Brussels, 26 September 2024
The Commission calls on IRELAND and AUSTRIA to notify measures fully transposing the provisions of the Directive on Restructuring and Insolvency as regards the use of electronic means of communication in insolvency proceedings
The European Commission decided to open infringement procedures by sending a letter of formal notice to Ireland and Austria for failing to transpose into their national law the certain provisions of the Directive on Restructuring and Insolvency (Directive 2019/1023). The Directive imposes an obligation on Member States to ensure that in cases of restructuring, insolvency and discharge of debt, the involved parties, including the practitioner and the judicial or administrative authority, can carry out the following actions electronically: filing of claims, submission of restructuring or repayment plans, and notifications to creditors. The Directive entered into force in July 2019. The Member States had additional time to transpose the provisions on the use of electronic means of communication in insolvency, restructuring and debt discharge proceedings until 17 July 2024. Until now, Ireland and Austria, failed to communicate the respective measures to the Commission. The Commission is therefore sending letters of formal notice to these Member States, which now have two months to respond and complete their transposition. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.
The Commission calls on SPAIN to fully transpose the Work-life balance Directive
The European Commission decided to open an infringement procedure by sending a letter of formal notice to Spain for failing to fully transpose into its national law the provision regarding the payment of allowance for the final two weeks of parental leave, as required under the Work-life Balance Directive 2019/1158. This Directive lays down minimum requirements designed to achieve equality between men and women with regard to labour market opportunities and treatment at work, by facilitating the reconciliation of work and family life for workers who are parents, or carers. The Directive entered into force in July 2019, with two separate transposition deadlines. Member States had until 2 August 2022 to transpose most of the provisions of the Directive into their national law, for example the provision to provide the right to two months of non-transferable and adequately paid parental leave. The provision regarding the payment for the final two weeks of parental leave, however, had to be transposed by Member States by 2 August 2024. As of today, Spain has not communicated to the Commission full transposition of this provision into its national law. The Commission is therefore sending a letter of formal notice to Spain, which now has two months to respond and address the shortcomings raised by the Commission. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.
The Commission calls on 17 Member States to fully transpose the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
The European Commission decided to open infringement procedures by sending a letter of formal notice to 17 Member States (Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Finland) for failing to notify their national measures transposing fully:
- the Accounting Directive (Directive 2013/34/EU),
- the Transparency Directive (Directive 2004/109/EC), and
- the Audit Directive (Directive 2014/56/EU), as amended by
- the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) (Directive (EU) 2022/2464).
The CSRD introduces new rules on sustainability reporting. It requires large companies and listed companies (excluding micro-undertakings) to disclose information on the social and environmental risks they face, and on how their activities impact people and the environment. This helps investors and other stakeholders to evaluate the sustainability performance of companies. The new sustainability reporting rules apply from financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2024. In the absence of transposition of these new rules it will not be possible to achieve the necessary level of harmonisation of sustainability reporting in the EU and investors will not be in a position to take into account the sustainability performance of companies when making investment decisions. The 17 Member States concerned have not yet communicated full transposition into national law of the provisions of the CSRD (Directive (EU) 2022/2464). The transposition deadline expired on 6 July 2024. The Commission is therefore sending letters of formal notice to the concerned Member States, which now have two months to respond and complete their transposition. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.
The Commission calls on Member States to transpose agreed rules to accelerate permitting procedures for renewable energy projects
The European Commission decided to open infringement procedures by sending a letter of formal notice to 26 Member States for failing to fully transpose into national law the provisions of the revised Renewable Energy Directive related to the simplification and acceleration of permitting procedures.
The revised RED (Directive 2023/2413 amending Directive 2018/2001) entered into force in November 2023 and certain provisions had to be transposed into national law by 1 July 2024.
These provisions include measures to simplify and accelerate permitting procedures both for renewable energy projects and for the necessary infrastructure projects to integrate the additional renewable energy into the electricity system. They also include clear time limits for permit-granting procedures targeted to specific technologies or types of projects, the strengthening of the role of the single contact point for applications and the presumption that renewable energy projects and the related grid infrastructure are of overriding public interest. To date, only Denmark has notified full transposition of these provisions by the legal deadline of 1 July 2024.
The Commission is therefore sending letters of formal notice to Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden. They now have two months to respond and complete their transposition. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.
The Commission calls on PORTUGAL and SLOVAKIA to fully transpose directives restricting certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment
The European Commission has decided to open infringement procedures by sending a letter of formal notice to Portugal and Slovakia for failing to transpose into their national legislation Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2024/232 amending the Directive on the restriction of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (Directive 2011/65/EU) (RoHS Directive) as regards an exemption for cadmium and lead in plastic profiles in electrical and electronic windows and doors containing recovered rigid polyvinyl chloride. T
he RoHS Directive restricts the use of hazardous substances, such as cadmium, lead and mercury, to protect human health and the environment. It also enables environmentally sound recovery and waste treatment of electrical and electronic equipment. The RoHS Directive allows, under certain conditions, time-limited exemptions from the restrictions on the use of different substances. Plastic profiles in electrified windows and doors, which are made of recovered polyvinyl chloride (PVC), can contain legacy concentration of cadmium and lead, previously used in PVC. To allow such windows and doors to be placed on the European market, an exemption was granted in Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2024/232. It is aligned with a similar derogation for lead in recovered PVC for non-electrified windows and doors set out in Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/923 amending Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006.
The new exemption preserves a high level of environmental protection, enabling the recycling of old PVC material. Recovering old PVC requires lower amounts of energy and natural resources than the amounts that would otherwise be needed for the use of virgin PVC. The deadline for adopting and publishing the national transposition measures was 31 July 2024. Respecting this deadline is important for the smooth functioning of the Single Market as regards the products that exemption applies to. Without an enforceable exemption, electrified articles made from recovered PVC with certain legacy concentration of cadmium and lead could not be placed on the market, hampering the circular economy transition. The Member States concerned have failed to communicate their transposition measures to the Commission. The Commission is therefore sending a letter of formal notice to Portugal and Slovakia, which now have two months to respond and complete their transposition. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.
Source – EU Commission