Brussels, 19/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 19 November, the European Commission announced that Romania is being taken to the European Court of Justice and faces being fined over failure to transpose EU rules into its national legislation on the sulphur content of marine fuels (Directive 2012/33/EU).
This EU directive should have been transposed by member states by 18 June 2014 at the latest. Despite the Romanian authorities recognising that an infringement has been committed, they have still not rectified this shortcoming.
If Romania fails to comply it could face a daily fine of €38,042 from the date of the Court ruling until the transposition is completed. This is the penalty proposed by the Commission to the Court.
The 2012/33EU directive aims to reduce the sulphur content of heavy fuel oil, marine gas oil and marine diesel oil used in the EU, in the interest of public and environmental health. EU legislation is being aligned with international standards agreed under at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)