Commission refers Slovenia to the Court of Justice for failing to fully enact EU rules on audit

Background and further information:

The 2014 Audit Directive - which amends the previous one [2006/46/EC] - lays down the conditions for the approval and registration of persons that carry out statutory audits. It also sets out the rules on independence, objectivity and professional ethics applying to those persons and the framework for their public oversight.

Member States' laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the Directive had to enter into force by 17 June 2016. In July, the European Commission formally requested Slovenia to implement the Directive. Subsequently, Slovenia notified partial transposition. The measures notified only implemented one article and a few provisions regarding the definitions contained in the Directive. However, Slovenia did not notify any other remaining provisions related to the Directive at stake. In February 2017, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion to the Slovenian authorities. Non-compliance led to the present decision.

The European Commission decided on 4 October 2017 to refer Slovenia to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for failing to notify measures for fully implementing rules on audit in its national legal system.