Brussels, 09/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - According to the latest results from the internal market “scoreboard” presented on Monday 8 October, there has been increased improvement in transposition of directives and the European Commission has opened fewer infringement procedures.
In its report, the Commission expressed astonishment at the progress of a small group of countries. The scoreboard indicates that the Czech Republic has achieved the best results in terms of improving its transposition deficit, followed by Greece, Hungary and Estonia. Although Malta and Latvia are top of the class, with only two directive deficits, the Commission explains that the Czech Republic reduced its transposition deficit by 1.9% last May to 0.6% today and Greece is well below the 1% target, at 0.5%. Two years ago, it accounted for the highest transposition deficit among the member states explained the Commission.
According to the report, member states performed a little better between May 2012 and now than a year ago over the same period. After the increase recorded in May and November 2011 (1.2%), the European average transposition deficit is now back to 0.9%, “below the target agreed by the European Heads of State and Government in 2007”. In this exercise, 16 member states have achieved the 1% target.
Member states have also succeeded in reducing the number of incorrectly transposed directives. This average compliance deficit has fallen from 0.8% six months ago to 0.7% today, coming closer to the 0.5% deficit proposed in the Single Market Act in April 2011. However, they have increased the number of directives for which transposition is overdue by two years or more as well as the average extra time needed to transpose an EU Directive into national law (from 7.9 to 9.1 months).
The overall number of infringement proceedings relating to the Internal Market continues to decrease - down by 37% since 2007. Today the EU average number of open infringement proceedings is 31 cases per Member State compared to 34 cases six months ago. Italy now accounts for the highest number of infringement proceedings, followed by Greece and Belgium. Italy has also experienced a significant worsening in its directive transposition deficit over the past six months, which has increased from 2.1% to 2.4% and is now the worst performer in the EU. (SP/trans.fl)