Brussels, 21/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - Initiated by the Commission, a fresh wave of infringement procedures - 399 in all - come in with the spring. Those that are the subject of a communication are just the tip of the iceberg.
The Commission has decided to take action against several member states before the European Union Court of Justice (EUCJ). 1) France is accused of failure to completely amend its legislation that formally prohibits banks from offering interest on current accounts to their customers. This referral to the Court follows the Court's ruling (case C-02/442). 2) Greece has failed to apply correctly or comply with EU law on the well-being of animals during transport and before slaughter.
Free provision of services. In the field of gambling, the Commission will send a reasoned opinion to Denmark, Finland and Hungary calling on them to put an end to the national obstacles to the free circulation of gaming and betting services. On Wednesday 21 March, the spokesman for Charlie McCreevy, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, said one cannot, on one side, have a very active national betting organisation on the market and, at the same time, claim to aim at combating citizen dependency on gambling. He said it was “out of proportion”.
Austria is the subject of several legal procedures. 1) It will receive a letter of formal notice because it has not complied with the Court's ruling on posted workers from third countries (C-168/04). 2) It will receive another letter of formal notice for failing to comply with the judgement of the EUCJ in the case C-275/05. In its judgement, the Court considered that Austrian legislation providing that only applicants established in Austria may be approved as boiler inspection bodies for steam or other vapour generating boilers, is not justified. 3) With a reasoned opinion, the Commission will call on this member state to amend its legislation on genetics and animal selection that would restrict the provision of services by foreign artificial insemination centres.
Spain will receive a reasoned opinion for failure to comply with an EUCJ ruling on a matter relating to private security services. Addressed to the United Kingdom, a reasoned opinion will invite the British authorities to recognise medical prescriptions given by doctors of other member states. The European Commission has, moreover, decided to send a reasoned opinion to Portugal and letters of formal notice to Italy as well as to Spain, inviting them to provide complete information on the implementation of Court rulings linked to implementation of Directive 2006/115/EC relating to rental and lending righgts and to certain related rights and copyright. With reasoned opinions, the Czech Republic and Hungary are called upon to completely transpose Directive 2003/41/EC on the activities and surveillance of retirement institutions, an exercise from which these member states said they were exempted.
Public procurement. 1) Belgium, Finland, Greece, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Sweden are to defend themselves before the Court of Justice for failure to communicate their national transposition measures for Directives 2004/18/EC (traditional public procurement) and 2004/17/EC (special sectors) and Directive 2005/51/EC that amends certain annexes to the first two legislative acts. These directives have been in force since February 2006. 2) The Commission takes action before the EUCJ against Italy for procedural errors in the procurement of trams by the town of Aquila. 3) The Commission takes action against Greece concerning the participation in public contracts for companies also active in the media sector. This same country will receive a reasoned opinion for awarding contracts linked to the protection and restoration of the forest around Thessaloniki. 4) Germany will receive a formal request regarding the long-standing practice of German public broadcasting organisations to award works, supply and service contracts without conducting EU-wide competitive tendering procedures.. The Czech Republic will also receive a formal request regarding the award of contracts for forestry services that do not comply with European legislation on public procurement. 5) Four procedures for public procurement contracts in Germany are to be closed. They concerned contracts for the transport of works of art, transport by bus (Worms), legal services in five Länder and waste elimination. (cd/mb)