Analytics, EU – Baltic States, Legislation, Modern EU

The key decisions taken by the Commission are grouped by various policy areas. The Commission is also closing 65 cases in which the issues with the EU states concerned have been solved without the Commission needing to pursue the procedure further.

In addition, the Commission decided to send in May 2017 a number of letters of formal notices (details are in MEMO/17/1281).

More information on the EU infringement procedure is in MEMO/12/12; more detail on all decisions taken by the Commission can be found in the infringement decisions' register.

Financial services: Commission requests 5 Member States to implement EU rules in the area of insurance

The Commission has requested Latvia, Hungary, Poland and Portugal to fully transpose the Solvency II Directive (Directive 2009/138/EC) and the Omnibus II Directive (Directive 2014/51/EU), and Cyprus to fully transpose the Omnibus II Directive into their national legislation. These Directives replace the 14 insurance and reinsurance Directives that were previously known as "Solvency I".

They introduced a sound and robust prudential framework for insurance firms in the EU, including quantitative, governance and reporting rules, to facilitate the development of a single market in insurance services. These new insurance rules aim to ensure the financial soundness of insurance companies so that they can cover risks in difficult periods.

These Directives became fully applicable on 1 January 2016 and the deadline for their implementation in national law was 31 March 2015. However, the above listed EU states failed to notify the Commission of all measures necessary to fully implement these rules into their national law.

The Commission's requests take the form of reasoned opinion and come after letters of formal notice, which were sent to these states in May 2015. They replied to these letters, however, the Commission is of the opinion that transposition of the Directives is not yet complete in these EU states. If the states concerned do not act within the next two months, they may be referred to the Court of Justice of the EU.

Sustainable transport: Commission urges 8 states to transpose rules on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure.

The Commission has asked Cyprus, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovenia to fully transpose EU rules on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (Directive 2014/94/EU).

The main purpose of the Directive is to establish a common framework for the large-scale roll-out of alternative fuels infrastructure in Europe. This is essential to reduce transport oil-dependence, mitigate its environmental impact and, thereby, deliver on the Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility adopted by the Commission on 20 June 2016.

Directive 2014/94/EU sets out minimum requirements for the building-up of alternative fuels infrastructure, including recharging points for electric vehicles and refueling points for natural gas and hydrogen. It had to be implemented by 18 November 2016 at the latest.

However, these EU states have not yet notified the Commission of measures transposing the Directive into national law. The 8 EU states now have two months to notify the Commission of such measures; otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the EU.

Reference: European Commission, fact-sheets; Brussels, 17 May 2017, in:

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-17-1280_en.htm?locale=en

Letter of formal notice

In addition to key decisions set out in MEMO/17/1280, the European Commission decided to send a letter of formal notice for the following type of EU law infringements:

-Third Energy Package: Commission calls on Estonia to implement two key Directives

The Commission has sent a letter of formal notice to Estonia formally requesting to ensure the correct implementation and application of the Electricity Directive (Directive 2009/72/EC) and the Gas Directive (Directive 2009/73/EC).

The Directives are part of the “Third EU Energy Package” and contain key legal provisions which allow energy markets to function properly.

Reference: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-17-1281_en.htm?locale=en.