Report from the Commission. 31st annual report on monitoring the application of EU law (2013)

The Commission monitors whether Member States respect EU law obligations, i.e. completely and correctly transpose EU directives and properly apply the entire EU acquis. For this purpose, the Commission can formally challenge the Member State implementation of EU law on its own initiative but it also acts on petitions from the European Parliament (EP) and on complaints it receives from citizens, businesses, NGOs and other stakeholders that reveal potential violations of EU law, for instance incorrect transposition or bad application of EU law.

Before resorting to formal legal actions, the Commission tries to remedy problems and ensure the correct implementation of EU law through a structured dialogue with Member States in EU Pilot. If this is not successful, the Commission takes formal proceedings (a letter of formal notice to the Member State under Article 258 TFEU). Should a Member State fail to align its laws or practices with EU law during the formal infringement procedure, the Commission may refer the case to the Court of Justice under Article 258 TFEU, with the possibility to request financial sanctions (either under Article 260(2) or 260(3) TFEU).

The 31st Annual Report on monitoring the application of EU law reviews the performance on key aspects of the application of EU law and highlights strategic issues.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)612: Follow the progress of this report through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:612:FIN

ESO: Background information: Application of EU Law: how EU Member States performed in 2013 http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-application-of-eu-law-how-eu-member-states-performed-in-2013/

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