Brussels, 21/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - Many member states are in breach of EU legislation on transport, and the European Commission has referred several of them to the EU Court of Justice for failure to comply. Belgium, for one, has not transposed Directive 2010/40/EU on smart transport systems into the national body of law. The daily fine proposed by the European Commission is €34,540.80 until the Court makes its ruling and until the country has fully transposed the directive. Brussels is also threatened with a daily fine of €55,265.28 for failure to fully transpose the directive on investigations into accidents at sea.
The European Commission has also decided to refer Spain to the Court of Justice of the EU for failing to correctly apply European law relating to the recruitment of port labourers. The Commission criticises the restrictive practices used towards goods handling companies.
Finally, the Commission sent reasoned opinions to Belgium and to Portugal for not having adopted national guidelines provided for in Directive 2008/96/EC concerning the management of road infrastructure safety, as well as to Austria, as Vienna has not come into line with the European directive on rail safety (2004/49/EC). The three countries in question must, within two months, give the Commission sufficient reasons why they have failed to comply, failing which they may be referred to the EU Court of Justice. (MD/transl.jl)