04 July 2019

Commission - Member States' compliance with EU law in 2018: efforts are paying off, but improvements still needed

Citizens and businesses can only enjoy the many benefits of the single market if the rules that have been jointly agreed actually work on the ground. In November 2018, the Commission presented a fresh assessment of remaining barriers in the single market and called on Member States to be vigilant in implementing, applying and enforcing EU rules and refrain from putting up new barriers. For instance, from car emissions to e-commerce, from social media to the services sector, and much more besides.

The Commission supported national and regional authorities in implementing clear air and clean water rules. It also took action against Member States who failed to live up to their commitments and implement EU rules on Passenger Name Records, on combating terrorism and on anti-money laundering. In addition, the Commission used enforcement powers when some EU countries did not move fast enough to improve access for people with disabilities to websites and other mobile applications.

Combating late transposition of EU Directives

For citizens and businesses to reap the benefits of EU law, it is crucial that Member States transpose European directives into their national legal order within the deadlines.

In 2018, the number of new infringement procedures relating to late transposition decreased sharply by one fourth (from 558 cases in 2017 to 419 in 2018). However, the highest number of new late transposition cases during the Juncker Commission was in 2016 (847 cases). The Commission launched new infringement procedures against a majority of Member States for failing to transpose EU personal data protection rules into national law on time, as agreed by Member States themselves beforehand. To facilitate timely and correct transposition, the Commission continued to assist Member States by preparing implementation plans, dedicated websites and guidance documents, and by exchanging best practices in expert group meetings.

Single Market Scoreboard 2019

The Single Market Scoreboard provides a detailed overview of how EU single market rules were applied in the European Economic Area (EEA) in 2018; how open and integrated certain markets are; and how much Member States contributed to a number of EU tools to make the single market function better.

Depending on their performance in 2018, Member States were given 153 green, 137 yellow and 59 red cards indicating excellent (green), average (yellow) or below average (red) performance.

Full press release

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