EC calls on Hungary to correct infringements

Decisions posted by the EC “aim to ensure proper application of EU law for the benefit of citizens and businesses”, the announcement says.

In the field of energy, Hungary, along with ten other member states, is requested to “fully transpose the EU Energy Efficiency Directive. The European Commission has requested eleven Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Spain, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, and Portugal) to ensure the full transposition of the Energy Efficiency Directive(2012/27/EU).”

Under the above mentioned directive, EU member states “must achieve energy savings from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2020”, which they have to do by “using Energy Efficiency Obligation Schemes and/or other targeted policy measures to drive energy efficiency improvements in households, industry buildings and transport.” However, the EC says it identified “transposition gaps in the national legislation in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Portugal, which are addressed in additional reasoned opinions sent today. The additional reasoned opinion to Hungary, issued today, replaces the Commissionʼs decision to refer this member state to the Court of Justice of the EU. The Commission continues to monitor the implementation of the Directive and will address any shortcomings in the future.”

Considering mobility and transport, more precisely road transport, the EC “has asked Hungary to bring its national rules in line with the Commission Decision on the definition of the European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) and its technical elements (2009/750/EC).” According to the commission “Hungary failed to put in place the necessary measures for the effective establishment of EETS providers. Hungary has two months to inform the Commission of measures taken to ensure full compliance with EU law; otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice of the EU."

In the field of environment, the EC asks Hungary, along with Greece, “to implement regulations that prohibit the placing of illegal timber on EU markets… the European Commission is urging Greece and Hungary to comply with EU rules to counter the trade in illegally harvested timber”. The EC also raised concerns about Hungary’s application to the EU Timber regulation in a formal letter in May. “Although Hungary has reported some progress, a number of measures are still needed to close the compliance gaps. Hungary still has to establish the regulatory and institutional conditions for the system of checks to counter the trade in illegal timber and further legislation is required to determine the level of penalties for breaches of the Regulation,” the announcement says.