COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT GENERAL STATISTICAL OVERVIEW Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION Monitoring the application of European Union law 2021 Annual Report
Date: 2022-07-15
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: EU Member State, EU employment policy, EU environmental policy, activity report, area of freedom, security and justice, citizens' Europe, digital single market, fundamental rights, infringement procedure (EU), national implementing measure

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 15.7.2022  SWD(2022) 194 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT GENERAL STATISTICAL OVERVIEW Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION Monitoring the application of European Union law       2021 Annual Report {COM(2022) 344 final}  
 
 
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Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2021 Annual Report 

I. 

1. 

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

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

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

2.2   Package meetings .......................................................................................................................................... 14 

3. 

4. 

5. 

II. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Other compliance tools ............................................................................................................................... 15 

Explanatory documents ............................................................................................................................... 18 

Implementation strategies ........................................................................................................................ 19 

Infringement procedures – from detecting breaches to penalties ..................................... 20 

Complaints .......................................................................................................................................................... 22 

Petitions ............................................................................................................................................................... 23 

EU Pilot ................................................................................................................................................................. 25 

Open infringement procedures ............................................................................................................... 27 

Referrals and judgements of the Court of Justice under Articles 258 and 260(2) 
TFEU ....................................................................................................................................................................... 30 

III. 

Transposition of directives ........................................................................................................................ 32 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

EU directives to be transposed in 2017-2021............................................................................... 32 

Transposition deadlines .............................................................................................................................. 32 

Transparency ..................................................................................................................................................... 33 

Late transposition infringements ........................................................................................................... 33 

Referrals and judgements of the Court under Articles 258 and 260(3) TFEU ............. 35 

IV.  Methodology and explanations ............................................................................................................... 36 

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Monitoring the application of European Union law 
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I.  WORKING WITH MEMBER STATES TO ENSURE PROPER IMPLEMENTATION OF EU LAW 

Both 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 (TEU), 
they should ‘in full mutual respect, assist each other in carrying out tasks which flow from the treaties’. 

The  purpose  of  the  Commission’s  enforcement  actions  is  to  ensure  compliance  with  EU  law.  Infringement 
procedures  are  an  option  of  last  resort  to  achieving  that  purpose.  In  many  cases,  good  cooperation  and 
communication  between  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States  has  proved  to  be  a  better  way  to  reach 
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,  training  courses,  workshops  and  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  so  that  the  matter  is  not  referred  to  the 
Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court). 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  with  the  Member  States  during  formal  infringement 
procedures.  It  gives  a  brief  overview  of  other  types  of  action  taken  by  the  Commission  in  2021  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 EU legal 
instruments.  In  2021,  the  Commission  issued  guidelines  on  interpreting  and  implementing  EU  law  in  the 
following policy areas: 

Common agricultural policy 

In  2021,  the  common  agricultural  policy  (CAP)  underwent  a  reform,  leading  to  the  adoption  of  several 
pieces of EU legislation that will frame the common agricultural policy from 20233. The Commission prepared 
guidance documents to help Member States with their national strategic plans in line with the rules, as well as 
guidance  on  eligible  hectare  at  farmers’  disposal,  a  Q&A  document  on  eco-schemes,  a  fact  sheet  on  agri-
environmental  practices  (GAEC)  and  Q&A  documents  on  checks  by  monitoring  and  on  animal  voluntary 
coupled support. The Commission also provided clarifications to Member States and stakeholders on various 
aspects of the legislative framework. Commission replies to a Member States are shared, for the benefit of 
all, with all other Member States.  Hundreds of letters on  the application of legislation  have been written in 
2021  on  various  aspects  of  agricultural  policy, in  particular on  the  CAP  strategic  plans (36), organics (180) 
and the application of the Unfair Trading Practices Directive (16). 

1    On 1 February 2020, the Withdrawal Agreement setting out arrangements for the orderly withdrawal of 
the United Kingdom from the EU entered into force and the United Kingdom  formally became a non-EU 
country. The transition period set by the Withdrawal Agreement ended on 31 December 2020. In line with 
the Withdrawal Agreement, the Commission can continue to pursue existing infringement cases and open 
new  cases  against  the  UK  for  infringements  of  EU  law  that  occurred  before  the  end  of  the  transition 
period, or for breaches of certain provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement or of the Protocols on Ireland 
and Northern Ireland and on the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus. Therefore, cases concerning the United 
Kingdom are included in the overall statistics of this report. 
Communication ‘EU law: Better results through better application’, C(2016)8600. 

2 
3   The  Strategic  Plan  Regulation  (EU) 2021/2115;  the  Horizontal  Regulation  (EU)  2021/2116,  and  the 

Common Market Organisation Regulation (EU) 2021/2117. 

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Communication networks, content and technology 

On  copyright,  the  Commission  adopted  in  June  2021  its  guidance4  on  Article  17  of  the  Directive  (EU) 
2019/790 on Copyright in the Digital Single Market5. The new rules strengthen rightholders’ ability to prevent 
the use of unauthorised content online and increase transparency in their relationships with online platforms. 
The guidance aims to support a common application of this provision across the Member States. 

Employment  

On  occupational  safety  and  health,  the  Commission,  together  with  social  partners,  Coiffure  EU  and  UNI 
Europa,  published  non-binding  guidelines  for  the  hairdressing  Sector6  as  part  of  jointly  agreed  activities  to 
support  the  autonomous  implementation  of  the  European  Framework  Agreement  on  the  Protection  of 
Occupational  Health  and  Safety  in  the  Hairdressing  Sector7.  This  publication  is  addressed  to  national 
administrations, including national labour inspectorates. The guidelines inform employers on risk assessment, 
preventive  measures  and  training,  provide  useful  links  to  online  tools  and  resources,  and  give  advice  on 
managing particular risks such as those related to stress and ergonomics. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission, together with the European Agency for Safety and Health at 
Work  (EU-OSHA),  also  made  available  guidelines8  supporting  employers  to  prevent  COVID-19  at  the 
workplace, to properly apply the main principles of the Framework Directive 89/391/EEC9. These guidelines are 
available  in  all  EU  official  languages  and  are  regularly  updated.  Existing  guidelines  to  help  employers  and 
workers to stay safe and healthy in a pandemic working environment were updated and made more robust. 
For instance, in 2021, EU-OSHA published the COVID-19 and long COVID return-to-work guide for recovering 
workers10  and  the  COVID-19  and  long  COVID  return-to-work  guide  for  managers11.  Also,  further  practical 
guidance  to  help  employers  with  risk  assessments  in  the  context  of  the  current  sanitary  crisis12  was  also 
published.  

Environment 

On  nature,  in  October  2021,  the  Commission  adopted  a  ‘Guidance  document  on  the  strict  protection  of 
animal species of Community interest under the Habitats Directive’13, reflecting the latest legal interpretations 
of the Court and updating an earlier guidance from 2007. The Commission also updated the ‘Methodological 
guidance  on  Article  6(3)  and  (4)  of  the  Habitats  Directive  92/43/EEC’14.  The  guidance  takes  into  account 
experience  from  the  implementation  of  the  previous  guide  in  the  last  20  years,  new  jurisprudence  of  the 
Court,  in  particular  on  the  impact  assessments  of  plans  and  projects  on  the  Natura  2000  sites  and  on  the 
establishment  of  site-specific  conservation  objectives,  as  well  as  new  scientific  evidence  and  practical 
experience in this field. The Commission has also updated a document ‘huntable bird species under the Birds 
Directive  -  Scientific  overview  of  the  periods  of  return  to  their  rearing  grounds  and  of  reproduction  in  the 
Member  States’15,  which  supports  the  Member  States  in  the  implementation  of  Article  7(4)  of  the  Birds 
Directive. The Commission consulted Member States and stakeholder organisations  before updating of these 
guidance documents.16 

4   COM/2021/288 final. 
5   Directive (EU) 2019/790. 
6   Non-binding guidelines for the Hairdressing Sector. 
7   Framework Agreement. 
8   https://osha.europa.eu/en/themes/covid-19-resources-workplace.  
9   Council Directive 89/391/EEC. 
10   https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/covid-19-infection-and-long-covid-guide-workers/view.  
11   https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/covid-19-infection-and-long-covid-guide-managers/view.  
12   https://osha.europa.eu/en/themes/covid-19-resources-workplace.  
13   C(2021)7301. 
14   C(2021) 6913. 
15   Commission guidance.  
16   Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC and Birds Directive 2009/147/EC. 

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On environmental impact assessment (EIA), in December 2021, the Commission adopted guidance on the 
application of the EIA Directive17. The guidance also includes a specific chapter on the application of the EIA 
Directive18  to  the  extension  of  existing  nuclear  power  plants,  in  light  of  the  Court  case-law.  Also,  the 
Commission adopted the Sustainability proofing guidance19 that aims to enable the correct application of EU 
environmental law as regards EU co-financed projects. 

On  environmental  liability,  the  Commission  adopted  in  March  2021  Guidelines  providing  a  common 
understanding  of  the  term  ‘environmental  damage’20  as  defined  in  Article  2  of  Directive  2004/35/EC  on 
Environmental  Liability21.  Concerning  the  environmental  compliance  assurance,  the  Commission  published  a 
guidance  on  combating  environmental  crimes  and  related  infringements22.  It  was  endorsed  by  the 
environmental  compliance  and  governance  forum,  which  recommended  wide  use  of  the  guidance  by  all 
relevant national authorities involved in combating environmental crime. 

On water, the Commission published a study on strengthening the knowledge base on costs and investments 
and on financing mechanisms that support the implementation of EU water policy23. The document aims to 
assist  Member  States  in  identifying  and  prioritising  barriers  that  could  be  removed  to  help  achieve  the 
Biodiversity  strategy’s  goal24.The  goal  is  to  strengthen  the  coordination  between  agriculture  and  floods 
authorities with a view to the developing CAP strategic plans and second flood risk management plans25 as 
well  as  an  analysing  the  main  challenges  that  Member  States  face  when  factoring  the  impact  of  climate 
change into flood risk management26. Moreover, the Commission published a report ‘Current Practice in Flood 
Risk  Management  in  the  EU,  based  on  a  review  of  34  cases  in  meetings  with  practitioners  from  Member 
States27. 

On  waste  management,  in  June  2021,  the  Commission  published  guidelines  on  the  Single-Use  Plastics 
Directive28. 

Internal Market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs 

The  Commission  actively  supported  the  Member  States  and  their  contracting  authorities  and  entities  in 
effectively applying EU public procurement rules. This included guidance on innovation procurement29, the 
notice on tools to fight collusion in public procurement and on guidance on how to apply the related exclusion 
ground30  and  the  new  guide  ‘buying  social’,  a  guide  to  taking  account  of  social  considerations  in  public 
procurement31.  In  addition,  the  Commission  published  its  ‘guide  on  Articles  34-36  of  the  Treaty  on  the 
Functioning  of  the  European  Union  (TFEU)’32,  which  better  explains  the  application  of  the  principle  of  free 
movement  of  goods  in  the  EU  to  improve  compliance  by  national  authorities and  stakeholders  and  avoid 
market segmentation.  

Furthermore, the Commission issued the guidance on the Regulation on the principle of mutual recognition33. 
The guidance  document explains  various  aspects  of  the  Regulation,  including  the  mutual  recognition 
declaration  for  businesses  and  the  assessment  of  goods  by  national  authorities.  It  also  offers  practical 

17   C/2021/8560. 
18   Directive 2011/92/EU. 
19   Commission Notice – Technical guidance on sustainability proofing for the InvestEU Fund.  
20   C/2021/1860. 
21   Directive 2004/35/CE. 
22   Guidance document ‘Combating environmental crimes and related infringements’. 
23   Study. 
24   Biodiversity Strategy 2030 – Barrier Removal for River Restoration.  
25  Strengthening the synergies between agriculture and flood risk management in the European Union.  
26   Impact of climate change on floods: survey findings and possible next steps.  
27   Current practice in flood risk management in Europe.  
28   Commission notice — Commission guidelines on single-use plastic products.   
29   C(2021) 4320 final. 
30   C/2021/1631. 
31   C/2021/3573. 
32   C/2021/1457. 
33   C/2021/1455. 

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information  on  support  services  provided  by  SOLVIT  centers34  and  product  contact  points.  The  Commission 
also  issued  two  guidance  documents  on  Article  435  and  Article  936  of  the  Market  Surveillance  Regulation  to 
ease the work of market surveillance authorities and economic operators. They provide details, explanations 
and examples of how the market surveillance rules work in practice. 

Justice and consumers 

To improve the application of consumer law, the Commission adopted guidance in the form of notices on the 
interpretation  and  application  of  three  consumer law  directives,  namely  (i)  the  Unfair  Commercial  Practices 
Directive37; (ii)  the  Consumer  Rights  Directive38;  and  (iii)  the  Price  Indication  Directive39.  These  notices  assist 
Member  States,  consumers,  traders,  judges,  legal  practitioners  and  other  actors  when  applying  these 
directives to new practices. In particular in the context of the digital and green transitions, and as a result of 
the  recent  changes  brought  by  the  Directive  on  better  enforcement  and  modernisation  of  EU  consumer 
protection rules40, which modernised the three directives. 

On  fundamental  rights,  notably  the  free  movement  of  persons,  the  Commission  put  forward  several 
proposals to amend Council Recommendation on a coordinated approach to the restriction of free movement 
in response to the COVID-19 pandemic41, establishing a coordinated approach to COVID-19 travel restrictions. 
The  amendments  aimed  at  adapting  the  coordinated  approach  in  light  of  the  developing  epidemiological 
situation  and,  in  particular,  the  successful  rollout  of  the  EU  vaccination  campaign  and the  EU  digital  COVID 
certificate. 

Transport 

In  the  transport  sector,  the  Commission  continued  to  assist  Member  States  in  transposing  and 
implementing  EU  legislation  by  issuing  general  guidance.  On  road  transport,  and  more  specifically  on 
tachograph42  and  posting  of  drivers  rules43,  the  Commission  prepared  and  discussed  with  Member  States 
implementation guidelines. In the aviation sector, the Commission services published updated guidance on 
State aid rules and public service obligations rules applicable to the air transport sector during the COVID-19 
pandemic44. 

Food safety 

On food safety, the Commission issued a Commission Notice45 to assist Member States in implementing the 
Transparency Regulation to the Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) Directive46. 

Taxation and customs 

The Commission published guidelines on the EU’s Value Added Tax (VAT) rules, notably a guide to the VAT 
one-stop  shop  as  well  as  to  functional  and  technical  specifications  of  VAT  special  schemes. 47  The  one-stop 
shop  is  an  e-portal  businesses  can  use  to  comply  with  their  VAT  obligations  on  e-commerce  sales  to 
consumers within the EU since 1 July 2021. The published guidelines help online businesses, and in particular 
SMEs, to understand how to fulfil their VAT obligations arising from cross-border supplies to consumers in the 

34  https://ec.europa.eu/solvit/contact/index_en.htm 
35  C/2021/1461. 
36  Guidance - Market surveillance (europa.eu). 
37    C/2021/9320. 
38   C/2021/9314. 
39   C/2021/9328. 
40   Directive (EU) 2019/2161. 
41   Council Recommendation (EU) 2020/1475. 
42   Questions and Answers on the manual recording of border crossings in tachographs. 
43   Posting of drivers rules. 
44  Guidance. 
45   C/2021/1445. 
46   Transparency Regulation (EU) 2019/1381 and GMO Directive 2001/18/EC. 
47   Guide to the VAT One Stop Shop as well as the functional and technical specifications. 

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EU in case they use the one-stop shop. The guidelines are available in all official EU languages, as well as in 
Chinese and Japanese. 

Excise duties are indirect taxes on the sale or use of specific products, such as alcohol, tobacco and energy. 
The Commission published explanatory notes on the total annual production threshold to be declared in the 
certification  and  self-certification  of  independent  small  producers  of  alcoholic  beverages  for  excise  duty 
purposes48.  The  guidance  follows  the  publication  of  a  Commission  implementing  regulation  on  the  subject 
matter.49 The Commission also sent a notice to Member States’ tax and customs administrations to clarify the 
legal  situation  regarding  administrative  cooperation  VAT  and excise  duties and recovery  of  claims  after the 
end of the transition period with the United Kingdom.  

To  improve  the  application  of  customs  legislation,  in  particular  to  promote  the  uniform  application  of 
customs  controls  and  conduct  of  risk  analysis  by  Member  States,  the  Commission  prepared  guidance  on 
financial  risk  criteria  (FRC),  and  on  post-release  audits  and  controls.  The  guidance  was  endorsed  by  the 
Customs Expert Group. 

The  Commission  adopted  and  published  specific  Guidelines for  economic  operators  and market  surveillance 
authorities on the practical implementation of Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance 
and  compliance  of  products50.  The  guidance  aims  to  better  enforce  controls  on  products  subject  to  certain 
Union  harmonisation  legislation,  when  these  products  enter  the  single  market,  as  regards  specific  tasks  of 
economic operators. 

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 

Common agricultural policy 

Since  the  introduction  of  the  common  agricultural  policy,  the  Commission  has  made  wide  use  of 
committees  and  expert  groups  to  promote  compliance  with  EU  law.  Beyond  their  institutional  role  in  the 
adoption of implementing and  delegated acts, committees and expert  groups are  critical to  discuss, explain 
and  clarify  applicable  rules.  In  2021,  two  new  committees  and  one  expert  group  were  established  to 
implement the reform of the common agricultural policy51. Furthermore, the Commission set up a new expert 
group for technical advice on organic production52 and an expert Group on the European food security crisis 
preparedness  and  response  mechanism53.  Overall,  in  2021,  the  Commission  held  118  committee  meetings 
and 96 expert group meetings with Member States, which were mainly held online. 

Communication networks, content and technology 

On  copyright,  the  copyright  contact  committee54  and  the  expert  group  on  the  Directive  on  collective 
management of copyright and related rights55 assist the Commission in implementing the policy. In 2021, two 
meetings  of  the  copyright  contact  committee  took  place  to  discuss  matters  such  as  extended  collective 

48   Explanatory notes. 
49   Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2266. 
50   C/2021/1461. 
51   The  Common  Agricultural  Policy  Committee,  the  Committee  on  the  Agricultural  Funds  and  the  Expert 
Group on the implementation of the CAP strategic plans regulation. The agreement on the reform of the 
common agricultural policy was formally adopted on 2 December 2021. 

52   Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities  
53   Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities  
54    Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities. 
55    Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities. 

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licencing  and  the  enforcement  of  rights  in  the  digital  environment,  for  example  challenges for live  content, 
including  sport.  The  expert  group  on  collective  rights  management  met  once  in  2021  to  discuss  the 
preparation of the report on the application of the Directive on Collective Rights Management56. 

On electronic communications, the communications committee (COCOM)57, which assists the Commission 
in implementing of the European Electronic Communications Code58, met three times in 2021. In addition, to 
promote  the  implementation  of  the  radio  spectrum  policy,  in  particular  on  technical  measures,  the  radio 
spectrum committee (RSC)59 held four meetings. The radio spectrum policy group (RSPG)60, an advisory group 
assisting the Commission  to  develop a radio spectrum  policy, held three plenary meetings. The connectivity 
special  group,  composed  of  Member  States’  representatives  responsible  for  electronic  communications  and 
the Commission, met 12 times, including seven meetings of the subgroups on cost reduction and spectrum. 

Employment and social affairs 

On occupational health and safety, in 2021, the Commission made regular use of committees and expert 
groups  to  discuss the  proper  implementation  and  application  of  the  extensive  EU  legislation  that  applies in 
this  area.  Cooperation  between  the  Commission,  Member  States  and  social  partners  to  make  the  EU’s 
legislative framework future-proof and ensure proper compliance and enforcement was further strengthened 
in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The expert group on the transposition of the Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions61 
completed  its  work  in  2021.  The  group  reviewed  in  detail  the  provisions  of  the  Directive  and  discussed  the 
issues Member States face in transposing them into national legislation, while taking into account the views 
and contributions of EU social partners as observers. Its report62, published in July 2021, helps to ensure an 
effective and consistent approach to implementing the Directive. 

Regular  updating of information on national legislation and European and national jurisprudence on  labour 
law has been undertaken through the reports of the European Labour Law expert network and through the 
group of Directors General for Industrial Relations63 which met twice in 2021. On the Working Time Directive,64 
which  has  been  subject  to  several  important  rulings  of  the  Court  in  202165,  a  specialised  sub-group  of 
Directors General for Industrial Relations exchanged views and information with national authorities on these 
developments,  in  order  to  assess  possible  consequences  for  the  implementation  of  the  Directive  in  the 
Member States. 

The  senior  labour  inspectors’  committee66  assists  the  Commission  in  monitoring  the  enforcement  of  EU 
legislation.  It  issues  opinions  on  all  matters  relating  to  the  enforcement  by  the  Member  States  of  EU 
legislation on health and safety at work. In 2021, the committee adopted a new work plan for 2021 to 2027 
and  set  up  a  new  working  group  on  biological  agents  to  develop  guidelines  to  support  labour  inspectors  in 
assessing the quality of assessment of exposure to biological risks, in particular SARS-CoV-2. The committee 
liaised  with  all  27  Member  States  in  the  context  of  ‘thematic  days’  on  the  topics  of  teleworking  and  the 
COVID-19 pandemic and the occupational safety and health enforcement approach to overcome the spread 
of disease. 

In  the  area  of  equality, the  European  network of  legal  experts in  gender  equality  and non-discrimination67 
provides independent advice and information to the Commission. It issued a report on indirect discrimination 

56   Reports. 
57   Comitology Register. 
58   Directive (EU) 2018/1972. 
59   Radio Spectrum Committee. 
60   Radio Spectrum Policy Group. 
61   Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities. 
62   Report of the expert group.  
63   High-level group.  
64  Directive 2003/88/EC. 
65   List of cases on InfoCuria. 
66   Senior Labour Inspectors Committee. 
67  European equality law network. 

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in  the  area  of  employment,  focusing  on  topical  issues  such  as  intersectionality  and  reasonable 
accommodation.68 

On  disability  and  accessibility,  the  Commission  held  five  meetings  in  2021  with  Member  States’ 
representatives  to  help  them  turn  the  Directive  on  accessibility  of  products  and  services,  the  ‘European 
Accessibility Act’69. Issues addressed included provisions for conformity assessment, standardisation, e-books, 
built environment, consumer banking services and compliance of services.  

On  labour mobility, the  role  of  the  committee  of  experts  on  posting  of  workers70  includes  supporting  and 
assisting Member States in the application and the interpretation of all directives on posting of workers 71, met 
once  in  2021.  The  Commission  also  organised  the  biannual  meetings  of  the  Advisory  Committee  on  Free 
Movement of Workers72 and a meeting of the bodies established under Directive 2014/5473 for the promotion 
of free movement of workers in order to share good practice.  

On the coordination of social security systems, the administrative commission, composed of Member States 
representatives,  met  four  times  to  discuss  issues  related  to  the  interpretation  of  applicable  EU  rules74.  On 
digitalisation  of  social  security  coordination,  the  technical  commission  for  data  processing,  including 
representatives  and  technical  experts  from  each  Member  State,  met  four  times  to  discuss  progress  and 
challenges in implementing the system of  electronic exchange of social security information. This work was 
supported  by  specific  ad-hoc  groups,  its  executive  board,  the  security  expert  forum  and  the  data  modelling 
expert group. Several monthly expert meetings also took place under the European social security pass pilot 
project75,  which  seeks  to  address  challenges  in  people’s  mobile  identification  and  authentication  for  social 
security coordination purposes. 

Energy 

To promote the implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive76, the Energy Efficiency Directive77 and 
the  Energy  Performance  of  Buildings  Directive78,  the  Commission  used  committee  meetings  as  well  as 
concerted  action  forums79,  which  gather  Member  States’  representatives  and  other  interested  parties,  in 
particular to share best practice.  

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. 

Environment 

On  enforcement  of  rules  on  air  quality,  the  Commission  held  two  expert  group  meetings80  with  Member 
States on the implementation of the Directive on the reduction of national emissions of certain atmospheric 
pollutants  (NEC  Directive)81,  two  expert  group  meetings82  on  the  Industrial  Emissions  Directive83  and  two 

68  Report. 
69   Directive (EU) 2019/882. 
70   Register of Commission expert groups and other similar entities.  
71   Directive (EU) 2018/957 and Directive 2014/67/EU.  
72   Register of Commission expert groups and other similar entities. 
73   Directive 2014/54/EU. 
74   Regulation (EC) 883/2004 and Regulation (EC) 987/2009. 
75   European Social Security Pass pilot project. 
76   Directive (EU) 2018/2001. 
77   Directive 2012/27/EU. 
78   Directive 2010/31/EU. 
79   Concerted action forums for the Renewable Energy Directive, Energy Efficiency Directive, Energy 

Performance of Buildings Directive. 

80   Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities. 
81   Directive (EU) 2016/2284.   
82   Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities. 
83   Directive 2010/75/EU. 

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expert group meetings84 on the implementation of the Air Quality Directives85.The Commission also organised 
two expert  group  meetings86 on the Seveso  Directive87 and the  Mercury Regulation88. The third EU  clean air 
forum89 in November 2021, organised by the Commission and hosted by Spain, contributed to guidance for, 
and  facilitated  the  coordinated  implementation  of,  EU  legislation  and  policies  related  to  improving  air 
quality90.  In  the  context  of  the  implementation  of  the  National  Emissions  reduction  Commitments  (NEC) 
Directive,  the  Commission  held  workshops  with  all  Member  States  on  reporting  guidance  and  templates 
related to ecosystem monitoring, in addition to bilateral capacity building meetings with nine Member States. 
Further workshops to promote the implementation of EU rules were organised on various topics, such as on 
an online tool for air pollutant emissions in the agricultural sector, on ammonia reducing technology and on 
the implementation of air quality assessments and assessment regimes. 

On  the  nature  directives91,  to  promote  discussions  with  Member  States  on  the  key  challenges  in  the 
implementation of the directives, the Commission held 17 nature dialogues with 12 Member States 92 in 2021. 
In each of these dialogues, the  coordination  between all  authorities involved in the management of  Natura 
2000 sites was discussed and awareness raised on important links with the agricultural, as well as forestry 
and fisheries policies. On waste management, seven technical committee meetings93 and eight expert group 
meetings94  as  well  as  many  other  meetings  with  stakeholders  were  organised.  These  meetings  concerned 
both the preparation of new legislation and the implementation of existing directives and regulations. 

On water policy, the Commission held four expert group meetings as well as many working group meetings 
with experts95 where the implementation of the water directives96 was discussed. The ad hoc task group on 
water  reuse  was  transformed  into  a  permanent  working  group  to  support  the  implementation  of  the  new 
Water Reuse Regulation97 and meet the EU’s water reuse policy commitment. The ad hoc task group working 
on economic issues was also transformed into a working group on economics, and a new ad hoc task group 
on water scarcity and droughts was created. 

On  environmental  impact  assessment  (EIA),  two  expert  group  meetings98  were  organised  on 
implementation  and  practical  issues  on  the  EIA  and  the  Strategic  Environmental  Assessment  (SEA) 
Directives99. On environmental compliance assurance, two meetings of the high level Commission expert 
group environmental compliance and governance forum100 took place in 2021, focusing on the revision of the 
Environmental Crime Directive101 and other environmental governance aspects. A sub-group on sanctioning of 
environmental offences was  also established, to establish good practice on environmental enforcement and 
sanctioning.  The  Commission  also  boosted  cooperation  of  environmental  practitioners  in  EU  level  networks, 
for example of prosecutors, inspectors, judges and police and other enforcement officers. These networks play 
an  important  role  in  sharing  good  practice,  developing  practical  tools  for  inspections  and  detection  and 
investigation of environmental crime, and training. 

84   Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities. 
85   Directives 2008/50/EC and 2004/107EC. 
86   Register  of  Commission  Expert  Groups  and  Other  Similar  Entities  and  Register  of  Commission  Expert 

Groups and Other Similar Entities. 

87   Directive 2012/18/EU.  
88   Regulation 2017/852. 
89   EU Clean Air Forum. 
90   In line with Article 12, Directive (EU) 2016/2284. 
91   Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC and Birds Directive 2009/147/EC. 
92   Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and The 

Netherlands. 

93   Commission Comitology Register.  
94   Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities.  
95   Common Implementation strategy.  
96   Directive 2000/60/EC. 
97   Regulation 2020/741. 
98   Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities. 
99   Environmental  Impact  Assessment  Directive  2011/92/EU,  Strategic  Environmental  Assessment  Directive 

2001/42/EC.  

100   Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities. 
101   Directive 2008/99. 

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Financial services 

On  financial  services,  the  Commission  organised  a  second  transposition  workshop  to  support  Member 
States to ensure compliance with the Covered Bond Directive102. 

Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs 

On the single market, the EU network of review bodies for an effective enforcement of public procurement 
rules met in 2021 to discuss the Commission’s next steps of in reviewing public procurement and the Court’s 
latest case-law in this field.  Also, the Commission  Government Experts Group on Public Procurement (EXPP) 
met  once  in  2021  to  discuss  the  effective  application  of  the  EU  public  procurement  rules  in  the  Member 
States and the latest policy developments in the field of public procurement.  

In  2021,  regular  meetings  of  the  forum  to  share  information  on  enforcement  of  the  EU  legislation  on  the 
approval  and  market  surveillance  of  automotive  products103  took  place.  The  forum  is  established  by 
Regulation  (EU)  2018/858  on  the  approval  and  market  surveillance  of  motor  vehicles 104  and  is  an  advisory 
body with a mission to promote best practice ease the common interpretation and implementation of type-
approval  rules,  and  ensure  robust  compliance  checks  of  automotive  products.  It  is  composed  of  approval 
authorities  and  market  surveillance  authorities,  and  provides  a  space  to  share  information  on  enforcement 
problems, cooperation, in particular on the assessment, designation and monitoring of technical services, the 
development  of  working  methods  and  tools,  the  development  of  an  electronic  information  exchange 
procedure, and the evaluation of common enforcement projects and penalties. 2021 was also the first time 
Member  States  submitted  their annual  planned  market  surveillance  checks  since  Regulation  (EU)  2018/858 
entered into application. 

Migration and home affairs 

The  Commission  regularly  used  committee  meetings  to  discuss  the  implementation  of  security  and 
migration  legislation  with  Member  States  and  expert  groups  proved  essential  to  share  expertise  and  best 
practice.  In  2021,  several  meetings  took  place  in  the  fight  against  organised  crime,  the  fight  against 
corruption,  firearms  trafficking,  explosives  precursors,  protection  of  children  in  migration.  They  also 
contributed  to  preparing  the  Schengen  strategy105  on  the  use  of  new  technologies  at  the  borders  and  as 
alternative to internal border control. For the latter, to ease the sharing of the legislative developments and 
relevant case-law with the practitioners, the Commission held two expert meetings with the Member States to 
update the practical handbook for border guards. 

To strengthen coordination and implementation in the fight against corruption, the Commission supported 
the establishment and functioning of a network of local research correspondents on corruption. In this context, 
it organised two experience-sharing workshops in 2021 with policy makers and law enforcement authorities 
from Member States to share information on anti-corruption efforts. 

Two joined expert meetings on  the protection of children in migration also took  place. These bi-annual 
meetings bring together child rights and migration experts on children in migration from Member States, the 
Commission, EU agencies and UN agencies, to discuss progress in implementing the 2017 Communication on 
the protection of children in migration106.   

In  three  meetings  with  the  EU  network  of  national  rapporteurs  and  equivalent  mechanisms,  the  EU  ncvil 
society  platform  and  the  network  of  the  EU  agencies  working  against  trafficking  in  human  beings,  the 
Commission discussed the challenges that affect the implementation of the Anti-trafficking Directive107 and 
its  possible  amendments.  The  debates  focused  on  the  criminalisation  of  the  use  of  exploited  services  of 

102   Directive (EU) 2019/2162. 
103   Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities. 
104   Regulation (EU) 2018/858. 
105   COM(2021)277. 
106   COM/2017/0211. 
107   Directive 2011/36/EU. 

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victims of trafficking in human beings, the definition of trafficking in human beings, the online dimension of 
trafficking; as well as the early identification of assistance and support to victims.    

Justice, consumers and company law 

On equality, the European network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination108 provides the 
Commission with independent advice and information. On gender equality, among its many activities in 2021, 
it  published  a  report  on  the  transposition  of  Directive  2004/113  on  sex  equality  in  access  to  goods  and 
services109,  and  prepared  a  report  on  criminalisation  of  gender-based  violence  against  women110.  It  also 
produced  two  issues  of  the  European  equality  law  review111  and  organised  a  legal  seminar.  Moreover,  to 
ensure a correct transposition of the Directive on Work-Life Balance112, the Commission held a meeting with 
Member States where the interpretation of the Directive was discussed.  

To foster the implementation of EU legislation on  criminal justice, the Commission regularly monitors the 
functioning of European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS)113  via  statistical  indicators and drafts 
reports on this basis. The Commission organised an ECRIS expert group meeting, in January 2021, to discuss 
the findings of the second report on the exchange through ECRIS of information extracted from the criminal 
records  between  the  Member  States,  and  subsequently  engaged  in  an  informal  dialogue  with  the  Member 
States concerned. Consequently, implementation issues identified  in the report could be addressed by some 
Member States while in other cases the Commission decided to open infringement procedures114. 

On protection of personal data, the Commission pursued regular exchanges with national authorities and 
stakeholders, including through the  Member States’ expert group on the General  Data Protection Regulation 
(GDPR) and the Data Protection Law Enforcement Directive (LED), and the multi-stakeholder expert group on 
GDPR.  In  April  2021,  the  Commission  established  a  network  of  data  protection  officers  (DPOs)  of  Member 
States’ law enforcement authorities to share information and best practice on the application of the LED. 

On free movement of persons, the expert group on the right to free movement of persons (FREEMO) met 
virtually to discuss general matters related to free movement (recent case-law115 of the Court of Justice and 
the forthcoming update of the guidance on free movement and exchange of information on recent cases of 
abuse and fraud116) as well as the implementation in the Member States of the citizens’ rights part of the EU-
UK Withdrawal Agreement117. 

On  company  law,  three  meetings  with  the  company  law  expert  group  (CLEG),  bringing  together  Member 
State company law experts, took place in 2021 to support Member States in the transposition of Directive on 
cross-border  conversions,  mergers  and  divisions118, as  part  of  the  transposition  workshops on  the  Company 
Law  Package  which  have  been  taking  place  since  2019.  The  Committee  on  the  Interconnection  of  Central, 
Commercial and Companies Registers also met twice to adopt an implementing act required under the same 
Directive. 

On  consumer  law,  concerning  the  Directive  on  better  enforcement  and  modernisation  of  EU  consumer 
protection rules119 and the Directive on representative actions120, the Commission continued to organise expert 

108   European equality law network. 
109   Report. 
110   Report. 
111   Issue No 1 and Issue No 2. 
112   Directive (EU) 2019/1158.  
113   European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS). 
114   Press release. 
115   A  particular  focus  was  given  to  the  implementation  of  the  judgement  in  case  C-535/19  (Public  health 

care). 

116   Such as marriages of convenience or the use of fraudulent documents. Current guidelines. 
117   Agreement  on  the  withdrawal  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Northern  Ireland  from  the 

European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L 29, 31.1.2020, p. 7-187). 

118   Directive (EU) 2019/2121. 
119   Directive (EU) 2019/2161. 
120   Directive (EU) 2020/1828. 

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group meetings with Member States and to share information with national experts via a dedicated IT tool to 
assist  them  in  the  transposition  and  future  implementation  of  these  instruments.  Furthermore,  the 
Commission discussed implementation of the Digital Content Directive 121 and the Sale of Goods Directive122 in 
an expert group with Member States to ensure that these directives are effectively turned into national law. 

Transport  

On  transport, the  Commission  used  committees and  expert  groups  as  a  means  to  ensure  Member  States’ 
compliance with EU legislation.  

On cross-cutting matters affecting different modes of transport, such as security and passenger rights, 16 
meetings took place in 2021 regarding maritime and aviation security, while eight meetings were held with 
national enforcement bodies on passenger rights issues covering all modes of transport (air, rail, waterborne 
and bus and coach). Two workshops were organised on aviation security issues. 

On the road sector, five committee meetings (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 contributed to a better understanding and enforcement of 
the vast road sector EU legislation. Further to these meetings, the first digital enforcement workshop was held 
in  October  2021.  Moreover,  on  the  sustainable  road  transport  side,  there  were  two  sustainable  transport 
forum  (STF)123  plenary  meetings,  three  STF  sub-group  on  public  authorities  meetings,  11  STF  sub-group  on 
governance  and  standards  meetings  and  10  STF  sub-group  on  data  meetings.  On  intelligent  transport 
systems, there have been five expert meetings124 on the revision of Delegated Regulation 2015/962125, one 
meeting  of  the  Intelligent  Transport  System  (ITS)  Committee126  and  one  Expert  meeting  on  the  revision  of 
Delegated Regulation 2017/1926127. 

On the rail sector, three meetings of the railway interoperability and safety committee128 took place, one of 
which with a dedicated agenda point on the transposition of the fourth railway package technical pillar. 

On  the  maritime  and  inland  waterways  sector,  the  Committee  on  safe  seas  and  the  prevention  of 
pollution from ships129 met twice in 2021 while over 50 expert group meetings were organised over a broad 
range of issues. These included the implementation of the European  maritime single window environment130 
and  of  the  Regulation  on  electronic  freight  transport  information131,  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 took place in November 2021. 

On the air transport, the Thessaloniki  forum (expert group dealing with the implementation of the  Airport 
Charges  Directive)132  met  three  times  in  2021,  as  did  the  Commission  expert  group  on  the  aviation  single 
market133.  On  the  single  european  sky  (SES)  issues134,  the  SES  Committee  met  seven  times,  while  several 
meetings  were  held  by  the  national  supervisory  authority  coordination  platform135,  the  expert  group  on  the 
human  dimension  of  the  SES136  and  the  Industry  Consultation  Body.  The  single  european  sky  air  traffic 

121   Directive (EU) 2019/770. 
122   Directive (EU) 2019/771. 
123   Sustainable Transport Forum.  
124  Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities.  
125   Regulation 2015/962.  
126   Comitology Register.  
127  Regulation 2017/1926. 
128   Comitology Register.  
129   Comitology Register.  
130   Regulation (EU) 2019/1239.  
131   Regulation (EU) 2020/1056.  
132  Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities.  
133   Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities.  
134   Single European Sky. 
135   NCP Portal.  
136   Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities.  

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management  Research  (SESAR  -  the  technological  pillar  of  the  SES  initiative137)  implementation  was 
discussed at over 50 meetings. On aviation safety, there were three meetings of the European Aviation Safety 
Agency  (EASA)  committee  to  discuss  the  application  of  common  safety  rules  for  civil  aviation  and  three 
meetings  of  the  air  safety  committee  to  update  the  Air  Safety  List  Regulation138.  Several  expert  group 
meetings took place, in particular on consultations with Member States on drones. The European network of 
civil aviation safety investigation authorities met several times in 2021139 as well as its working groups. Three 
meetings also took place with EASA to coordinate potential Member State-related enforcement action. 

Health and food safety 

On tobacco control, to help ensure compliance with the Tobacco Products Directive on the ban of products 
with  a  characterising  flavour,  the  Commission  organised  meetings  with  the  independent  advisory  panel  on 
characterising flavours in tobacco products. Other tobacco control matters were discussed with the group of 
experts  on  tobacco  policy,  including  its  subgroups,  the  subgroup  on  ingredients  and  the  subgroup  on 
traceability and security features.   

To  promote  compliance  with  EU  food  safety  rules,  the  Commission,  through  the  standing  committee  on 
plants, animals, food and feed (Section General Food Law), composed of national competent authorities, dealt 
with  matters  related  to  the  interpretation  and  implementation  of  Regulation  (EU)  1169/2011  (food 
information  to  consumers);  Regulation  (EC)  1924/2006  (health  and  nutrition  claims);  Directive  2002/46/EC 
(food  supplements);  Regulation  (EC)  1925/2006  (addition  of  vitamins  and  minerals  and  of  certain  other 
substances  to  foods);  Directive  2009/54/EC  (exploitation  and  marketing  of  natural  mineral  waters)  and 
Regulation (EU) 609/2013 (food intended for infants and young children, food for special medical purposes, 
and total diet replacement for weight control).  

Taxation and customs 

On  Value  Added  Tax  (VAT)  policy,  the  Commission  organised  two  meetings  of  the  VAT  committee140  to 
discuss questions on the application of EU VAT provisions. The VAT committee agreed guidelines141 on various 
issues linked to the simplified rules for businesses moving goods to a stock located in another EU country for 
a known intended purchaser142, the exemption of vocational training143, the notion of investment gold144, the 
calculation  of  the  EU  place-of-supply  threshold145,  the  recharging  of  electric  vehicles146  and  on  video  chat 
services147.The  Commission  also  presented  and  explained  at  more  than  50  occasions  the  new  VAT  e-
commerce  rules148. These  presentations and workshops for  business associations  support Member States in 
their communication activities to facilitate the correct implementation of the new VAT e-commerce rules. 

On mutual tax recovery assistance, the Commission  held five meetings of the  recovery expert  group149, 
dealing  with  the  implementation  of  Directive  2010/24  on  mutual  assistance  for  the  recovery  of  claims 
relating to taxes, duties and other measures150. On administrative cooperation and recovery of claims 
on indirect taxation, the Commission held a meeting of the  joint committee with the Kingdom of Norway 

137   SESAR.  
138   Regulation (EU) 2021/2070. 
139  Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities. 
140   The  VAT  Committee,  set  up  under  Article  398  of  Council  Directive  2006/112/EC  (‘the  VAT  Directive’), 
consists  of  representatives  of  the  Member  States  and  of  the  Commission,  and  examines  questions 
concerning the application of EU VAT provisions raised by the Commission or a Member State. 

141   Guidelines of the VAT Committee. 
142   Articles 17a and 243 of the VAT Directive and Article 54a of the VAT Implementing Regulation. 
143   Article 132(1)(i) of the VAT Directive. 
144   Article 344 of the VAT Directive. 
145   Article 59c of the VAT Directive. 
146   Articles 14, 15, 38, 39 and 193 of the VAT Directive. 
147   Articles 44, 53, 54 and 58 of the VAT Directive. 
148   Consolidated text of the Council Directive 2006/112/EC. 
149   Register of Commission Expert Groups. 
150   Council Directive 2010/24/EU. 

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and with the participation of Member States under the EU-Norway Agreement on administrative cooperation, 
fight  against  fraud  and  recovery  of  VAT  claims.  The  aim  was  to  take  stock  of  the  implementation  of  the 
Agreement and agree on how to further enhance the cooperation by revising the Agreement. Under the Trade 
and Cooperation Agreement with the United Kingdom, a meeting of the trade specialised committee was held 
to take stock of the administrative cooperation and recovery assistance in 2021 and to present the state of 
play on the implementation of the Protocol on administrative cooperation and combating fraud VAT and on 
mutual assistance for the recovery of claims relating to taxes and duties. The Commission has been 
working with the  United Kingdom for the full implementation of this Protocol in order to establish practical 
arrangements and enhance mutual assistance. 

On customs policy, regular meetings of the different sections of the customs expert group have ensured an 
open dialogue with the Member States on the implementation of the  EU Customs Code. Notably, on the EU 
customs tariff, the Commission deploys three sections of the customs code committee, three sections of the 
customs expert group and two other expert groups, to promote a common implementation of the policy. The 
‘prohibitions and restrictions control strategies’ (PARCS) expert group met three times in 2021 to discuss the 
implementation and enforcement of prohibitions and restrictions. These activities cover a wide range of 350+ 
acts  that  customs  are  due  to  enforce  at  EU  borders  as  regards  product  compliance,  health,  environment, 
security  and  safety,  etc.  The  group  of  experts  on  drug  precursors  met  twice  in  2021  to  discuss 
implementation questions. The cash controls committee met four times in 2021 to prepare discuss and vote 
on two implementing acts to the Regulation on controls on cash entering or leaving the EU. The customs code 
experts group intellectual property right section met twice in 2021 where implementation questions regarding 
current legislation, as well as the use and development of the COPIS ("Counterfeit and anti-Piracy Information 
System") were discussed. 

2.2 Package meetings 

Package  meetings  are  meetings  between  the  Commission  and  a  Member  State  to  discuss  implementation 
issues and infringement cases in a given policy area. They can be held before the Commission has detected a 
breach of EU law or concern  existing infringement cases of the Member State. Package meetings can be an 
efficient tool to deal with challenges a Member State may face in a policy area, across different acts of EU 
legislation, beyond the well-defined limits of a specific infringement procedure. 

On  communication  networks,  content  and  technology,  the  Commission  organised  several  package 
meetings  in  2021  where  it  discussed  respectively  several  enforcement  issues  with  Member  States.  For 
example, on copyright rules, the Commission held meetings with Belgium, Estonia and Croatia to seek a swift 
resolution of the infringement cases for late transposition of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single 
Market151 and the Directive on online television and radio programmes152. On audio-visual and media, the 
Commission  organised  meetings  with  Ireland,  France,  Luxembourg  and  Romania  to  identify  and  discuss 
transposition  deficits  and  offer  assistance  where  necessary.  On  electronic  communications,  the 
Commission  met  with  Germany,  Greece,  France  and  Cyprus  regarding  the  implementation  of  the  single 
European emergency call number, with Poland to seek clarifications and swift resolution on the independence 
of their national regulatory authority and with Slovenia to identify and discuss transposition deficits and offer 
assistance on the European Electronic Communication Code. 

On  energy  policy,  the  Commission  organised  package  meetings  with  Croatia,  Belgium  and  Slovenia  to 
discuss all on-going infringement cases with these Member States, with all relevant experts from the Member 
State and the Commission.  

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 Directive153 and the conformity of 
the national programmes issued under the same Directive. 

151   Directive (EU) 2019/790. 
152   Directive (EU) 2019/789. 
153   Directive 2011/70/Euratom. 

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On  environment,  the  Commission  organised  nine  package  meetings  in  2021154.  Furthermore,  six  technical 
meetings on infringements were held with Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany and Romania on air quality and waste 
management, as well as a technical meeting with Malta on finch trapping.  

On single market legislation, the Commission finalised a large series of package meetings with all Member 
States,  in  line  with  Action  22  of  the  Communication  ‘Long  term  action  plan  for  better  implementation  and 
enforcement of single market rules’155. During these meetings, the Commission discussed with the respective 
Member  States  compliance  issues  concerning  the  Services  Directive156,  the  Professional  Qualification 
Directive157, the  Proportionality  Test  Directive158,  the  Public  Procurement  directives159,  the  Late  Payments 
Directive160 and the free movement of goods.  

On transport, in 2021, the Commission returned to holding package meetings after their previous suspension 
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It held a meeting with Belgium in relation to several open infringement and 
EU Pilot cases. 

3.  Other compliance tools 

Apart from standard, meetings-based tools to promote the good implementation and application of EU law by 
Member States, the Commission may use policy area-specific tools to strengthen and check compliance with 
EU rules. 

On  the  common  agricultural  policy,  the  Commission  complements  general  enforcement  practices  with 
tailored compliance tools,  both to prevent  violations of EU law and to sanction them should they occur. For 
instance,  the  Commission  carries  out  audits  to  check  if  Member  States  have  set  up  control  systems  that 
ensure  that  payments  to  beneficiaries  from  the  EU  funds  are  made  correctly.  If  the  audit  identifies 
weaknesses  in  the  control  systems,  it  can  result  in  recommendations  and  financial  corrections.  When  the 
Commission  detects  systemic  deficiencies  in  the  management  and  control  systems,  it  requests  Member 
States  to  set  up  and  implement  a  remedial  action  plan,  which,  if  not  followed  up  by  the  Member  State 
concerned, may lead a reduction or suspension of payments to the Member State. 

Legislation on direct payments, greening and cross-compliance, POSEI programme  modifications161, includes 
obligations for Member States to notify to the Commission their policy decisions as well as data on annual 
implementation. The Commission uses these notifications to guide Member States towards  a more common 
implementation and reports on implementation of direct payments each year162.  

Another  example  of  a  compliance  tool  used  in  the  agricultural  sector  is  the  Organic  Farming  Information 
System163,  an  electronic  platform  to  share  information  between  Member  States  and  the  Commission,  in 
particular  for  notifying  any  suspicion  of  irregularity.  In  2021,  Member  States  notified  around  1 400 
irregularity  cases  concerning  imported  organic  products  to  control  bodies  and  to  non-EU  countries,  in 
particular on non-authorised pesticides residues. 

These practices are completed by several other sector-specific and cross-compliance enforcement tools. As a 
result,  compliance  has  continuously  improved  during  the  last  years  and  the  number  of  infringement 
procedures related to an incorrect application of EU law have diminished in the agricultural sector. 

154  With Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Slovenia. 
155   COM(2020)94. 
156   Directive 2006/123/EC. 
157   Directive 2005/36/EC. 
158   Directive (EU) 2018/95. 
159   Directives 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU, 2014/25/EU. 
160   Directive 2011/7/EU. 
161   POSEI program.  
162   Summary report on the implementation of direct payments.  
163   Databases. 

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On  communication  networks,  content  and  technology,  and  more  specifically  on  electronic 
communications,  the  Commission  received  64  notifications  from  national  telecommunications  regulators 
under Article 32 of European Electronic Communications Code164 on the consolidation of the single market for 
electronic communications. As one of the main EU instruments governing the telecommunications sector, this 
consultation  and  notification  mechanism  requires  national  telecommunications  regulators  to  inform  the 
Commission,  the  telecommunications  regulators  in  other  EU  countries and  the  body  of  European  regulators 
for electronic communications (BEREC), about measures they plan to introduce to solve market problems. The 
Commission is consulted on draft regulatory measures proposed and can veto measures that would create a 
barrier to the single market or if they raise serious doubts as to their compatibility with EU law.  

On employment legislation, with a view to improve compliance with occupational safety and health rules, the 
Commission  continued  to  support  a  joint  action  with  stakeholders  on  a  roadmap  on  carcinogens  which  is  a 
voluntary  action  scheme  to  raise  awareness  about  the  risks  arising  from  exposure  to  carcinogens  in  the 
workplace and share good practices between companies and organisations. On labour mobility and labour law, 
the  Commission  held  four  bilateral  meetings  with  Member  States’  national  authorities  concerning  cases  of 
suspected or established breach of EU law. 

On  energy  and  national  long-term  building  renovation  strategies,  with  a  crucial  link  to  recovery  and 
mobilisation  of  investments,  the  Commission  issued  two  detailed  analyses  of  the  26  national  long-term 
renovation strategies received in 2021, first in March 2021 addressing the strategies received to date 165, and 
subsequently in December 2021166.  

To  enforce  EU  environmental  rules,  and  more  specifically  air  quality,  the  Commission’s  second  clean  air 
outlook report167 of January 2021 presents an analysis of the air pollution situation in the EU up to 2030 and 
beyond.  It  provides  support  in  implementing  national  air  pollution  control  programmes.  On  industrial 
emissions, the Commission published a report on the implementation of the Industrial Emissions Directive168 
and a report on implementation of the SEVESO III Directive169. Also, the Commission set up an online platform 
to provide a space for Member States to discuss, and access resources related to, the implementation of the 
Industrial Emissions Directive170.  

On  the  implementation  of  nature  legislation,  the  Commission  continued  to  support  the  Natura  2000 
biogeographical  process.  This  is  a  process  of  cooperation  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  based  on 
agreed roadmaps. One Natura 2000 biogeographical seminar was organised in 2021, for the Mediterranean 
region. Furthermore, the implementation of the new governance framework for biodiversity has progressed, 
with the completion of monitoring, progress tracking and review mechanisms.  

On water protection, the Commission strengthened the common implementation strategy (CIS)171 structure 
to  better  accommodate  the  enhanced  cross-sectoral  approach  of  the  European  Green  Deal.  To  promote 
discussions with Member States on key challenges in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive 172 
the Commission held structured dialogues with Member States that focused on the fundamental obligations 
of the Water Framework Directive related to monitoring, classification and justification of exemptions, which 
are  essential  to  the  correct  implementation  of  the  Directive.  Furthermore,  the  Commission  reported  on 

164   Directive (EU) 2018/1972. 
165   SWD(2021) 69 final. 
166   SWD(2021) 365 final. 
167   COM(2021)3 final. 
168   COM(2021) 793 final. 
169   COM(2021) 599 final. 
170   Implementation of the IED. 
171   Common Implementation Strategy. 
172   Directive 2000/60/EC. 

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progress  made  at  EU  level  on  the  implementation  of  the  Water  Framework  Directive 173,  the  Environmental 
Quality Standards Directive174 and the Floods Directive175. 

To  promote  a  consistent  interpretation  and  application  of  EU  rules on  financial  services, the  Commission 
answered  117  questions  submitted  by  the  European  Banking  Authority,  16  questions  submitted  by  the 
European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, 25 questions submitted by the European Securities 
and  Markets  Authority  and  six  questions  submitted  by  the  Joint  Committee  of  these  three  European 
supervisory  authorities176.  These  Commission  answers  aim  to  ensure  supervisory  convergence  financial 
services across the EU. 

On justice and consumers, and more specifically on the protection of personal data, the Commission issued 
in June 2021 two sets of standard contractual clauses under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 
(one  for  controllers  and  processors  located  in  the  EU177,  and  another  one  for  transferring  personal  data  to 
non-EU countries178) to provide stakeholders with tools facilitating compliance with the GDPR. The Commission 
also contributed to the work of the European Data Protection Board, in particular when preparing guidelines 
on the application of data protection law. 

On  the  single  market,  the  Commission  continued  to  meet  with  Member  States  in  the  single  market 
enforcement  taskforce  (SMET).  SMET  was  set  up  in  2020  to  strengthen  cooperation  on  the  efficient 
implementation  and  enforcement  of  the  single  market  freedoms.  In  2021,  alongside  the  work  on  the 
remaining COVID-19 related barriers, SMET emphasised the importance to address specific systemic barriers 
that hamper the proper functioning of the single market and, consequently, negatively impact the successful 
recovery. Thanks to its work, prior checks of qualifications were abolished for more than 210 professions in 
14  Members  States.  Furthermore,  seven  Member  States  removed  excessive  document  requirements  in 
relation to the recognition of professional qualifications. As to measures with potential protectionist effects in 
the  agri-food  sector,  four  Member  States  acknowledged  the  existence  of  barriers  to  the  single  market  and 
indicated  steps  undertaken  to  eliminate  existing  or  planned  measures  while  three  Member  States indicated 
willingness  to  continue  the  discussions  to  address  the  matter.  In  September  2021,  SMET  produced  its  first 
report179 on its objectives, working methods and actions taken so far.  

Based  on  Regulation  (EU)  2019/515  on  the  mutual  recognition  of  goods180,  the  information  and 
communication  system  for  market  surveillance181  (ICSMS)  aims  to  facilitate  the  notification  of  decisions 
restricting or denying market access for goods, eligible for mutual recognition and to enhance administrative 
cooperation  between  the  authorities  on  market  surveillance.  In  2021,  the  Commission  organised  several 
online  trainings  courses  and  webinars  for  the  authorities  on  mutual  recognition  and  ICSMS,  and  received  a 
number of notifications from national authorities. 

Notification procedures under the Single Market Transparency Directive182 (SMTD) and the Services Directive183 
continued to be key instruments in preventing barriers before they arise, with more than 1 000 notifications 
of national legislation received in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the strategic importance of the 
SMTD,  as  this  Directive  was  the  entry  point  for  urgent  national  measures  with  an  impact  on  the  free 
movement of medical equipment, medicinal products and medical information society services. Furthermore, 
notifications  under  the  Services  Directive  continued  to  allow  dialogue  between  Member  States  and  the 

173   Directive 2000/60/EC. 
174   Directive 2008/105/EC. 
175   Directive 2007/60/EC. 
176   Regulations  (EU)  1093/2010,  1094/2010  and  1095/2010,  the  respective  founding  Regulations  of  the 
European  supervisory  authorities,  explicitly  provide  for  a  legal  basis  for  this  procedure  under  which  the 
supervisory authorities must forward questions to the Commission if they require the interpretation of EU 
law. The Commission’s answers must be published by the supervisory authorities. 

177  Standard contractual clauses for controllers and processors in the EU/EEA 
178   Standard contractual clauses for data transfers between EU and non-EU countries. 
179   Report.  
180   Regulation (EU) 2019/515. 
181   ICSMS. 
182   Directive (EU) 2015/1535. 
183   Directive 2006/123/EC. 

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Commission  to  avoid  the  creation  of  barriers  and  possible  infringements.  Furthermore,  in  2021  the 
Commission  provided  guidance  on  the  correct  implementation  of  the  Public  Procurement  directives  via  an 
online platform.  

The  Internal  Market  Information  System  (IMI)  also  allows  swift  and  efficient  exchanges  of  information 
between Member States administrative bodies. By using very modern digital means, it considerably eases the 
implementation of EU rules in several important policy areas.  

On  migration  and  home  affairs,  the  Schengen  strategy184  of  2  June  2021  announced  a  new  structured 
approach  aiming  to  make  a  more  systematic  use  of  the  synergies  between  the  Schengen  Evaluation  and 
Monitoring  Mechanism185,  and  infringement  procedures.  This  structured  approach  helps  apply  more  flexible 
and  transparent  criteria  to  decide  on  the  circumstances  that  may  trigger  an  infringement  procedure  in  line 
with the Commission’s overall policy on the enforcement and implementation of EU law.   

To enforce the EU’s maritime affairs and fisheries legislation, the Commission relies heavily on a system 
of checks, inspections and audits by Commission inspectors. In addition, the Commission adopts control action 
plans186,  in  close  cooperation  with  the  Member  State  concerned,  which  are  an  additional  tool  to  ensure 
compliance by Member States with EU legislation. In 2021, the Commission actively monitored how Member 
States were implementing the 15 currently opened action plans. On the common organisation of the markets 
in fishery and aquaculture products, the Commission carried out implementation checks as an alternative tool 
to ensure full compliance with EU rules in this sector, including on the recognition of producer organisations.  

On health, and  more specifically tobacco control, in order to facilitate the ongoing  work on the compliance 
assessment  of  the  national  implementing  measures,  the  Commission  organised  bilateral  meetings  with 
Member  States.  To  foster  the  implementation  of  EU  rules  on  cross-border  healthcare,  the  Commission 
organised bi-lateral dialogues with two Member States.  

Furthermore, to promote compliance with the EU legislation in food safety and food hygiene, the Commission 
carried  out  audits  in  the  Member  States  in  food  and  feed  safety,  animal  health,  plant  health  and  animal 
welfare and systematically followed up audit recommendations. On animal welfare the Commission followed-
up with the Member States the updating of their action plans to enforce the prohibition of routine tail-docking 
of pigs and achieved improvements in the welfare of animals at transport by road. 

On  official  controls,  the  Commission  facilitated  enforcement  at  border  control  posts  and  control  points 
through  the  use  of  IMSOC  (Integrated  management  system  for  official  controls),  and  the  development  of 
guidance on the implementation of the Official Control Regulation by the Member States. 

On taxation and customs policy, the Commission  began compiling an informal ‘integrated EU prohibitions 
and  restrictions  list’  identifying  350+  acts  that  establish  rules  that  apply  to  goods  entering,  exiting  or 
transiting the EU as regards product compliance, health, environment, security and safety, etc. This first ever 
integrated  list  will  serve  as  a  basis  to  better  coordinate  and  harmonise  activities  and  efforts  for  better 
protecting the EU, the people it serves, its businesses and the environment.  

4.  Explanatory documents 

Explanatory documents play an essential role in allowing the Commission to understand how Member States 
transpose  EU  directives.  Often,  Member  States  must  fit  measures  into  a  complex  legal  framework.  The 
resulting exercise can therefore produce a high number of measures that the Commission needs to examine. 
For  example,  in  2021,  there  were  several  directives  for  which  a  single  Member  State,  on  average,  notified 
more than 13 transposition measures per directive. In light of this considerable workload for the Commission, 

184   COM(2021)277.  
185  EU law established the Schengen Evaluation Mechanism as a specific monitoring mechanism designed to 

check the application of the EU's legislation on the functioning of the Schengen area. 

186   See Article 102 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Union 
control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy, OJ L 343 
22.12.2009, p. 1. Those action plans were adopted as implementing acts. 

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the  quality  of  explanatory  documents  is  crucial  so  that  the  Commission  can  carry  out  swift  and  effective 
transposition and conformity checks. 

The  critical  nature  of  explanatory  documents  has  been  recognised  by  the  Court.  In  its  judgement  of  8  July 
2019187, the Court 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  notify  such  information  explaining  the 
correlation  between  the  provisions  of  a  directive  and  the  corresponding  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 
judgement  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. However, the Commission notes that correlation tables have proved a useful tool for 
Member  States  to  match  the  legal  obligations  stemming  from  a  directive  with  a  corresponding  legal 
obligation in the national legislation.  

Since  that  judgement,  the  Court  has  confirmed  this  jurisprudence  in  further  judgements188.  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. 

In  2021,  based  on  the  Court’s  rulings,  the  Commission  initiated  four  infringement  procedures  in  taxation 
where the Member States concerned had declared the transposition of the Directive to be complete but where 
the explanatory document was still lacking.  

5.  Implementation strategies  

Supporting Member States in the implementation and application of EU law is a priority of the Commission’s 
enforcement policy as a key element to prevent infringements of EU law by Member States. As set out in the 
2017  Communication  ‘EU  law:  Better  results  through  better  application’189,  the  Commission  attaches  great 
importance  to  the  full  and  timely  transposition  of  EU  law.  With  a  view  to  making  the  Commission’s 
support  to  Member  States  more  effective  as  regards  the  transposition  of  directives,  the  Commission  in  its 
Better Regulation Guidelines of 3 November 2021190 introduced implementation strategies, updating and 
replacing  ‘implementation  plans’  previously  used  to  assist  Member  States  and  monitor  the  transposition 
process of new directives.  

An implementation strategy identifies the challenges that the Member States will face and which need to be 
taken  into  account  when  they  prepare  to  turn  and  implement  the  respective  directive  or  regulation.  The 
strategies  also  explain  the  various  support  actions  the  Commission  will  provide  to  Member  States  for  their 
implementation of EU laws, such as preparing guidance documents, organising expert groups, workshops and 
dedicated  websites  or  promoting  training  for  practitioners.  Implementation  strategies  may  also  identify  the 
tools  the  Commission  will  use  to  carry  out  its  monitoring  activities.  Implementation  strategies  can  include 
implementation plans of, and monitoring arrangements with Member States to track progress and report on 
their  implementation.  The  Commission  aims  to  prepare  implementation  strategies  for  major  directives  and 
regulations and in any event for legislation with a certain degree of complexity. 

Given the introduction of implementation strategies in November 2021 a reporting on the use of this tool will 
only  be  possible  for  the  year  2022.  The  Commission  will  continue  to  explore  avenues  for  improving  the 
effectiveness of its support for the transposition of directives, together with the Member States. 

187   Commission v Belgium, C-543/17. 
188   Commission v Romania, C-549/18 and Commission v Ireland, C-550/18. 
189   C/2016/8600. 
190   2021 Better Regulation Guidelines.  

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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 turn a 

directive into national law; 

b)  non-conformity / non-compliance: the Commission considers that a Member State’s law are not in 

line with the requirements of EU directives;  

c) 

d) 

infringement  of  the  treaties,  regulations  or  decisions:  the  Commission  considers  that  a 
Member State’s laws are 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.  

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 under Article 258 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.  

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.  

At  the  request  of  national  courts,  the  Court  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 judgements, 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  specific  measures  to  improve  the  transparency  of  its 
monitoring  activities  and  decisions  on  infringement  procedures.  It  has  set  up  a  centralised  platform  for 
sharing  infringement-related  information  on  the  Europa  portal191.  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. 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 taken into account to the legitimate need for confidentiality with regard to the Member States in 
infringement procedures, as recognised by the Court. 

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

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Trends in complaints and investigations about potential breaches of EU law

3 715

3 450

3 783

3 786

4276

716

178

644

110

2017

2018

797

190

2019

903

212

847

246

2020

2021

New complaints registered

New EU Pilot files

New infringement cases

Time taken to investigate potential breaches of EU law 

116

109

44

90

91

37

146

109

47

152

98

40

145

117

46

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

Average time for handling complaints (in weeks)

Average time for handling EU Pilot (in weeks)

Average time for handling infringement cases (in weeks)

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2021 Annual Report 

1.  Complaints 

Complaints192 open at year-end 

3 828  >  Complaints open at end-2020 

4 276  >  New complaints registered in 2021 

4 398  >  Complaints handled in 2021 

= 3 706  >  Complaints open at end-2021 

The three Member States against which the Commission received the most complaints were Spain, Germany 
and France: 

Spain:  933  complaints,  especially  related  to  justice  and  consumers  (285  complaints),  environment  (174 
complaints), and taxation and customs (150 complaints);  

Germany:  372  complaints,  mainly  related  to  justice  and  consumers  (134  complaints);  internal  market, 
industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs (44 complaints), and environment (35 complaints); 

France: 348 complaints, mostly concerning justice and consumers (98 complaints), internal market, industry, 
entrepreneurship and SMEs (69 complaints), employment (43 complaints) and home affairs (43 complaints). 

The following chart shows the main policy areas for which new complaints were registered in 2021. Together 
they account for 90% of all complaints received in 2021. 

New complaints registered in 2021: main policy areas

Environment
493
12%

Internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and 
SMEs
472
11%

Employment, social 
affairs and inclusion
544
13%

Taxation and customs
399
9%

Migration and home affairs
273
6%

Health and food safety
178
4%
Mobility and transport
145
3%

Justice and 
consumers
1349
32%

Other
423
10%

192 Reference to ‘complaints’ in this report includes incoming correspondence qualified by senders as a 

complaint even though it did not qualify as such, 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. Furthermore, reference to ‘complaints’ includes so-called ‘multiple complaints’, 
where the Commission under one complaint file (registration entry) handles sometimes a very large 
number of individual complaints.  

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2021 Annual Report 

The  Commission  handled  4  398  complaints  in  2021.  A  large  number  of  incoming  correspondence, 
qualified  by  persons  and  bodies  as  complaints,  did  not  actually  qualify  as  such  and  were  dismissed  and 
followed-up  in  accordance  with  the  rules  under  the  Commission’s  Code  of  Good  Administrative  Behaviour 
(1 700)193, Following the assessment of complaints, the Commission may launch an investigation using the EU 
Pilot mechanism or through formal infringement procedures to ensure that Member State laws and practices 
are compliant with EU law. Most complaints in 2021 did not lead to such investigations,  as no breach of EU 
law  could  be  established  (2  490  complaints.  Furthermore,  the  Commission  did  not  pursue  90  cases  as  the 
complainants  withdrew  their  complaint.  It  also  transferred  one  complaint  to  SOLVIT194.  In  2021,  the 
Commission  therefore  dismissed  or  closed  4  281  complaints  while  it  pursued  117  complaints  by 
investigating them in the EU Pilot mechanism or through an infringement procedure. 

Complaints leading to investigations

135

185

150

190

3611

3882

3813

3207

117

4398

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

Complaints handled

Complaints pursued

Complaints leading to investigations using the EU  Pilot mechanism  were mostly related to taxation and the 
customs  union,  mobility  and  transport,  employment,  financial  stability,  financial  services  and  the  Capital 
Markets  Union,  the  internal  market,  industry,  entrepreneurship  and  SMEs  and  agriculture.  These  complaints 
mainly concerned Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany and Greece. 

Complaints  leading  to  formal  infringement  procedures  were  mostly  related  to  justice  and  consumers, 
employment, taxation and the customs union, the internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs, and 
the  environment.  These  new  infringements  procedures  mainly  concerned  Italy,  Portugal,  Austria,  France, 
Germany, Spain and Greece. 

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  2021.  The  Commission 
systematically follow-up on petitions. However, not all petitions lead to investigations about breaches of EU 
law, because 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  the  EU  Pilot  or  a  formal 
infringement procedure. The Commission also applies to petitions that point to specific individual and isolated 
instances of incorrect application of EU law the same policy approach that it applies to complaints. In these 
situations,  it  recalls  that  European  citizens  can  find  redress  more  swiftly  and  more  effectively  at  national 

193  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. 

194  https://ec.europa.eu/solvit/index_fr.htm. 

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level.  At  the  EU  level,  the  Commission  suggests  that  petitioners  use  more  informal  means,  including  the 
SOLVIT network195, which might lead to a swifter and a more individualised resolution of their issue. 

This  section  provides  an  overview  of  the  follow-up  the  Commission  gave  to  petitions  in  2021  in  the  policy 
areas most concerned: 

On the common agricultural policy, the Commission received 10 petitions concerning alleged breaches of 
the policy by Member States (for example, on aids, payments, etc.). None of them led to further actions since 
their assessment did not identify any breaches of EU law. 

On  communication  networks,  content  and  technology,  and  more  specifically  on  electronic 
communications, the Commission received 3 petitions on the harmonisation of the process of digitisation of 
radio  in  the  EU,  the  application  of  internet  neutrality  to  providers  of  the  United  States  and  its  effects  for 
European citizens and web pages in the EU, and on the preservation of net neutrality.  

On  employment,  and  in  particular  occupational  safety  and  health,  the  Commission  continued  to  handle 
petitions.  For  example,  on  the  exposure  to  asbestos  at  work,  health  and  safety  of  construction  workers, 
harassment at work, precarious work and issues related to COVID-19 and in related fields where occupational 
health and safety was raised in addition to public health issues. In these areas, the Commission handled 16 
petitions  in  2021.  In  light  of  the  issues  raised  by  the  petitioners,  these  petitions  did  not  lead  to  new 
infringement procedures. However, in relation to one petition regarding the health and safety of construction 
workers,  the  Commission  intends  to  contact  the  responsible  national  authorities  to  inform  them  about  its 
assessment of the petition. 

On  labour  law,  the  Commission  handled  14  petitions.  As  they  related  to  matters  in  ongoing  infringement 
procedures, they did not lead to any new infringement cases. Furthermore, the Commission dealt with  seven 
petitions concerning social protection, 12 petitions concerning disability, three petitions on non-discrimination 
issues and two petitions in the area of housing. None of them led to further actions since their assessment 
did not identify any breaches of EU law. 

On  labour  mobility,  the  Commission  handled  seven  petitions,  whereas  in  the  area  of  coordination  of  social 
security  systems,  the  Commission  handled  eight  petitions,  raising  questions  about  access  to  healthcare, 
disability pensions and family benefits. They  did not lead to any further actions as the Commission  did not 
find any breach of EU law. 

On  energy,  the  Commission  handled  19  petitions  regarding  different  areas  such  as  renewable  energy, 
electricity  and  gas,  consumers’  rights,  eco-design  and  Euratom.  Generally  there  has  been  no  follow-up  in 
terms  of  opening  new  infringements.  One  petition  was  related  to  the  ongoing  transposition  check  of  the 
Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001/EU196. 

On  environment,  the  Commission  received  144  petitions  in  2021.  Many  of  those  petitions  were  linked  to 
complaints or to structural infringements, which were already being investigated. A number of petitions raised 
specific  individual  and  isolated  instances  of  incorrect  application  of  EU  law,  which  the  Commission  did  not 
pursue further in its enforcement policy, and therefore did not lead to investigations. 

On financial services and the Capital Markets Union, the Commission dealt with two petitions in 2021. 
One petition concerned the impossibility of opening a bank account online from another Member State.  The 
Commission  contacted  the  respective  Member  State,  which  took  the  necessary  steps  to  ensure  correct 
application of EU law.  Another petition related to the role of public authorities in the fraud by the Wirecard 
company.  The  Commission  published  a  public  consultation  on  improving  the  quality  and  enforcement  of 
corporate reporting for a possible revision of the legislative framework in the field. 

On  the  single  market,  the  Commission  received  18  petitions  concerning  various  aspects  of  the  internal 
market.  

195   https://ec.europa.eu/solvit/index_en.htm.  
196  Directive (EU) 2018/2001 

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2021 Annual Report 

On migration and home affairs matters, the Commission handled 48 petitions.  

On  transport,  five  petitions  concerned  road  safety  issues.  On  driving  licences,  petitioners  questioned  the 
common conditions and age limits for issuing driving licences and restrictions applicable to new drivers in a 
Member State. On roadworthiness, one petition was submitted on technical rules for vehicle restrictions in a 
Member State. Furthermore, the Commission received two petitions on the safety of road infrastructure.  On 
passenger rights, the Commission received four petitions on issues ranging from passenger protection in case 
of airline bankruptcy and the transport of medical equipment for people with special needs to reimbursement 
after flight cancellation due to the pandemic. Moreover, there has been a petition on sustainable development 
of e-mobility, a petition on reducing the environmental impact of battery production for electric cars as well 
as on the impossibility for foreign citizen of paying Portuguese motorway tolls online. 

On  food  safety,  in  2021, the  Commission  received  a  petition  regarding  food  information  and  composition 
that  included  elements  to  be  considered  in  the  upcoming  proposal  for  common  mandatory  front-of-pack 
nutrition labelling at EU level.  

On taxation, the Commission received seven petitions concerning the implementation and application of EU 
law.  Three  petitions  concerned  issues  already  dealt  with  by  the  Commission  under  two  infringement 
procedures and, respectively, one EU Pilot file, while three petitions have not raised breaches of EU law. For 
one  petition,  the  Commission  deferred  its  assessment,  as  there  is  currently  a  pending  preliminary  question 
before the Court on the matter. 

3.  EU Pilot 

The EU Pilot dialogue was set up to allow the Commission to share information with a given Member State on 
potential breaches of EU law at an early stage. While 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 EU Pilot dialogue has been revealed useful for cases where a quick solution within a short period 
appears  attainable  or  when  the  Commission  intends  to  collect  the  information  needed  to  perform  its 
assessment on the correct implementation of EU law197. 

The Commission opened 246 new EU Pilot files in 2021. Of these, 55 were triggered by complaints and 
191 were opened by the Commission on its own initiative.  

EU Pilot files open at year-end 

538  >  EU Pilot files open at end-2020 

246  >  New EU Pilot files registered in 2021 

223  >  EU Pilot files handled in 2021 

= 561  >  EU Pilot files open at end-2021 

The following chart shows the policy areas in which the Commission opened the  most new EU  Pilot files in 
2021: 

197   COM(2020)94. 

25 

 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2021 Annual Report 

EU Pilot files opened in 2021: main policy areas

Energy
39

Environment 
25

Taxation and 
customs union
51

Migration and home 
affairs
55

Employment
20

Mobility and 
transport
18

Financial stability, financial 
services and capital 
markets union
9

Other
29

The Commission handled 223 EU Pilot files in 2021. It closed 181 of these after receiving satisfactory 
answers from the Member States concerned. This gives a resolution rate of 81%, which is considerably higher 
than the 2020 level (63%).  

Altogether, 18 EU Pilot files were followed up by the opening of a formal infringement procedure in 2021. 
While five of these procedures were based on complaints, the Commission launched the remaining 13 on its 
own initiative. 

The  policy  area  with  the  most  EU  Pilot  files  that  led  to  formal  infringement  procedures is environment  (10 
cases).  

77%

512

73%

397

EU Pilot files (2017-2021)

77%

244

63%

171

81%

223

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

Average resolution rate

EU Pilot files handled

At the end of 2021, 563 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 policy (136 open 
files),  followed  by  justice  and  fundamental  rights  (59),  migration  and  home  affairs  (56)  and  mobility  and 
transport (56). 

26 

 
 
 
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2021 Annual Report 

4.  Open infringement procedures 

The Commission launched 847 new infringement procedures in 2021.  

The following chart gives the breakdown by Member State and the United Kingdom. 

New infringement procedures on 
31 December 2021

37 37 38

39 40

41 42 42

36

34

32 32 33

30

25 25 26 26 27 28 28 29 29 29

23

20

18

1

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

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

Trends in new infringement procedures

599

571

558

419

406

292

129

29

2017

151

74

2018

227

170

99

134

49

2019

2020

2021

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. 

27 

 
 
 
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2021 Annual Report 

New infringement cases opened in 2021: main policy areas

Communications 
Networks, Content 
and Technology
89

Mobility and 
Transport
112

Migration and Home 
Affairs
89

Energy
56

Justice and 
consumers
120

Financial stability, 
Financial Services 
and Capital Markets 
Union
167

Others
38

Environment
52

Employment, Social 
Affairs and Inclusion
48

Internal Market, Industry, 
Entrepreneurship and 
SMEs
28

Taxation and 
Customs Union
25

Maritime affairs and fisheries
11
Agriculture and rural development
12

The  Commission  pursued  239  infringement  procedures  further  by  sending  reasoned  opinions  to  Member 
States  and the  United  Kingdom  in  2021.  The  main  policy  areas concerned  were  environment  (71),  financial 
stability; financial services and Capital Markets Union (43); communication networks, content and technology 
(34); mobility and transport (23) and energy (21). 

Reasoned opinions sent to Member States and the United Kingdom in 
2021

15

14 14

13 13

12

11 11

10 10

9 9 9 9 9

8 8 8

7

6 6 6

5 5 5

4

2

1

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

At the end of 2021, 1 930 infringement cases remained open. This is a 7% increase from the previous year, 
as the following chart shows. 

28 

 
 
 
 
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2021 Annual Report 

Infringement cases open at year-end (2017-2021)

1930

1786

1559

1571

1564

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

The  following  chart  shows the number  and type of open infringement cases  for the Member State  and the 
United Kingdom at the end of 2021: 

Infringement cases open on 31 December 2021

105

102102

91 92

14 14

15

84 85 87

14

9 18

12 11

48

52 52

32 43 31 41

33

66 68

71 72 73 75 76

80

5 12 10

25

30

7 7 10 18

26

27

27

35

32

19

38

29 28

44

15

39 42 39

32

27

39 42

42

35

37 36 36

42

48 49 51 52 53
4 4 5 8 10
15 13

21 20 16

57 58 59 60 60
4 7 7 9 8

10

12

21

22

23 28

29 32

25 24 27

39

32

30

31

8

23

9

10

10

4

13

Infringements of regulations, treaties, decisions

Infringements for incorrect transposition and/or incorrect application of directives

Late transposition infringements

Top figures: Total infringements per MS/United Kingdom

29 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2021 Annual Report 

The following chart shows the breakdown of the infringement cases open at the end of 2021, by policy area: 

1 930 infringement cases open at end-2021: Policy areas

Justice, Fundamental 
Rights and 
Citizenship
209

Migration and Home 
Affairs 
189

Financial Stability, Financial 
Services and Capital Markets 
Union
225

Mobility and 
Transport
231

Energy
172

Internal Market, 
Industry, 
Entrepreneurship 
and SMEs
155

Communication 
Networks, Content 
and Technology
106

Employment
87

Taxation and 
Customs Union
82

Environment
356

Other
118

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  2021,  the  Commission  closed  704  cases,  which  had  reached  the  following  stages  in  the  infringement 
procedure: 

  496 cases after the sending of a letter of formal notice 

  157 cases after the sending of a reasoned opinion; 

  3 cases after deciding to refer the case to the Court but before submitting the application;  

  46 cases following a Court judgement; 

  2  cases  had  been  withdrawn  from  the  Court  before  the  latter  handed  down  its  ruling.  The 
Commission  withdrew  these  cases  as  the  Member  States  concerned  had  taken  the  necessary 
measures to comply with EU law. 

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

In  2021,  the  Commission  took  the  decision  of  referring  a  total  of  31  new  cases  to  the  Court,  of  which  29 
under Article 258 TFEU and two cases under Article 260(2) TFEU.  

In  2021,  the  Court  issued  18  judgements  under  Article  258  TFEU,  none  under  Article  260(2)  TFEU  and  two 
under Article 260(3) TFEU (further information on the latter under chapter III.5). 18 judgements were in the 

30 

 
 
 
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2021 Annual Report 

Commission’s  favour  while  in  two  cases198  the  Court  dismissed  the  Commission’s  action.  Hungary  and  Italy 
(four each) were the Member States subject of most Court judgements under Article 258 TFEU in 2021.   

Judgements under Article 258 TFEU 

4

4

2

2

HU

IT

AT

DE

1

ES

1

PL

1

PT

1

SE

1

SI

1

UK

Number of judgments per Member State/United Kingdom

Member  States  are  required  to  take  all  the  measures  needed  to  comply  with  a  Court  judgement  promptly. 
However, this does not always happen.  At the end of 2021,  89 infringement procedures  under  Articles 258 
and 260(2)  TFEU  were  still  open  after a  Court  ruling  because  the  Commission  considered  that  the  Member 
States had not yet complied with the judgements, including rulings that had been delivered well before 2021. 
This is a decrease compared to the situation at the end of 2020 (112). The Member States mainly  concerned 
are Italy (17), Greece (15), Hungary (7), Spain (6), as well as Germany, Ireland, Poland and Portugal (4 each). 
On  the  United  Kingdom,  there  were  still  five  such  infringement  procedures  open.  The  main  policy  areas 
concerned were the environment (51), direct and indirect taxation (8), single market (4), financial services (4) 
and transparency of state aid (4).  

If a judgement under Article 258 TFEU is not complied with, the Commission can decide to refer a case to the 
Court for a second time under Article 260(2) TFEU. Under this article, the Commission can request the Court to 
impose financial penalties in the form of a lump sum to be paid immediately and a periodic penalty to pay 
until  the  Member  State  complies  fully  with  the  first  and  second  judgement.  At  the  end  of  2021,  13 
infringement procedures were still open after a Court ruling under Article 260(2) TFEU. 

When the Court imposes financial penalties under Article 260(2) TFEU, the Member State concerned must pay 
the lump sum immediately and continue to pay the periodic penalty until it complies fully with the first and 
second  Court  judgement.  In  2021,  the  Court  did  not  deliver  any  judgement  under  Article  260(2)  TFEU.  The 
Court may also impose financial penalties in interim measures proceedings (Article 279 TFEU). In two cases199, 
the Court200 ordered Poland to pay the Commission a daily penalty to strengthen the effectiveness of interim 
measures  previously  ordered  by  the  Court,  to  avoid  serious  and  irreparable  harm,  respectively,  to  the 
environment and human health, and to the EU’s legal order. 

198   Commission v Italy, C-63/19 and Commission v Austria, C-537/19. 
199   C-204/21R and C-121/21R.  
200   Article  279  TEU  confers  on  the  Court  the  power  to  prescribe  any  interim  measures  that  it  deems 
necessary to ensure that the Court’s final decision in the main proceedings of the case is fully effective. 
Both the Commission and Member States can bring an application for interim measures before the Court. 

31 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
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2021 Annual Report 

III. 

TRANSPOSITION OF DIRECTIVES 

1.  EU directives to be transposed in 2017-2021 

In 2021, 30 adopted directives were published in the Official Journal of the European Union.  Most of these 
directives amend existing laws. There were two basic directives201 and one codifying directive202. The latter do 
not impose a new transposition deadline. The main policy areas concerned were: environment (7), taxation (7), 
mobility and transport (5) and health (4).  

At the same time, 55 directives had a transposition deadline in 2021, which is more than in 2020 (47). For 
these  directives,  Member  States  notified  7  508  national  transposition  measures  to  the  Commission  by  the 
end of 2021203. On average, a Member State notified five measures per directive. 

National transposition measures notified per year

7508

4193

4383

3084

3014

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

Number of notified transposition measures

The  transposition  of  the  Directive  laying  down  basic  safety  standards  for  protection  against  the  dangers 
arising from exposure to ionising radiation triggered the  highest number of notified  measures (484)204. The 
two  directives  with  the  second  and  third  highest  number  of  notified  measures  are  the  Directive  on  the 
promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (360)205 and the Directive on common rules for the 
single market for electricity (358)206. 

2.  Transposition deadlines 

Of the 55 directives to be transposed in 2021, 10 directives had a transposition deadline that was shorter 
than one year from the time of their publication (4 less than in 2020). 

201   A basic directive is a directive that is not modifying, repealing or codifying another act. 
202   A  codifying  directive  is  a  directive  that  gathers  together  in  a  new  legislative  act  an  act  and  all  its 
amendments.  It  involves  replacing  and  repealing  all  the  previous  acts  without  making  changes  to  the 
substance. 

203  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 Member States have agreed to the 
publication of their measures on EUR-Lex. In addition, not all measures notified by the Member State are 
visible on the EUR-Lex website: for instance, the explanatory documents are not sent for publication. 

204  Directive 2013/59/EU. 
205  Directive 2018/2001/EU. 
206  Directive 2019/944/EU. 

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2021 Annual Report 

The average period to transpose directives was 22 months (9 months less than in 2020). The directive with 
the longest transposition period and deadline in 2021 (97 months) was the Directive on the amendment of 
the status of Mayotte with regard to the EU207. 

Directives with a shorter transposition period did, on average, not have an increased number of infringements 
for  late  transposition.  The  average  number  of  late  transposition  infringements  for  directives  that  had  a 
transposition  period  of  up  to  six  months  varies  by  less  than  1  from  the  average  number  for  all  directives. 
These statistics suggest that the choice of the transposition time corresponded to the length and complexity 
of the directives to be transposed. 

3.  Transparency 

To  further  encourage  Member  States  to  be  more  transparent  with  the  national  measures  transposing 
directives,  the  Commission  invited  Member  States  to  agree  to  the  publication  of  the  text  of  these 
measures  on  EUR-Lex208.  At  the  end  of  2021,  14  Member  States  had  agreed  to  do  so:  Austria,  Czechia, 
Cyprus,  Estonia,  France,  Greece,  Malta,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Luxembourg,  Slovakia,  Spain,  Sweden  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. At the end of 2021, only 
Greece had agreed to do so. 

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 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 decreased from 599 in 2020 to 571 in 2021. 

Directives and late transposition infringement cases

847

558

419

406

599

571

70

36

50

42

47

55

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

Number of directives with transposition deadline in a given year

New late transposition infringements

At the end of 2021, 872 late transposition infringement cases were still open, a 21% increase from 
the 719 cases open at the end of 2020. 

207   Directive 2013/64/EU. 
208   Search in national transposition on Eur-lex (selecting ‘national transposition’ in the drop down list under 

‘collection’). 

33 

 
 
 
                                                 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2021 Annual Report 

719 

571 

418 

  >  Late transposition cases open at end-2020 
  >  New late transposition cases registered in 2021 
  >  Late transposition cases closed in 2021 

= 872 

>  Late transposition cases open at end-2021 

The following chart shows the number of late transposition infringement cases open at the end of 2021 (872 
in  total)  for  each  Member  State  and  the  United  Kingdom,  irrespective  of  the  year  in  which  the  case  was 
opened.  The  graph  also  illustrates  the  new  late  transposition  infringement  cases  (571  in  total)  opened  in 
2021. 

Late transposition infringement cases in 2021

38 39

39

37

32

32

32

39 39

35 36

42 42 42 42

36

30

28 27

29

27

29

24 25

18 18 19 20 20 20 21 22 22 22 22 22 23 24 24 25 26 27 27

29 29 29

19

15

13

15 16

12 12

4

0

7

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

New late transposition infringement cases in 2021
Late transposition infringement cases open at year-end

The policy areas in which the new cases were launched in 2021 are shown in the following chart: 

New late transposition cases in 2021 - per policy areas

Communication Networks, Content 
and Technology
87 = 15%

Justice, Fundamental Rights 
and Citizenship
61 = 11%

Migration and Home 
Affairs
55 = 10%

Energy
49 = 9%

Employment, Social 
Affairs and Inclusion
17 = 3%
Taxation and 
Customs Union
14 = 2%

Other
35 = 6%

Agriculture & rural 
development
12 = 2%

Mobility and Transport
90 = 16%

Financial Stability, Financial 
Services and Capital Markets 
Union
151 = 26%

34 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2021 Annual Report 

5.  Referrals and judgements of the Court 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  under  Article  258  TFEU  on  the  ground  that  a  Member  State  has  failed  to  turn  a 
directive into national law. 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 payments209.  

In  2021, the Commission decided to  refer two  cases under Article  258 and 260(3) TFEU to the Court, both 
against Luxembourg, including a request for daily penalties. The Commission took these two referral decisions 
for  failure,  by  the  Member  State  concerned,  to  notify  all  national  measures  necessary  to  transpose  the  EU 
rules concerned210.  

In 2021, the Court  delivered  two judgements imposing  financial sanctions under  Article 260(3), one against 
Spain211 and one against Slovenia212. The Court found Spain to have failed to adopt the provisions necessary 
to turn EU law into its national law and ordered it to pay a lump sum as well as a daily payment until it put an 
end to the infringement. As for Slovenia, the Court ordered it to pay a lump sum for failure to adopt or notify 
to the Commission the measures necessary to comply with a directive.   

At the end of 2021, one infringement procedure under Articles 258 and 260(3) TFEU was still open after a 
Court ruling because the Commission considered that the Member State concerned had not yet complied with 
the judgement. 

.

209   SEC(2010)1371, C(2019)1396, C(2021) 2283. 
210   EU rules on seizing criminals' profits (europa.eu) and EU rules on acquisition and possession of firearms 

(europa.eu) 

211   Commission v Spain, C-658/19. 
212   Commission v Slovenia, C-628/18. 

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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 total number of files (complaints, EU Pilot and infringement cases) closed in a given year with 
the average time in weeks needed before taking a decision to close them. This means that certain files are 
potentially counted in all three categories, if an initial complaint becomes an infringement case. For reasons 
of  statistical  comparability,  the  2021  average  time  to  close  an  infringement  case  does  not  include  20 
infringement cases closed in 2021 in relation to bilateral ‘Open Sky’ agreements of Member States with the 
United States. While the Court, in 2002, ruled that such bilateral agreements violated the exclusive power of 
the Union, these cases – many of which were launched in 1995 – were on hold during a long period of time 
due to the absence of ratification of the EU–US Open Skies Agreement. 

Complaints 

First table: public complaints open at year-end 

This starts with the number of open complaints at the end of 2020 (first line)213. The second line shows the 
number of new complaints registered in 2021. The third line shows the number of complaints for which the 
Commission  took  a  decision  in  2021.  The  fourth  line  shows  the  number  of  complaints  open  at  the  end  of 
2021 (calculated by taking the first figure, adding the second and subtracting the third). 

First chart: new complaints registered in 2021 (main policy areas)214 

This shows the main policy areas for which new complaints were registered in 2021. 

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 2020 (first line). The second line shows the 
number  of  new  EU  Pilot  files  opened  in  2021.  The  third  line  shows  the  number  of  files  on  which  the 

213   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. 

214  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. 

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Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

Commission took a decision in 2021. The fourth  line shows the number of EU  Pilot files open at the end of 
2021 (calculated by taking the first figure, adding the second and subtracting the third). 

First chart: EU Pilot files opened in 2021 (main policy areas) 

This shows the policy areas in which the new EU Pilot files were opened in 2021. 

Second chart: EU Pilot files (2017-2021) 

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. 

Third chart: EU Pilot files and infringement cases (2017-2021) 

This  compares  the  number  of  new  EU  Pilot  files  and  new  infringement  cases  in  an  overlay  with  the  total 
number of infringement cases open at the year-end. 

Pre-litigation phase 

First chart: new infringement cases at 31 December 2021 

This shows the number of new infringement cases opened in 2021, by Member State. 

Second chart: trends in new infringement procedures 

This shows a 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 2021 (main policy areas) 

This shows the main policy areas in which the new infringement cases were opened in 2021. 

Fourth chart: reasoned opinions sent to Member States in 2021 

This shows the number of reasoned opinions sent to Member States in 2021. 

Fifth chart: infringement cases open at year-end (2017-2021) 

This  shows  the  number  of  infringements  that  remained  open  on  31 December  of  each  year  from  2017  to 
2021. 

Sixth chart: Infringement cases open on 31 December 2021 

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  2021  or  before,  irrespective  of  the 
stages the cases have reached. Only cases which have not yet been closed by a formal decision are shown. 
For each Member State, the chart distinguishes between infringements for incorrect transposition and/or bad 
application of EU law, late transposition infringements and breaches of regulations and treaties. 

Accordingly, the numbers include all cases that, on 31 December 2021: 

  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; 

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Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

 

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

Seventh chart: infringement cases open at end-2021: policy areas 

This shows the breakdown, by policy area (DG), of the infringement cases open on 31 December 2021. 

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

First chart: Court judgements under Article 258 and 260(2) TFEU in 2021 

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

Transposition of directives 

First 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  2017-2021  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 2020 (first line). The second line 
shows  the  number  of  new  late  transposition  infringements  registered  in  2021.  The  third  line  shows  the 
number of infringement cases on which the Commission took a decision in 2021. The fourth line shows the 
number  of  late  transposition  infringements  open  at  the  end  of  2021  (calculated  by  taking  the  first  figure, 
adding the second and subtracting the third). 

Third chart: late transposition infringement cases in 2021 

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 2021 for each Member State. 

Fourth chart: new late transposition infringement cases opened in 2021 (main policy areas) 

This shows the main policy areas in which the procedures for late transposition were launched in 2021. 

38 

 
 
 
Monitoring the application of European Union law 
2020 Annual Report 

NB: Minor inconsistencies for statistical figures related to policy areas 

There might be perceived inconsistencies with regard to figures for a certain Directorate-General (policy area) 
open at the end of a previous year and the figures provided for the following year. This is due to certain cases 
being  transferred  from  one  Directorate-General  (policy  area)  to  another.  There  should  be  no  such 
inconsistencies for overall total figures across all policy areas. 

39