European Commission issues infringement decisions on 26 member states

TALLINN - On Thursday, the European Commission issued infringement decisions against 26 member states, including Latvia, that have failed to notify national measures transposing European Union directives whose transposition deadline has recently expired.

These member states now have two months to respond and complete their transposition. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.

The Commission called on 26 member states, including Latvia, to transpose agreed rules to accelerate permitting procedures for renewable energy projects. It sent a letter of formal notice to the 26 states for failing to fully transpose into national law the provisions of the revised Renewable Energy Directive related to the simplification and acceleration of permitting procedures. The revised RED entered into force in November 2023 and certain provisions had to be transposed into national law by July 1, 2024.

These provisions include measures to simplify and accelerate permitting procedures both for renewable energy projects and for the necessary infrastructure projects to integrate the additional renewable energy into the electricity system. They also include clear time limits for permit-granting procedures targeted to specific technologies or types of projects, the strengthening of the role of the single contact point for applications and the presumption that renewable energy projects and the related grid infrastructure are of overriding public interest.

To date, only Denmark has notified full transposition of these provisions by the legal deadline of July 1.

The Commission therefore sent letters of formal notice to Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.

The Commission also called on Latvia and 16 other member states to fully transpose the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. It decided to open infringement procedures by sending a letter of formal notice to Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Finland for failing to notify their national measures transposing fully the Accounting Directive, the Transparency Directive and the Audit Directive, as amended by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

The CSRD introduces new rules on sustainability reporting. It requires large companies and listed companies, excluding micro-undertakings, to disclose information on the social and environmental risks they face, and on how their activities impact people and the environment. This helps investors and other stakeholders to evaluate the sustainability performance of companies.

The new sustainability reporting rules apply from financial years beginning on or after January 1, 2024. The 17 member states concerned have not yet communicated full transposition into national law of the provisions of the CSRD. The transposition deadline expired on July 6 this year.