According to the EU treaties, the Commission may take legal action – an infringement procedure – against an EU country that fails to implement EU law. The Commission may refer the issue to the Court of Justice, which in certain cases, can impose financial penalties. #Brexit #Infringementprocedure
The Commission identifies possible infringements of EU law on the basis of its own investigations or following complaints from citizens, businesses or other stakeholders.
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What is Brexit?
Brexit - British exit - refers to the UK leaving the EU.
Formal procedure - Infringement procedure
If the EU country concerned fails to communicate measures that fully transpose the provisions of directives, or doesn’t rectify the suspected violation of EU law, the Commission may launch a formal infringement procedure. The procedure follows a number of steps laid out in the EU treaties, each ending with a formal decision:
- The Commission sends a letter of formal notice requesting further information to the country concerned, which must send a detailed reply within a specified period, usually 2 months.
- If the Commission concludes that the country is failing to fulfil its obligations under EU law, it may send a reasoned opinion: a formal request to comply with EU law. It explains why the Commission considers that the country is breaching EU law. It also requests that the country inform the Commission of the measures taken, within a specified period, usually 2 months.
- If the country still doesn't comply, the Commission may decide to refer the matter to the Court of Justice. Most cases are settled before being referred to the court.
- If an EU country fails to communicate measures that implement the provisions of a directive in time, the Commission may ask the court to impose penalties.
- If the court finds that a country has breached EU law, the national authorities must take action to comply with the Court judgment.
Non-compliance with a court decision
- If, despite the court's judgment, the country still doesn't rectify the situation, the Commission may refer the country back to the court.
Financial penalties
When referring an EU country to the court for the second time, the Commission proposes that the court impose financial penalties, which can be either a lump sum and/or a daily payment.
These penalties are calculated taking into account:
the importance of the rules breached and the impact of the infringement on general and particular interests
the period the EU law has not been applied
the country's ability to pay, ensuring that the fines have a deterrent effect
The amount proposed by the Commission can be changed by the court in its ruling.
In November last year, the European Commission launched a formal infringement procedure against the UK over its failure to nominate a European Commissioner, in the then latest sign of increasing frustration between Brussels and London.
The European Commission then said that it “considered that the UK was in breach of its EU Treaty obligations”.
More than two months later no one seems to know what happened with the infringement procedure.
Even Eric Mamer, spokesman of the European Commission, could not give a status update of the procedure.
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