Non-transposition of EU legislation: Commission takes action to ensure complete and timely transposition of EU directives

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The Commission is adopting a package of infringement decisions due to the absence of communication by Member States of measures taken to transpose EU directives into national law. The Commission is sending a letter of formal notice to those Member States who have failed to notify national measures transposing directives, whose transposition deadline expired recently. In this case, there are 24 Member States who have not yet notified full transposition measures for five EU directives in the fields of justice, mobility and transport, public health and environment. Member States concerned now have two months to reply to the letters of formal notice and complete their transposition, or the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.

Company Law: Directive on the use of digital tools and processes in company law

In June 2019, the Directive 2019/1151 amended the Directive (EU) 2017/1132 and laid down new provisions for the use of digital tools and processes in company law. The Directive introduces new rules digitalising the company law processes across the EU, such as full online registration of companies and companies’ branches, online procedures between companies and business registers, as well as the exchange of information between business registers. The Directive has been transposed by most Member States by the deadine of 1 August 2021. Some Member States requested a one year extension of the deadline due to the delays in transposition caused by Covid-19 pandemic. However, for some provisions, that required technically more complex implementation, the deadline for tranposition was longer, 1 August 2023. These provisions include, for instance, rules on cross-border exchange of information on disqualified directors of companies and machine-readability of company documents in the business registers. The following Member States have not notified complete national measures transposing the remaining provisions of the Directive by the deadline of 1 August 2023 and will receive today a letter of formal notice: Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, Cyprus, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Finland, and Sweden.

Transport: Directive on streamlining measures for advancing the realisation of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T)

Directive 2021/1187 on streamlining measures for advancing the trans-European transport network aims to ensure better coordination and an effective execution of key TEN-T core network projects by making permit-granting and public procurement procedures clearer. To achieve this goal, Member States should appoint one Designated Authority for each project or permit-granting procedure, introduce simplified procedures with a permit-granting authorisation limited to 4 years, make permit-granting procedures for both project promoters and relevant authorities clearer and more transparent, and ensure better coordination for cross-border permit-granting and procurement. To minimise delays, national authorities should prioritise projects covered by the Streamlining Directive in granting procedures.

The Commission is sending letters of formal notice to 19 Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia) since they had not communicated complete transposition of this Directive into national law by the deadline of 10 August 2023.

Vehicle rental: Directive on the use of vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road

Directive (EU) 2022/738 provides for a minimum level of market opening for the use of vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road. Use of hired vehicles can reduce costs for undertakings carrying goods on their own account or for hire or reward, and at the same time increase their operational flexibility. The Commission is today sending letters of formal notice to 20 Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland) since they had not communicated complete transposition of this Directive into national law by the transposition deadline. The Member States concerned have two months to reply to the letters of formal notice and complete their transposition, otherwise the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.

EU tobacco-control legislation: new rules on heated tobacco products

Delegated Directive (EU) 2022/2100 prohibits the placing of flavoured heated tobacco products on the EU market, and removes Member States’ possibility of granting exemptions for heated tobacco products from certain labelling requirements of Directive 2014/40/EU. Heated tobacco products (HTPs) are tobacco products that produce an emission containing nicotine and other chemicals, which is then inhaled by users.The Delegated Directive was adopted in response to the significant increase in volume of heated tobacco products sold across the EU as established by the relevant Commission Report. The Commission is sending letters of formal notice to 17 Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Luxemburg, Malta, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden) for failure to notify of national measures fully transposing the Directive by the deadline of 23 July 2023.

Energy efficiency: speeding up the clean energy transition by allowing time-limited exemption for certain heat pumps

In January 2023, the Commission adopted one delegated Directive allowing hexavalent chromium to be used in gas absorption heat pumps as an inhibitor (a chemical used to protect systems from corrosion). Under Directive 2011/65/EU (RoHS Directive), electrical equipment that contains hexavalent chromium cannot be placed on the market, except if time-limited and application-specific exemptions are granted by the Commission. In this specific case, in the absence of suitable alternatives, the total benefits of granting an exemption for hexavalent chromium outweigh the negative impacts. Gas absorption heat pumps are more energy efficient than condensing boiler technologies. This exemption can therefore lead to reduced carbon dioxide emissions and quicker replacement of condensing boiler technologies on the market, speeding up the green transition. Belgium and Portugal have not transposed the delegated Directive concerning the exemption for hexavalent chromium in gas absorption heat pumps into national law by 31 August 2023 and are therefore receiving today a letter of formal notice.