Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia and the United Kingdom will be receiving letters of formal notice for failure to transpose the directives properly or, the case in Spain, for failure to apply them properly. The commission is also taking Spain and Luxembourg to the Court of Justice for failure to send it their national implementing measures.
Brussels says it is still looking into whether Portugal’s and Hungary’s laws are in conformity with the legislation.
Andris Piebalgs, the commissioner with special responsibility for energy, stressed that, the member states must implement the directives on gas and electricity quickly and in full, not only in form but also in substance. Having carried out a detailed examination, the commission has decided to launch a large number of infringement procedures against member states which have not applied these rules or other measures which are essential to achieve a high level of growth and competitiveness in Europe.
