Press Release: State aid: Commission launches infringement procedures against seven Member States for failure to implement Financial Transparency Directive

The European Commission has decided to send formal requests for information under EC Treaty infringement procedures (Article 226) to Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom for their failure to notify the Commission of national measures to implement Commission Directive 2005/81/EC amending the Directive on financial relations between public authorities and public undertakings (80/723/EEC). In addition, the Commission has also decided to address similar formal requests to the Slovak Republic and Latvia, which have notified implementing measures which do not comply with the requirements of the Directive. The requests take the form of letters of formal notice, the first stage of infringement procedure under Article 226 of the EC Treaty. The Member States now have two months to reply to the Commission's concerns.