Press Release: Commission urges Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal and Slovakia to implement Biofuels Directive

The European Commission decided on 13 December 2005 to take Luxembourg, Italy and Portugal to the Court of Justice and to send a reasoned opinion to Slovakia for failure to fulfil their obligations under the Biofuels Directive. This directive required that an increasing proportion of all diesel and gasoline sold in the Member States be biofuels, starting with 2% in 2005 and progressively increasing so as to reach a minimum of 5.75% of fuels sold in 2010. The Commission also sent letters of formal notice to 16 Member States about the national report they need to submit to the Commission for the year 2005.