May 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 May infringements, there are 7 energy-related letters of formal notice and 1 reasoned opinion. 

Letters of formal notice

The Commission calls on BULGARIA, GREECE, LITHUANIA, MALTA, PORTUGAL, ROMANIA and SLOVENIA to comply with their obligations as regards energy-efficient buildings

The European Commission decided to open an infringement procedure by sending letters of formal notice to Bulgaria (INFR(2024)2083), Greece (INFR(2024)2079), Lithuania (INFR(2024)2082), Malta (INFR(2024)2081), Portugal (INFR(2024)2077), Romania (INFR(2024)2078) and Slovenia (INFR(2024)2080) to remind them of their obligations regarding the communication to the Commission of their third cost-optimal report under EU rules on the energy performance of buildings (Directive 2010/31/EU). Member States have to set minimum energy performance requirements for buildings to achieve the best combination between investments and savings, also known as 'cost-optimal levels'. Calculating the cost-optimal levels is key for Member States to fully exploit the energy efficiency and renewable energy potential of the national buildings stock and to avoid people and businesses spending more money than necessary on efficiency improvements to their housing and offices. The Commission is therefore sending letters of formal notice to the concerned Member States, which now have two months to respond and address the shortcomings raised by the Commission. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.

Reasoned opinion

The Commission urges CROATIA to fully transpose the Renewable Energy Directive
Today, the European Commission decided to send an additional reasoned opinion to Croatia (INFR(2021)0248) 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 the EU. It sets an EU-level binding target for 2030 of at least 32% of energy from renewable sources in the Union's gross final consumption of energy, as well as specific targets for the heating, cooling and transport sectors. The Directive also facilitates the participation of citizens in the clean energy transition. The deadline to transpose the Directive into national law was 30 June 2021. In July 2021, the Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Croatia followed by a reasoned opinion in May 2022. In February 2023, the Commission decided to refer Croatia to the Court of Justice of the European Union for lack of transposition of the Directive, in particular for having failed to notify a correlation table or explanatory document specifying where the country had transposed each provision. After reception of a correlation table from Croatia, the Commission decided to suspend the procedure before the Court. Following the assessment of the table, the Commission came to the conclusion that the transposition of the Directive is still not complete. Therefore, the Commission has decided to issue an additional reasoned opinion to Croatia, which 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.