March infringement package – key decisions on energy

In its regular 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.

In the list of March infringements, there is 1 energy-related reasoned opinion.

The Commission urges GERMANY to fully transpose the Renewable Energy Directive
Today, the European Commission decided to send an additional reasoned opinion to Germany (INFR(2021)0192) for not having fully transposed EU rules on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources set out in Directive (EU) 2018/2001. This Directive provides the legal framework for the development of renewable energy in electricity, heating and cooling, and transport in the EU. It sets an EU-level binding target for 2030 of at least 32% renewable energy and includes measures to ensure support for renewable energy to be cost-effective, and to simplify administrative procedures for renewable energy projects. It also facilitates the participation of citizens in the energy transition and sets specific targets to increase the share of renewables in the heating and cooling and transport sectors by 2030. The deadline to transpose the Directive into national law was 30 June 2021. After the launch of the infringement procedure in July 2021, the Commission sent in May 2022 a reasoned opinion to Germany for not having fully transposed the Directive, notably for not having notified a complete correlation table or explanatory document specifying how each provision of the Directive was transposed. Following explanations provided by Germany, the Commission has now decided to send an additional reasoned opinion because the transposition of the Directive is still not complete. Germany now has two months to respond and take the necessary measures. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

For more information on the EU infringement procedure, see the full press release and Q&A. For more detail on the history of a case, you can consult the infringement decisions' register.