece, C-149/14; Commission v Belgium, C-110/17.  
112   These  are  cases  in  which  the  Commission’s  first  course  of  action  is  a  letter  of  formal  notice  under  Article  260(2) 

TFEU. 

25 

 
 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

National transposition measures notified per year

5000

4193

4383

3084

3014

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Number of notified transposition measures

In 2020, the highest number of notifications were submitted by Czechia (475), followed by Hungary (398), 
and France (397). The lowest number of notifications were submitted by Portugal (42), Luxembourg (44) 
and Spain (46).  

The  transposition of  the  Directive on the  prevention of the  use  of the financial  system for  the  purposes  of 
money  laundering  or  terrorist  financing  triggered  the  highest  number  of  notifications  (509)114.  The  two 
directives  with the  second and  third highest number  of  notifications were triggered  by the Directive  on the 
energy  performance of buildings and on energy efficiency (359)115 and the Directive on pests of plants on 
seeds and other plant reproductive material (258)116. 

2.  Transposition deadlines 

Of the 47 directives to be transposed in 2020, 14 directives had a transposition deadline that was shorter 
than 1 year from the time of their publication (5 more than in 2019). 

The  average  period  to  transpose  directives  was  31  months.  The  directive  with  the  longest  transposition 
period and deadline in 2020 (53 months) was the Directive on railway safety117. 

A short transposition period usually resulted in an increased number of infringements for late transposition. 
All 4 directives to be transposed in 2020 with a transposition period of less than 5 months triggered a higher 
number of late transposition infringement cases118.  

3.  Transparency 

113  There is a difference between the number of all measures notified by the Member States to the Commission and the 
number of measures visible on EUR-Lex. Not all measures notified by the Member State are visible on the EUR-Lex 
website: the explanatory documents and administrative provisions that are not public in the Member States are not 
sent for publication. Given a transition to a new IT system in early December, the notifications reported in this annual 
report cover the period from 1 January 2020 until 4 December 2020. 

114  Directive (EU) 2015/849. 
115  Directive 2018/844/EU. 
116  Directive 2020/177/EU. 
117   Directive 2016/798/EU. 
118   14 infringement cases for Directives (EU) 2020/362 and Directive (EU) 2020/363, 13 infringement cases for Directive 

(EU) 2020/177 and 12 infringement cases for Directive (EU) 2020/432. 

26 

 
 
                                                                                                                                                         
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

To  further  encourage  Member  States  to  be  more  transparent  with  the  national  measures  transposing  EU 
directives, the Commission invited Member States to agree to the publication of the text of these measures 
on  EUR-Lex.  To  date,  12  Member  States  have  agreed  to  do  so:  Austria,  Czechia,  Cyprus,  Estonia,  France, 
Greece, Malta, Latvia, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Spain and Poland. The Commission also invited Member States 
to make their  declaration of transposition public  on  EUR-Lex, which  accompanies  the  national transposition 
measures notified to the Commission. Only Greece has so far agreed to do so. 

In  line  with  the  commitments  taken  in  the  Inter-Institutional  Agreement  on  Better  Law-making,  the 
Commission encouraged Member States to identify which provisions stem from an EU directive and which are 
in no way related to that Union legislation. Members of the public have an interest in knowing which national 
transposition  measures  go  beyond  the  requirements  of  EU  directives.  Up  to  now,  only  two  Member  States 
provided this information to the Commission119. 

4.  Late transposition infringements 

Combating  late  transposition  is  a  long-established  priority  for  the  Commission.  The  Commission  therefore 
proposes financial sanctions whenever it refers a Member State to the Court of Justice under Articles 258 and 
260(3)  TFEU  for  not  having  communicated  on  time  its  measures  to  transpose  a  directive  adopted  under  a 
legislative procedure (see details in subsection V.4). 

The number of new late transposition infringements increased from 406 in 2019 to 599 in 2020120. 

Directives and late transposition infringement cases

847

558

599

419

406

70

36

50

36

47

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Number of directives with transposition deadline in a given year

New late transposition infringements

At the end of 2020, 719 late transposition infringement cases were still open, a 20% increase from 
the 599 cases open at the end of 2019. 

599  >  Late transposition cases open at end-2019 

599  >  New late transposition cases registered in 2020 

479  >  Late transposition cases closed in 2020 

= 719  >  Late transposition cases open at end-2020 

119   Belgium for Directive 2010/63/EU and the United Kingdom for Directives 2016/680/EU and 2016/681/EU. 
120  The current annual report does not cover the late transposition infringement cases opened for directives that had a 
transposition  deadline  in  November  and  December  2020  (7  directives).  The  Commission  launched  these  cases  in 
January 2021. They will be included in the next annual report. 

27 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

The following chart shows the number of late transposition infringement cases open at the end of 2020 (719 
in  total)  for  each  Member  State,  irrespective  of  the  year  in  which  the  case  was  opened  and  the  new  late 
transposition infringement cases (599 in total) opened in 2020. 

Late transposition infringement cases in 2020

55

27

21

19 19

21 22

18

18

14 15 15

32 33 33

30

25 24

26

25

27

25

38

32

30

33

31

42 43

37

11

9 11 12 12 12 12 15 16 16 16 16 18 19 20 20 21 24 24 24 24 25 26 26 28 31

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

New late transposition infringement cases in 2020

Late transposition infringement cases open at the year-end

The policy areas in which the new cases were launched in 2020 are shown in the following chart: 

New late transposition cases in 2020 - per policy areas

57
10%

54
9%

68
11%

69
12%

156
26%

4
1%

8
1%

49
8%

45
8%

38
6%

27
4%

24
4%

Environment

Mobility and Transport

Energy

Taxation and Customs Union

Migration and Home Affairs

Health and Food Safety

Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union

Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurships and SMEs

Communication Networks, Content and Technology

Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship

Other

28 

 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

5.  Referrals and judgments of the Court of Justice under Articles 258 and 260(3) TFEU 

Under Article 260(3) TFEU, the Commission may propose financial penalties even when it refers a case for the 
first  time  to  the  Court  of  Justice  under  Article 258  TFEU  on  the  ground  that  a  Member  State  has  failed  to 
transpose  a legislative Directive. This innovation, introduced in the Treaty  of Lisbon, aims to incentivise the 
Member States to transpose directives on time. The Commission proposes the level of financial penalty to the 
Court in line with the policy laid down in its Communications on the implementation of Article 260(3) TFEU 
and on the calculation method for lump sum payments and daily penalty payments121. 

In 2020, the Commission did not bring any late transposition infringement case to the Court of Justice with a 
request for daily penalties under Article 260(3) TFEU.  

In  2020,  the  Court  of  Justice  rendered  two  judgments,  namely  against  Ireland  and  Romania,122,  in  which  it 
fully  confirmed  its  findings  on  the  requirements  imposed  on  Member  States  when  notifying  transposition 
measures123 and the sanction scheme of Article 260(3) TFEU. Even though both Romania and Ireland notified 
complete  transposition  measures  in  the  course  of  the  procedure  before  the  Court,  the  Court  found  that  an 
application  to  impose  a  lump  sum  cannot  be  dismissed  as  disproportionate  only  because  the  infringement 
was resolved in the course of the proceedings. In view of the specific objective of the lump sum, it does not 
lose its purpose when an established infringement comes to an end.  

121  SEC(2010)1371.  
122   Commission v Ireland, C-550/18; Commission v Romania, C-549/18 
123   See also section on explanatory documents of this report. 

29 

 
 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

IV.  METHODOLOGY AND EXPLANATIONS 

Infringement procedures – from breach to penalties 

First chart: Trends in complaints and investigations about potential breaches of EU law 

This chart shows aggregated data over a five-year period covering new  complaints registered, new EU Pilot 
files and new infringement cases. 

Second chart: Time taken to investigate potential breaches of EU law 

This  shows  the  average  time  in  weeks  needed  before  taking  a  decision  to  close  complaints,  EU  Pilot  and 
infringement cases. This means that certain files are potentially counted in all three categories, for example if 
an initial complaint becomes an infringement case. 

Complaints 

First table: Public complaints open at year-end 

This starts with the number of open complaints at the end of 2019 (first line)124. The second line shows the 
number of new complaints registered in 2020. The third line shows the number of complaints for which the 
Commission  took  a  decision  in  2020.  The  fourth  line  shows  the  number  of  complaints  open  at  the  end  of 
2020 (calculated by taking the first figure, adding the second and subtracting the third). 

First chart: New complaints registered in 2020 (main policy areas)

125

This shows the main policy areas for which new complaints were registered in 2020. 

Second chart: Complaints leading to investigations 

This  shows the number  of  complaints  which the Commission pursued  further by launching  an  investigation 
about breaches of EU law (via the EU Pilot mechanism or launching a formal infringement procedure). 

EU Pilot 

First table: EU Pilot files open at year-end 

This starts with the number of open EU Pilot files at the end of 2019 (first line). The second line shows the 
number  of  new  EU  Pilot  files  opened  in  2020.  The  third  line  shows  the  number  of  files  on  which  the 
Commission took a decision in 2020. The fourth line shows the number of EU Pilot files open at the end of 
2020 (calculated by taking the first figure, adding the second and subtracting the third). 

First chart: EU Pilot files opened in 2020 (main policy areas) 

This shows the policy areas in which the new EU Pilot files were opened in 2020. 

124   In some instances a difference between the figures from the preceding annual report may be due to delayed, double 

or erroneous registration at the moment of extracting statistical data. 

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

30 

 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

Second chart: EU Pilot files (2016-2020) 

This  shows the number of EU Pilot files  processed in a given year and the resolution rate in that year. The 
resolution rate  is  the percentage of  EU  Pilot files  handled for which the Commission accepted the Member 
States’ responses. 

Pre-litigation phase 

First chart: New infringement cases at 31 December 2020 

This shows the number of new infringement cases opened in 2020, by Member State. 

Second chart: Trends in new infringement procedures 

This shows comparison — over a five-year period — between different types of infringement cases originating 
as late transposition cases, breaches of regulations and treaties and incorrect application or non-conformity 
with directives. 

Third chart: New infringement cases opened in 2020 (main policy areas) 

This shows the main policy areas in which the new infringement cases were opened in 2020. 

Fourth chart: Reasoned opinions sent to Member States in 2020 

This shows the number of reasoned opinions sent to Member States in 2020. 

Fifth chart: Infringement cases open at year-end (2016-2020) 

This  shows  the  number  of  infringements  that  remained  open  on  31 December  of  each  year  from  2016  to 
2020. 

Sixth chart: Infringement cases open on 31 December 2020 

These figures show all procedures that the Commission has started against each Member State by sending a 
letter  of  formal  notice  under  Article 258  TFEU.  It  covers  letters  sent  in  2020  or  before,  irrespective  of  the 
stages the cases have reached. Only cases which have not yet been closed by a formal decision are shown. 
For  each  Member  State,  the  chart  distinguishes  between  infringements  for  incorrect  transposition  and/or 
incorrect application of EU law, late transposition infringements and breaches of regulations and treaties. 

Accordingly, the numbers include all cases that, on 31 December 2020: 

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

Court under Article 258 TFEU); 

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

 

the  Court  had  ruled  on  but  where  the  Commission  could  not  yet  confirm  that  the  Member  State  had 
implemented the judgment correctly; 

  were in the second pre-litigation procedure (letter of formal notice or referral decision under Article 260(2) 

TFEU); 

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

 

the  Court  had  ruled  on  for  the  second  time  but  where  the  Commission  could  not  yet  confirm  that  the 
Member State had implemented the second judgment correctly. 

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

31 

 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

Seventh chart: Infringement cases open at end-2020: policy areas 

This shows the breakdown, by policy area, of the infringement cases open on 31 December 2020. 

Referrals and judgments of the Court of Justice under Articles 258 and 260(2) TFEU  

First chart: Court of Justice judgments under Article 258 and 260(2) TFEU in 2020 

This  shows the total  number of  Court of Justice  judgments  and  the number  of  judgments  in favour of the 
Commission and the Member States. 

Transposition of directives 

Second chart: National transposition measures notified per year 

This  shows  the  total  number  of  national  transposition  measures  submitted  by  Member  States  to  the 
Commission in a given year. 

Second chart: Directives and late transposition infringement cases 

This  shows  how  many  directives  had  to  be  transposed  in  the  years  2016-2020  and  how  many  new 
infringement cases for late transposition were opened in that period. 

First table: Late transposition infringement cases open at year-end 

This starts with the number of late transposition infringements at the end of 2019 (first line). The second line 
shows  the  number  of  new  late  transposition  infringements  registered  in  2020.  The  third  line  shows  the 
number of infringement cases on which the Commission took a decision in 2020. The fourth line shows the 
number  of  late  transposition  infringements  open  at  the  end  of  2020  (calculated  by  taking  the  first  figure, 
adding the second and subtracting the third). 

Third chart: Late transposition infringement cases in 2020 

This  shows  the  number  of  late  transposition  infringements  open  at  year-end  for  each  Member  State, 
irrespective  of  the  year  in  which  the  infringement  was  opened.  In  addition,  it  also  shows  new  late 
transposition infringement cases opened in 2020 for each Member State. 

Fourth chart: New late transposition infringement cases opened in 2020 (main policy areas) 

This shows the main policy areas in which the procedures for late transposition were launched in 2020. 

32