April infringements package: key decisions for Cyprus

In its monthly package of infringement decisions, the European Commission is pursuing 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 proper application of EU law for the benefit of citizens and businesses.

The key decisions taken by the Commission (including 4 letters of formal notice, 45 reasoned opinions, 11 referrals to the Court of Justice of the European Union, and 2 closures) can be found here. The Commission is also closing 155 cases where the issues with the Member States concerned have been solved 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.

Please see the summaries of the decisions concerning Cyprus below

Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union

(For more information: Vanessa Mock – tel.: +32 229 56194, Letizia Lupini – tel.: +32 229 51958)

Referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union

Commission refers CROATIA, CYPRUS, PORTUGAL and SPAIN to the Court of Justice for failing to fully enact EU rules on mortgage credit

The European Commission has decided to refer Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal and Spain to the Court of Justice of the EU for not enacting the Mortgage Credit Directive (MCD) in their national legal systems. The Mortgage Credit Directivehad to be transposed by Member States by 21 March 2016. Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal and Spain have still to comply with this obligation.

The Mortgage Credit Directive (Directive 2014/17/EU) aims to create an EU-wide mortgage credit market with a high level of consumer protection. The main provisions include conduct rules for providers, including an obligation to assess consumer creditworthiness and disclose information, competence and knowledge requirements for staff, provisions regarding certain aspects of mortgage credit, such as early repayment, foreign currency loans, tying practices, financial education, property valuation and arrears and foreclosures and a EU passport for credit intermediaries who meet the admission requirements in their home Member State. The Member States’ failure to implement the Directive means that consumers in these Member States cannot benefit from the protection guaranteed by the Directive when taking out their mortgage loans or when they experience difficulties repaying it. In addition, credit intermediaries cannot passport their commercial activities, depriving consumers in Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal and Spain of potentially better credit offers from lenders from outside these Member States. This impedes competition and leads to less choice and higher prices. For more information, please refer to the full press release.

Reasoned opinion

Commission urges CYPRUS, SPAIN, CROATIA, LUXEMBOURG, the NETHERLANDS and PORTUGAL to apply rules on payment accounts

Today, the European Commission has decided to send formal requests to Cyprus, Spain, Croatia, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Portugal to notify the full enactment of the Payment Accounts Directive (Directive 2014/92/EU). The Directive gives all legal EU residents the right to a basic payment account for a reasonable fee, regardless the place of residence. It also improves the transparency of payment account fees and makes it easier to compare and switch. To date, the above-mentioned Member States have not transposed this Directive into national law, although they were required to do so by 18 September 2016. As a result, the Commission is issuing reasoned opinions to the concerned Member States, requesting them to bring their legislation in line with EU law. If they fail to act within two months, the case may be referred to the Court of Justice of the EU.

Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

(For more information: Lucia Caudet – tel.: +32 229 56182, Mirna Talko – tel.: +32 229 87278)

Reasoned opinion

Electrical, electronic and mechanical engineering: Commission urges 3 Member States to transpose new market surveillance rules

The European Commission decided to send reasoned opinions today to Cyprus, Ireland and Portugal, requesting them to transpose EU Directives in the areas of electrical, electronic and mechanical engineering. The Directives share the objective of enhancing market surveillance by allowing the tracing of non-compliant products on the EU market. Specifically, the Commission is requesting: Ireland and Portugal to transpose the Directive on lifts and safety components for lifts (Directive 2014/33/EU) which lays down the requirements that need to be met to place lifts and lift safety components on the EU market while ensuring a high level of safety for lift users and maintenance staff; Portugal to transpose the Directive on pressure equipment (Directive 2014/68/EU), which covers a broad range of industrial equipment, such as compressors and heat exchangers, but also to consumer products such as fire extinguishers and pressure cookers; and Cyprus to transpose the Directive on electromagnetic compatibility (Directive 2014/30/EU) and the Low Voltage Directive (Directive 2014/35/EU), the first of which ensures that electrical and electronic equipment does not generate, nor is affected by, electromagnetic disturbance while the latter lays down the essential safety requirements for electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits such as for example in household appliances, cables and power supply units. The Commission is today addressing the reasoned opinions on the grounds that the three Member States in question have not yet transposed these Directives into national legislation. Member States should have transposed these directives by 19 April 2016 with the exception of the Directive on pressure equipment, which should have been transposed into national law by 18 July 2016. The three Member States addressed now have two months to notify the Commission of the full transposition of the Directives; otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer them to the Court of Justice of the EU.

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