P9_TA(2023)0443 – Monitoring the application of EU law in 2020, 2021 and 2022 – European Parliament resolution of 23 November 2023 on monitoring the application of European Union Law in 2020, 2021 and 2022 (2023/2080(INI))
Date: 2023-11-23
Institutions: Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Committee on Legal Affairs, Committee on Petitions, European Parliament
Subjects: EU Member State, EU control, activity report, area of freedom, security and justice, fundamental rights, infringement procedure (EU), national implementing measure








C_202404229EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/4229


24.7.2024






P9_TA(2023)0443

Monitoring the application of EU law in 2020, 2021 and 2022


European Parliament resolution of 23 November 2023 on monitoring the application of European Union Law in 2020, 2021 and 2022 (2023/2080(INI))

(C/2024/4229)



The European Parliament,







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having regard to the Treaty on European Union (TEU), in particular Articles 2 and 3 thereof,










—


having regard to the Commission’s 2020, 2021 and 2022 annual reports on monitoring the application of EU law of 23 July 2021 (COM(2021)0432), 15 July 2022 (COM(2022)0344) and 14 July 2023 (COM(2023)0453) respectively,










—


having regard to its resolution of 9 June 2016 for an open, efficient and independent European Union administration (1),










—


having regard to its resolution of 7 July 2022 entitled ‘Better regulation: Joining forces to make better laws’
                   (2),










—


having regard to its resolution of 20 January 2021 on monitoring the application of Union law 2017, 2018 and 2019 (3),










—


having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making (4),










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having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,










—


having regard to the letters from the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the Committee on Petitions,










—


having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A9-0328/2023),










A.


whereas pursuant to Article 4(3) TEU and Articles 288(3) and 291(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the Member States have the primary responsibility for transposing, applying and implementing EU law correctly, harmoniously and within the set time limits; whereas EU legislation should be formulated in a way that facilitates its transposition into national law;










B.


whereas the number of single market infringement cases fell steeply by 80 % between 2020 and 2022; whereas without oversight and effective and efficient enforcement by the Commission, cross-border business and the free movement of people, goods, capital and services in the EU could be gravely hampered; whereas the Commission should take enforcement actions to guarantee all rights under EU law, particularly human rights, the environment, and the protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens across the EU;










C.


whereas in 2020, the environment was by far the first policy area in which infringement proceedings were opened, with 236 proceedings; whereas while the number of cases decreased in 2021, the environment was still in third place in terms of the number of new infringement procedures in 2022; whereas in 2020, 2021 and 2022, the environment was also by far the first policy area in terms of infringement cases open at year-end, with 445 cases in 2020, 356 cases in 2021 and 369 cases in 2022;










D.


whereas dialogue with national authorities seems to be the Commission’s preferred way to solve infringement procedures, as opposed to bringing Member States before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which it sees as a measure of last resort, notably in procedures concerning the violation of the rule of law and the protection of fundamental rights; whereas in 2016, in its work on infringement cases and complaints, the Commission decided to prioritise the most serious breaches of EU law significantly affecting the interests of citizens and businesses; whereas 2017 was the first year in which the Commission applied this new, more targeted approach;










E.


whereas organised crime is a major threat to European security, citizens, businesses and public institutions; whereas monitoring the correct transposition of the anti-money laundering legislation is key to stopping criminals from profiting from the proceeds of their crimes;







On monitoring and ensuring the application of EU law










1.


Welcomes the Commission’s 2020, 2021 and 2022 reports on monitoring the application of EU law; believes that these reports are crucial tools to enable scrutiny of the correct transposition and implementation of EU law and recognises that they enable EU legislators to identify potential issues and to seek remedies; notes that almost half of the infringement procedures launched by the Commission for the wrongful application of EU law or the non-conformity of national rules with EU law pertain to the environment, employment, transport and mobility or the single market;












2.


Notes that the total of new infringement actions taken by the Commission fell from 903 cases in 2020 to 551 in 2022; stresses that the total infringement actions in relation to the single market – excluding case closures – is worryingly lower than under the previous Commission terms; understands that this has to do with the COVID-19 pandemic and the lower number of legislative instruments adopted, as most infringement cases are linked to late transposition; understands also the importance of dialogue between the Commission and the Member States at the pre-litigation stage; considers, however, that relying almost exclusively on dialogue and informal diplomacy can lead to either political horse trading with Member States or to the application of double-standards on the part of the Commission; regrets therefore that the Commission seems reluctant to bring actions against Member States before the CJEU where it is appropriate; calls on the Commission to further clarify how it prioritises serious breaches of EU law and to flesh out its selection criteria, and to provide legal clarification on key concepts related to its monitoring action on the enforcement of EU law such as ‘issues of wider principles’ and ‘systematic failure to enforce EU law’; recommends that the Commission shortens the dialogue period, minimises and clarifies the time frame for infringement procedures, and does not shy away from litigation, which is key to putting an end to violations of EU law by Member States and to ensure the protection of EU citizens, as well as to guarantee regulatory convergence across the single market;












3.


Stresses the importance of the rule of law as a precondition for the proper monitoring and application of EU law; emphasises its concern regarding the number of infringement cases related to the rule of law; stresses the need to strengthen the mechanisms aimed at ensuring respect for the rule of law, such as the rule of law report cycle or the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation (5), in line with the principles of conferral, subsidiarity and proportionality laid out in Article 5 TEU; reiterates its call on the Commission and the Council to immediately enter into negotiations with Parliament concerning the establishment of an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, to be governed by an interinstitutional agreement pursuant to Article 295 TFEU, including an annual monitoring cycle on Union values, covering all aspects of Article 2 TEU;












4.


Is concerned about the huge number of ongoing infringement procedures kept stalled for many years in the pre-contentious phase by the Commission, with no referral to the CJEU of the Member States concerned, despite their persistent failure to uphold the related EU law or to correctly transpose the provisions of EU laws within their respective national legal systems; notes that the Ombudsman has found that this can in some cases amount to maladministration (6); calls on the Member States to adopt appropriate coordination mechanisms for the transposition of EU law, enabling the different government services concerned to efficiently cooperate on the adoption of transposition measures;












5.


Considers rapid action to put an end to violations of EU law by Member States key for the full protection of citizens’ rights, and that this can be achieved by adopting a shorter and clear time frame and strengthening the legal rules on infringement procedures as well as on the referral of a matter to the CJEU in the event of persistent violations of EU law;












6.


Highlights that the Commission has a number of tools at its disposal in order to help Member States transpose, apply and implement EU law correctly and on time, including guidance documents, implementation plans, expert groups, explanatory documents, training courses, or workshops; stresses that some of these tools are used as preventive tools, while others can be used in parallel with infringement procedures in order to resolve detected breaches of EU law with the objective of avoiding referrals of the case to the CJEU; invites the Commission, where possible, to provide greater support to the competent national and regional authorities in the process of transposing EU legislation;












7.


Strongly believes that the CJEU’s judgments must be implemented to the fullest extent by the Member States; underlines that a superficial implementation thereof, followed by the introduction of new laws and policies suffering from the same deficits as identified earlier by the CJEU, must be followed by the launching of infringement procedures;












8.


Takes note of the fact that the number of the new EU Pilot cases increased from 212 cases in 2020 to 279 in 2022; notes that out of the 279 cases in 2022, 51 were triggered by complaints and 228 cases were opened by the Commission following own-initiative investigations;












9.


Welcomes the creation, in 2020, of the Single Market Enforcement Task Force (SMET), which is made up of relevant national authorities and the Commission; calls for a constant cooperation of the Task Force with the existing SOLVIT system; welcomes the current effort to identify how SMET can help deal with cases involving the misapplication of EU law that SOLVIT has not been able to address; welcomes the ongoing reporting on structural SOLVIT cases that could become SMET projects; calls on the Commission, given that support to the existing SOLVIT system is limited, particularly in cross-border cases in which public authorities breach the rights of citizens and businesses, to assess the possibilities of injunctions that would give legal clarity within three months at Union level, for example at the CJEU, to ensure the correct transposition, application and implementation of EU law in all Member States;












10.


Recalls that the EU has set itself the goal to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050; underlines that, in aiming to achieve the climate objectives, the Governance Regulation (7) required Member States to prepare their first long-term strategies with a perspective of at least 30 years; notes that, in 2022, the Commission launched infringement proceedings against four Member States for failing to notify it of such strategies; calls on the Member States to urgently and duly adopt and implement their long-term strategies;












11.


Expresses concern at the serious gaps in the application of EU energy and environmental laws; points, in particular, to the transposition shortcomings in numerous Member States identified by the Commission in relation to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (8), the Energy Efficiency Directive (9), the Renewable Energy Directive (10), and the Single-Use Plastics Directive (11); urges the Member States to correctly transpose this legislation;












12.


Is concerned about the serious shortcomings and delays in the application of EU law in the field of employment, social affairs and inclusion; notes with concern that, in 2022, the Commission launched infringement proceedings against 19 Member States for failing to fully transpose the Work-Life Balance Directive (12) and against another 19 Member States for failing to transpose EU rules on transparent and predictable working conditions;












13.


Stresses the need to enforce EU-level action to combat hate speech and discrimination; welcomes the Commission’s efforts to protect LGBTIQ+ people from discrimination, including by referring Hungary to the CJEU over national rules that discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity; urges the Member States, particularly Hungary, to ensure that national legislation fully complies with the fundamental rights enshrined in EU law; expresses deep concern that the deterioration of media freedom contributes to an increasing targeting of minorities, including LGBTIQ+ people; welcomes, in this regard, the Commission’s efforts to uphold media freedom and pluralism, and its decision to refer Hungary to the CJEU over an alleged violation of the freedom of speech as enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;






On harmonising the implementation of EU law










14.


Calls on the Commission and the Member States to act jointly and consistently in order to avoid problems related to ‘gold-plating’; notes that, while additional unnecessary administrative burdens should be avoided, particularly for SMEs, and should even be decreased in order to prevent fragmentation of the single market, Member States should not be prevented from maintaining or taking more ambitious measures and adopting higher social, environmental and consumer protection standards in cases where only minimum standards have been defined by Union law; invites the Commission, in this regard, to support Member States in order to prevent unnecessary gold-plating, including by assessing the necessity, proportionality, and feasibility of such national provisions and whether they interfere with intended policy goals compared to relevant EU legislation and national legislation of other Member States, as well as on the potential effects of such standards on the national business climate, with the goal of preventing competitive disadvantages and ensuring harmonised rules for businesses;












15.


Considers that, in order to reduce the problems related to transposition at national level, Parliament, the Council and the Commission should, when permitted by the Treaties, favour the legal form of regulations as opposed to directives and focus on adopting EU legislation drafted using the principles of legal clarity, simplification, transparency and legal certainty, with a view to being easily transposable and having a specific European added value; regrets that, all too often, EU law-making resorts to ambiguous compromises between the three institutions; stresses that Union law needs to clearly establish the rights and obligations of its addressees, particularly the EU institutions and the Member States;












16.


Stresses that the lack of a coherent and comprehensive set of codified rules on good administration applicable across the Union makes it difficult for citizens and businesses to easily and fully understand their rights under Union law; emphasises, therefore, that codifying the rules on good administration as a regulation setting out the various aspects of administrative procedures – including notifications, binding time limits, the right to be heard and the right for every person to have access to their file – would be tantamount to reinforcing citizens’ rights and transparency; believes that such a regulation would increase the effectiveness, efficiency and capacity of public administrations and services, and, in this regard, respond to the need for investment and reform in the European Union;












17.


Calls for the Commission to monitor further the application of EU law and address the anti-competitive effect of territorial supply constraints (TSCs) with a view to achieving a fully functioning single market and harnessing its potential benefits for consumers; reiterates that TSCs can arise through different practices, such as refusing to supply or threatening to stop supplying a particular distributor, limiting the quantities available for sale, the unexplained differentiation of product ranges and prices between Member States, and limiting language options for product packaging;












18.


Notes with concern that the average transposition time in the EU has increased, with directives in 2019 taking an average of three months longer to be transposed into national legislation than in 2018;
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19.


Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the European Committee of the Regions, the European Economic and Social Committee and the national parliaments of the Member States.






(1)  
            OJ C 86, 6.3.2018, p. 126.

(2)  
            OJ C 47, 7.2.2023, p. 250.

(3)  
            OJ C 456, 10.11.2021, p. 56.

(4)  
            OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1.

(5)  Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget (OJ L 433 I, 22.12.2020, p. 1).

(6)  European Ombudsman, Cases 2238/2021/MHZ and 2249/2021/MHZ, Decisions of 16 December 2022.

(7)  Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action, amending Regulations (EC) No 663/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Directives 94/22/EC, 98/70/EC, 2009/31/EC, 2009/73/EC, 2010/31/EU, 2012/27/EU and 2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 2009/119/EC and (EU) 2015/652 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p. 1).

(8)  Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings (OJ L 153, 18.6.2010, p. 13).

(9)  Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC (OJ L 315, 14.11.2012, p. 1).

(10)  Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p. 82).

(11)  Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment (OJ L 155, 12.6.2019, p. 1).

(12)  Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU (OJ L 188, 12.7.2019, p. 79).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/4229/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)