Several EU countries face infringement proceedings over energy obligations

In its February decision on failures to fulfil obligations under European law, the European Commission is considering launching legal action against several Member States. The February decision also covers energy-related issues.

Under European law, one of the Commission’s duties is to monitor Member States’ implementation of directives. As reported by CEEnergyNews, citing the Commission’s announcement, the February decision names several European countries that are failing to fulfil their obligations under EU law in the energy sector. The Commission will refer the cases to the Court of Justice of the European Union within two months.

In particular, Bulgaria, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Sweden are being called to account for failing to transpose EU rules designed to speed up the permitting process for renewable energy projects. The directive, which amends the previous Renewable Energy Directive, introduces new rules to simplify and shorten permitting procedures for both renewable energy projects and infrastructure projects needed to integrate new capacity into the electricity grid. The deadline for transposing the provisions into national law was 1 July 2024. According to the Commission, the countries concerned have not adequately transposed the directive.

Partial transposition is not enough

Hungary and Poland are also facing criticism for failing to transpose EU rules on the internal electricity market, for which the deadline was the end of 2020. The Commission raised the issue with Hungary in February 2021 and sent Poland a formal notice in May 2022 after concluding that the countries had not fully incorporated all the directive’s provisions into their national legislation. According to the Commission, the requirements are still not fully met.

Belgium, Estonia, Latvia and Romania have also still not transposed the 2018 Renewable Energy Directive, according to the European Commission. It sets a binding EU-wide target for renewable energy by 2030. The deadline for transposition was 30 June 2021. In July 2021, the Commission sent the four Member States formal notices to remedy the shortcomings, as they had not yet fully transposed the directive, and full transposition has still not been achieved.

The Member States concerned have two months to respond and take the necessary measures. If they fail to do so, the Commission may decide to refer the cases to the Court of Justice of the European Union.