Brussels, 19/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - A first: the percentage of "internal market" Directives that have not yet been transposed into national legislation fell 2%, on average in the EU, against 2.5% six months ago. This is the main conclusion of the six-monthly Internal Market scoreboard published, by the European Commission. Though this average hides great disparities: red lights for France, Greece, Austria, the United Kingdom, Germany and Portugal (from 2.5 to 3%) who will seemingly adopt a low profile on 26 November when the document will be presented to the Internal Market Council, against five countries (Finland, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Spain), which have already achieve the target of 1.5% set by the European Council in terms of a transposition deficit. This 1.5% also hides some 1,500 infringement procedures underway, of which, 40% concern France, Germany and Italy, while Ireland, Belgium and Greece accumulate a disproportionate number of infringements relative to their size. According to the scoreboard, most companies consider the national and Community rules too complicated and cumbersome; this issue of the "quality of the regulatory environment" will be discussed during the Laeken Summit. Finally, the scoreboard emphasises that 37% of the targeted implementation actions from the strategy meant to be engaged by the end of 2001 to improve the functioning of the Internal Market will not be completed in time (see full text of the last scoreboard on: http: //http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market : Single Market Scoreboard).