Stages of an infringement procedure
The Commission identifies possible infringements of EU law on the basis of its own investigations or following complaints from citizens, businesses or other stakeholders.
Formal procedure
If the EU country concerned fails to communicate measures that fully transpose the provisions of directives, or doesn’t rectify the suspected violation of EU law, the Commission may launch a formal infringement procedure. The procedure follows a number of steps laid out in the EU treaties, each ending with a formal decision:
- The Commission sends a letter of formal notice requesting further information to the country concerned, which must send a detailed reply within a specified period, usually 2 months.
- If the Commission concludes that the country is failing to fulfil its obligations under EU law, it may send a reasoned opinion: a formal request to comply with EU law. It explains why the Commission considers that the country is breaching EU law. It also requests that the country inform the Commission of the measures taken, within a specified period, usually 2 months.
- If the country still doesn't comply, the Commission may decide to refer the matter to the Court of Justice. Most cases are settled before being referred to the court.
- If an EU country fails to communicate measures that implement the provisions of a directive in time, the Commission may ask the court to impose penalties.
- If the court finds that a country has breached EU law, the national authorities must take action to comply with the Court judgment.
Non-compliance with a court decision
If, despite the court's judgment, the country still doesn't rectify the situation, the Commission may refer the country back to the court.
Financial penalties
When referring an EU country to the court for the second time, the Commission proposes that the court impose financial penalties, which can be either a lump sum and/or a daily payment.
These penalties are calculated taking into account:
- the importance of the rules breached and the impact of the infringement on general and particular interests
- the period the EU law has not been applied
- the country's ability to pay, ensuring that the fines have a deterrent effect
The Commission proposes an amount on the basis of these factors, but the court decides on the final amount to be paid by the country.
The calculation method as well as all the principles related to financial sanctions are set out in a Commission Communication:
Communication on financial sanctions in infringement proceedings 2022
Annual update of data used to calculate financial sanctions 2024
Older Communications (former calculation methods – no longer in use):
Communication on calculation method 2021
Communication on calculation method 2019
Communication on calculation method 2010
Communication on calculation method 2005
Annual updates to the data the Commission 5uses to calculate financial penalties
Annual report on monitoring the application of EU law
The Commission also publishes an annual report reviewing key aspects of the application of EU law and presenting infringement cases by policy area and country.
2022 Annual Report on monitoring the application of EU law
Publication of infringement decisions
Information about Commission decisions on infringements is available online. You can search for this information by EU country, policy area or date.
The Commission also publishes an annual report reviewing key aspects of the application of EU law and presenting infringement cases by policy area and country.
Annual reports on monitoring the application of EU law