Communication from the Commission – Update of data used to calculate financial sanctions proposed by the Commission to the Court of Justice of the European Union in infringement proceedings
Date: 2024-01-26
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: Court of Justice of the European Union, EU Member State, European Commission, infringement procedure (EU), judgment of the Court (EU), national implementing measure, sanction (EU)








C_202401123EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2024/1123


26.1.2024







            COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION
         
Update of data used to calculate financial sanctions proposed by the Commission to the Court of Justice of the European Union in infringement proceedings
(C/2024/1123)

Under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’), where the Commission refers a Member State to the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘the Court’) for failing to fulfil an obligation under the Treaties, it may propose to the Court to impose financial sanctions on that Member State in two situations:






—


where the Member State has not taken the necessary measures to comply with an earlier judgment of the Court finding an infringement of Union law (Article 260(2) TFEU) (1), or










—


where the Member State has failed to fulfil its obligation to notify measures transposing a directive adopted under a legislative procedure (Article 260(3) TFEU).




In both cases, the sanction imposed by the Court may be composed of a lump sum payment, as a consequence of the continuation of the infringement until the delivery of its judgment or full compliance, if reached earlier, and a daily penalty payment, to prompt the Member State concerned to bring the infringement to an end as soon as possible after the delivery of the judgment. The Commission proposes the amounts for the financial sanctions to the Court, but it is for the Court, in the exercise of its discretion (2), to determine the amounts that it considers appropriate to the circumstances and proportionate both to the breach that has been established and to the capacity to pay of the Member State concerned.
The principles and method used by the Commission to calculate the financial sanctions it proposes to the Court is established in its Communication ‘Financial sanctions in infringement proceedings’
          (3) (hereafter ‘the 2022 Communication’).
This update is based on developments in the inflation, population and gross domestic product (GDP) of each Member State. The relevant statistics that are to be used relating to the rate of inflation, population and GDP are those established two years prior to the update (‘t-2 rule’), i.e. 2022.
The updated n factors, minimum lump sums and flat-rate amounts are set out in Annex to this Communication.
The Commission will apply the updated figures to decisions it takes to bring a case before the Court of Justice under Article 260 TFEU as from the publication of this Communication in the Official Journal.


(1)  Or where the Member State has not taken the necessary measures to comply with a judgment finding an infringement of a State aid decision under Article 108(2) TFEU.

(2)  This discretion is limited in the case of Article 260(3) TFEU cases, where the Court cannot go beyond the amount specified by the Commission.

(3)  Communication from the Commission ‘Financial sanctions in infringement proceedings’ C/2022/9973 (OJ C 2, 4.1.2023, p. 1).




ANNEX
Data used for determining financial sanctions proposed to the Court
The Commission will apply the following updated figures to calculate the amount of the financial sanctions (lump sum or penalty payments) when it brings a case to the Court of Justice under Article 260(2) and (3) TFEU.
1.   Flat-rate amount for the penalty payment

The updated flat-rate amount for the penalty payment is set at EUR 3 230 per day.
2.   Flat-rate amount for the lump sum payment

The updated flat-rate amount for the lump sum payment is set at EUR 1 080 per day.
3.   
                        ‘N’ Factors

The updated ‘n’ factors are set at:






 


N factor (1)





Belgium


0,85 




Bulgaria


0,20 




Czechia


0,52 




Denmark


0,53 




Germany


6,02 




Estonia


0,07 




Ireland


0,61 




Greece


0,43 




Spain


2,46 




France


4,36 




Croatia


0,15 




Italy


3,38 




Cyprus


0,05 




Latvia


0,08 




Lithuania


0,13 




Luxembourg


0,09 




Hungary


0,36 




Malta


0,03 




Netherlands


1,41 




Austria


0,68 




Poland


1,41 




Portugal


0,47 




Romania


0,65 




Slovenia


0,11 




Slovakia


0,23 




Finland


0,41 




Sweden


0,83 




4.   Reference lump sum

The updated reference lump sum used for calculating the minimum lump sums per Member State is set at EUR 3 016 218.
5.   Minimum lump sums per Member State

The minimum lump sums correspond to the reference lump sum multiplied by the ‘n’ factors.
The updated minimum lump sums (2) are set at:






 


Minimum lump sums (EUR)




Belgium


2 564 000 




Bulgaria


603 000 




Czechia


1 568 000 




Denmark


1 599 000 




Germany


18 158 000 




Estonia


211 000 




Ireland


1 840 000 




Greece


1 297 000 




Spain


7 420 000 




France


13 151 000 




Croatia


452 000 




Italy


10 195 000 




Cyprus


151 000 




Latvia


241 000 




Lithuania


392 000 




Luxembourg


271 000 




Hungary


1 086 000 




Malta


90 000 




Netherlands


4 253 000 




Austria


2 051 000 




Poland


4 253 000 




Portugal


1 418 000 




Romania


1 961 000 




Slovenia


332 000 




Slovakia


694 000 




Finland


1 237 000 




Sweden


2 503 000 






(1)  Based on 2022 GDP and population, and rounded to two decimals.

(2)  Based on 2022 GDP and population and rounded to the nearest thousand.



ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/1123/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)