Memo: EU law: Commission acts to ensure that European legislation is fully and properly implemented

In its monthly package of infringement decisions, the European Commission is pursuing legal action against 27 Member States for failing to comply properly with their obligations under EU law. These decisions cover many sectors. They aim at ensuring proper application of EU law for the benefit of citizens and businesses. The Commission has taken today 278 decisions, including 18 complaints taking Member States before the European Union's Court of Justice.

In this package, 1 decision relates to failure to respect a previous Court ruling (where the Commission is requesting financial penalties). In another 6 cases, the Commission is referring Member States to the Court for failure to implement Directives within the deadline agreed by the EU's Council of Ministers and the European Parliament, and for the second time is using new powers under the Lisbon Treaty to request the Court to impose financial penalties the first time the case goes to Court.