Single Market infringement cases

This page provides statistics on Single Market infringement proceedings open on 1 December 2024. All comparisons are with the figures for the last reporting date, 1 December 2023. The statistics do not include late transposition cases (known as “non-communication cases”), except in the “Types of cases” pie chart. This is to avoid counting such cases twice since the Transposition enforcement tool already covers them.

Infringements and the Single Market – why does it matter?

To make the Single Market work for all, common EU rules are in place, facilitating the free movement of people, goods, services and capital. These rules can only deliver their intended results if they are properly implemented and enforced throughout the EU.

It is a joint responsibility of the Member States and the Commission to ensure compliance with the Single Market rules and proper enforcement of people’s rights granted by such rules. Member States must comply with EU rules they have agreed to as co-legislators. They must detect and remedy Single Market rules’ breaches happening within their respective jurisdictions. As mandated by Article 17(1) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), the Commission should ensure that all Member States implement and comply with Single Market rules. 

The Commission can take legal action, by initiating an infringement procedure in line with Article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), against any EU Member State that fails to implement EU law. The Commission may refer the issue to the Court of Justice of the European Union, which can impose financial penalties in certain cases. More about infringement procedures.

Monitoring infringements helps to make the Single Market work better. It highlights the efforts that Member States are making to ensure that Single Market law is implemented properly and encourages them to improve their performance.

Recent developments

The European Council of 30 June 2023 called for an independent high-level report on the future of the Single Market. Member States and the Commission entrusted the former Italian head of government, Enrico Letta, to draft the report, seeking for concrete and ambitious recommendations. His Much More Than A Market high-level report (the Letta Report) was published on 17 April 2024. It puts forward a range of recommendations on enforcement and implementation to secure the resilience and competitiveness of the Single Market, by strengthening the enforcement of its rules. The report is dedicated to the memory of Jacques Delors, who made the Single Market the cornerstone of European integration.

Coupled with Enrico Letta’s analysis of the future of the Single Market, on 9 September 2024, former European Central Bank President and former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi published his report on the future of European competitiveness (the Draghi Report). This report shows that the Single Market remains highly fragmented and stresses that fully implementing the rules is crucial for a successful industrial policy, competitive European companies and stronger economic growth.

On 17 September 2024, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Commission, issued the mission letters for the new College members. Among other critical tasks, the Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy will have to develop a horizontal Single Market strategy for a modernised and deeper Single Market that promotes the cross-border provision of services and cross-border movement of goods, including essential goods. He will also ensure the existing rules are fully implemented and speed up the removal of barriers.

Key messages

• 7 Member States improved on their December 2023 overall performance (Ireland, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Slovenia and Slovakia), but the situation deteriorated for 7 other Member States (Belgium, Germany, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland and Portugal). 4 Member States (Croatia, Cyprus, Lithuania and Slovenia) performed better than the EU average (up from 1 the last year).
• The number of Single Market infringement cases fell further (by -6% in the last year), leading to a cumulative decrease of 21% in the last 4 years. This trend may be related to the use of the EU Pilot dialogue between the Commission and Member States over time.
• Spain is still the Member State with the highest number of pending Single Market infringement cases (42). It is closely followed by Greece and Hungary (41), Italy (39) and Belgium (34), which replaces Germany in the top 5. On the other hand, Latvia and Finland are the only Member States that have 10 cases or less.
• The environment (35%), transport (17%), and energy (12%) are the 3 sectors with the highest number of Single Market infringement cases.
• For the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak, the average case duration decreased. It is now 45.8 months, down 7% from 49 months a year ago, but up 31% compared to December 2019. 25% more new cases were launched than last year (173, up from 138), but several very old cases weigh heavily on the average duration.
• The average time to comply with Court rulings in the SIngle Market area is still very far from the 18-month indicative target and keeps increasing (rising from 54.3 months a year ago to 61.3 months in December 2024, doubling the average of 5 years ago). Slovakia and Poland are the only Member States that meet this target.

Map legend

A Member State’s performance across all indicators relating to infringements is calculated by scoring each of the 4 indicators in the Performance indicators table below as follows:
RED = -1, YELLOW = 0 and GREEN = +1.

The colours on the map represent the sum of these scores:

• green: 2 or higher = above average
• yellow: -1, 0 or 1 = average
• red: -2 or lower = below average

• 7 Member States improved on their December 2023 overall performance, but the situation has deteriorated for 7 others. Overall, the situation has slightly worsened compared with last year. 18 Member States now have an average or above-average performance, down from 21.
• 9 Member States have consistently performed at or above the average level over the past 9 years and deserve full recognition (Denmark, Estonia, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Finland).
• For the 9th consecutive year (since December 2017), Spain performs below average.

Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are also subject to Single Market rules under the EEA Agreement. They are monitored by the EFTA Surveillance Authority.

However, there is a time lag between the adoption or repeal of a legal act in the EU and its addition to or removal from the EEA Agreement. The body of EU law applicable in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway may therefore differ from that in the EU. This should be borne in mind when comparing the Single Market Scoreboard and the EEA Scoreboard.

Total Single Market infringement cases open on 1 December 2024: 163 (up from 95 in December 2023), of which:

• incorrect transposition/application: 42, down from 46 (see figure below) = 26% of all open infringement cases (Iceland 23, Norway 16 and Liechtenstein 3)
• late transposition (directives): 22, up from 15 (Iceland 14, Norway 4 and Liechtenstein 4) = 13%
• late implementation* (regulations): 99, up from 34 (Iceland 88 and Norway 11) = 61%

The problematic sectors are still transport (16% of infringements) and persons – other (11%).

* Under Article 7 of the EEA Agreement, regulations incorporated into the Agreement “shall as such be made part of the internal legal order” of the EEA EFTA countries. In Liechtenstein, however, regulations are directly applicable and do not have to be implemented.

Changes in the number of Single Market infringement cases

• The current report shows a further decrease in the number of Single Market infringement cases (by -6% in the last year). The decrease in the last 4 years is 21%. The trends in number of infringement cases may be related to the use of the EU Pilot dialogue between the Commission and Member States over time.
• 214 of the 699 cases pending 12 months ago have now been resolved. Particular progress was made in the areas of transport (49 cases closed), services and professions (41 cases) and the environment (40 cases).
• 173 new Single Market infringement cases were launched in the last year (not including those for late transposition) and were still pending on 1 December 2024. Out of them, 61 concerned the environment (33%), 32 connectivity/media/digital society (17%) and 27 transport (15%).
• On the distribution by type of infringement, 40 of the new cases concerned the incorrect transposition of directives (22%), and 59 had to do with the incorrect application of directives (32%). The remaining 83 cases involved the incorrect application of regulations, decisions and the Treaties; these now account for 45% of all cases (up from 31% last year).