The European Commission is referring Belgium, Croatia and Slovakia to the Court of Justice of the EU for delays in transposing the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive (Directive 2014/61/EU). Croatia, however, might be able to avoid this procedure due to the recent information it has provided.
Directive 2014/61/EU reduces broadband internet roll-out costs. It also includes rules, such as the reuse of existing physical infrastructure of utilities for high-speed internet and the coordination of the civil engineering works between the different sectors. Nonetheless, the transposition deadline for this text was sent for 1 January 2016 and Belgium, Croatia and Slovakia have not notified the Commission of the Adoption of the measures needed to transpose the directive.
The Commission began infringement procedures in March 2016 against the three countries concerned. This procedure could involve a daily fine as from the announcement of the decision until the entry into force of the directive into domestic law.
It should be pointed out, however, that Croatia informed the Commission in a letter on 11 July that the final elements missing in the transposition of the directive into Croatian legislation would be formally adopted on Friday 14 July. If this information proves to be correct, the case could be concluded, explained the Commission. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)