The European Commission decided on Thursday 7 December to refer Bulgaria, Finland and Greece to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for failure to notify or partially notifying the Commission of measures transposing EU rules establishing a framework for maritime spatial planning (Directive 2014/89/EU).
The directive had to be transposed into national law by 18 September 2016. Following the reasoned opinions set to is the member states in July 2017, Bulgaria and Greece have yet to notify the Commission of transposition measures. The Finnish authorities notified the Commission of the adoption of the measures necessary to transpose the directive but these measures apply only to mainland Finland and not to the Province of Åland, which is also covered by the scope of the directive.
The Commission will call on the Court to impose a daily penalty payment of €14,089.60 per day for Bulgaria, €7,739.76 per day for Finland and €31,416 per day for Greece from the day of the judgement until the directive is fully enacted and in force in national law. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)