November infringements package: key decisions
28 Nov 2019 12:50 PM
Overview by policy area
In its monthly package of infringement decisions, the European Commission pursues legal action against Member States for failing to comply with their obligations under EU law. These decisions, covering various sectors and EU policy areas, aim to ensure the proper application of EU law for the benefit of citizens and businesses.
The key decisions taken by the Commission are presented below and grouped by policy area. The Commission is also closing 103 cases in which the issues with the Member States concerned have been addressed without the Commission needing to pursue the procedure further.
For more information on the EU infringement procedure, see the full MEMO/12/12. For more detail on all decisions taken, consult the infringement decisions' register.
1. Agriculture and rural developpment
Referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union
Commission refers DENMARK to the Court for failing to fulfil its obligations in relation to the name “Feta”
The Commission decided to refer Denmark to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to adequately fulfil its obligations under the EU law on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs. Companies based in Denmark produce and export white cheese to non-EU countries after labelling it as “Feta”. “Feta” is a registered Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) since 2002 in the EU and as such, it can only be produced in Greece according to a set of production specifications. The Commission considers that this practice is a direct breach of the protection granted by the registration as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and the Danish authorities have failed to prevent or stop it. By refraining to do so, Denmark infringes both the Regulation on quality schemes and the principle of sincere cooperation between the Union and Member States (Article 4(3) of the Treaty on European Union). This conduct not only violates current EU law, but it is also likely to frustrate the ongoing negotiations between the European Union and third countries for the conclusion of bilateral agreements that ensure the protection of European PDOs and the promotion of EU quality products outside the EU. The Commission decided to open EU infringement proceedings against Denmark in January 2018 by sending a letter of formal notice. In the context of an infringement procedure, the Commission invited the Danish authorities to take appropriate steps to prevent or stop companies established on its territory from carrying out this practice. Since Denmark has not addressed the issues raised, the Commission has decided to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the EU. For more information, please refer to the full press release.
2. Competition
Referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union
State aid: Commission refers GREECE to Court for failure to recover incompatible State aid from mining company Larco
The European Commission has decided to refer Greece to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to comply with a 2017 ruling by the Court of Justice. In its ruling, the Court had condemned Greece for failure to implement a 2014 Commission decision requiringit torecover €135.8 million of incompatible aid from Larco General Mining & Metallurgical Company S.A. (“Larco”). In March 2014, the Commission found that various public measures (in the form of capital injections and state guarantees) in favour of Larco gave the company an undue advantage over its competitors, in breach of EU State aid rules. The Commission ordered Greece to recover the incompatible State aid amounting to €135.8 million, plus interest. On the same date, the Commission also adopted a decision finding that a plan proposed by Greece for the sale of certain assets of Larco could be implemented without the buyer being liable to repay any of the incompatible State aid granted to Larco. The sale plan has not yet been implemented. In November 2017, the Court of Justice (case C-481/16 European Commission v Hellenic Republic) found that Greece had failed to implement the Commission's 2014 recovery decision and condemned Greece for not having recovered the incompatible State aid, as required by the 2014 recovery decision. In January 2019, the Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Greece regarding the non-implementation of the 2017 Court's ruling. To this date, more than five years after the adoption of the Commission decision and following the Court's judgment and the Commission's letter of formal notice, Greece has still not recovered the incompatible State aid from Larco. The Commission has therefore now requested the Court of Justice to impose on Greece the following financial sanctions:
- A lump sum payment of approximately € 3 709 per day for the period between 9 November 2017 (date of the first ruling by the Court of Justice) and the date Greece complies with the Court's ruling, or, alternatively, failing compliance, the date of delivery of the Court's second ruling. The minimum lump sum payment should not be lower than € 1.3 million.
- A daily penalty payment of approximately € 26 697 from the day of its judgment until the date Greece brings the infringement to an end.
For more information, please refer to the full press release.
Click here for the full press release