JULY INFRINGEMENTS PACKAGE: KEY DECISIONS
Commission asks Member States to transpose into national laws the EU-wide legislation on cybersecurity
The Commission decided today to send a letter of formal notice to 17 Member States to fully transpose into national laws the first piece of EU-wide legislation on cybersecurity. This decision affects the following Member States: Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Spain. The objective of the Directive on Security of Network and Information Systems (NIS Directive; Directive 2016/1148/EU) is to achieve evenly high level of security of network and information systems across the EU through the development of national cybersecurity capabilities, increasing EU-level cooperation and incident reporting obligations for operators of essential services and digital service providers. Member States had to transpose the NIS Directive into national laws by 9 May 2018 as it entered into force in August 2016. So far 11 Member States have notified the European Commission of the full transposition of the Directive and are in the process of a transposition check with a view to confirm the full transposition. The other Member States have two months to respond to the formal notice sent by the Commission; otherwise, the Commission may decide to send a reasoned opinion.
Nature: Commission asks BULGARIA to improve implementation of EU nature legislation
The Commission is sending an additional letter of formal notice to Bulgaria over systemic failings in its implementation of EU nature legislation. The EU Birds Directive (Directive 2009/147/EC) and the Habitats Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC) establish the EU-wide Natura 2000 network of protected areas. Economic activities may take place in Natura 2000 sites, provided there is no adverse effect on the integrity of the site. In Bulgaria, cumulative impacts of existing and authorised plans and projects to Natura 2000 areas have systematically not been taken into account, and many developments representing a major threat to conservation objectives have still been authorised. The issue was first identified a decade ago, and although Bulgaria has since taken some measures to address the issue, this structural problem persists and the Commission regularly receives complaints about plans and projects that are authorised on the basis of inadequate assessments, or even in the absence of appropriate assessments. The Commission has, therefore, decided to send an additional letter of formal notice, giving Bulgaria two months to reply; otherwise, the Commission may decide to send a reasoned opinion.
Security Union: Commission calls on 14 Member States to implement the new rules on Passenger Name Records (PNR) data
Today, the Commission decided to send letters of formal notice to 14 Member States (Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain) for failing to communicate the adoption of national legislation which fully transposes the PNR Directive (Directive 2016/681). Member States had until 25 May 2018 to transpose the Directive into national law. PNR data refer to information provided by passengers to airlines when booking and checking-in for flights. Such data may include information such as the passenger's name, travel dates, travel itineraries, seat number, baggage, contact details and means of payment. The Directive requires the Member States to set up a national system for the collection, analysis and exchange of PNR data for law enforcement purposes, in full respect of data protection safeguards. The processing of PNR data is an important tool for fighting terrorism and serious crime, helping to trace suspicious travel patterns and identify potential criminals and terrorists, including those previously unknown to law-enforcement authorities. It is a key element of the European Agenda for Security and an essential building block towards the effective and genuine Security Union. Over the past few years the Commission has made every effort to help Member States develop their national PNR systems by providing expertise and funding as well as by facilitating the exchange of best practices. However, for the PNR framework to reach its full potential, it is crucial that all Member States have their systems up and running. The Member States concerned now have two months to reply to the letter of formal notice, after which time the Commission may consider addressing Reasoned Opinions. The Commission will continue to offer support and guidance to those Member States that have yet to finalise the implementation work.
Alternative fuels: Commission urges BULGARIA and POLAND to fully implement EU rules on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure
The Commission urged Bulgaria and Poland today to fully transpose the European rules on alternative fuels infrastructure (Directive 2014/94/EU). These rules, which concern inter alia harmonised standards for alternative fuels infrastructure and basic provisions to enable electric mobility, play an important role for the functioning of the EU internal market. They also aim to reduce the dependence of transport on oil and to mitigate its environmental impact. These two Member States should have transposed this Directive by 18 November 2016, but according to the Commission services failed to transpose certain operative provisions of the Directive before that date. They now have two months to respond; otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer them to the Court of Justice of the EU.
