Brussels, 19/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to pursue a total of 14 infringement cases involving 12 Member States for failure to implement in national law one or more of five different Internal Market Directives. The Commission will also formally request Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Malta, Portugal and Spain to implement the Insurance Mediation Directive.
Directive on Financial Collateral arrangements. The Commission has decided to refer the Netherlands to the European Court of Justice for non-transposition into national law of the Financial Collateral Directive (2002/47/EC). All Member States should have implemented and applied the Directive by 27 December 2003.
Insurance Mediation: The Commission has decided to send reasoned opinions to Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Malta, Portugal and Spain asking these ten Member States to write the Insurance Mediation Directive 2002/92/EC into national law. This Directive should have been implemented by all Member States by 15 January 2005. Meanwhile, Finland, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden have communicated national implementing legislation and the proceedings against these four states (launched in March 2005) will be discontinued.
Supplementary supervision of financial conglomerates. The European Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to France for incomplete transposition of Directive 2002/87/EC on the supplementary supervision of financial conglomerates.
Activity of e-money institutions. The Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to Estonia for incomplete transposition of Directive 2000/28/EC, which modifies the definition of credit institutions in the Banking Directive (Directive 2000/12/EC on the taking up, pursuit of and prudential supervision of credit institutions), in order to include electronic money institutions.
Legal protection of biotechnological inventions. The European Commission has decided to send a reasoned opinion asking Latvia for a full explanation of the measures it has taken to implement in its national law Directive 98/44/EC on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions. For the Member States that joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, this Directive is part of the “acquis communautaire” that should have been implemented by the time of accession.