The European Commission has referred Greece to the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) for failure to ensure the correct transposition of the Proportionality Test Directive (Directive (EU) 2018/958) into national legislation.
The objective of the Proportionality Test Directive is to create a uniform legal framework for conducting proportionality tests before introducing new, or modifying existing, legislative, regulatory or administrative provisions restricting access to or pursuit of regulated professions.
Member States are required to ensure that any national regulation of professions pursues legitimate public interest objectives and is necessary and balanced. Having a clear and common framework in place to systematically assess the regulation of professions before adopting or amending legislation is crucial to prevent unjustified barriers in the single market. It also facilitates access to regulated professions, in line with the objectives outlined in the Commission’s Communication on “The Single Market at 30”.
According to the Commission, Greece failed to ensure that all measures covered by the Directive, in particular those being initiated by professional bodies, parliamentary initiatives, and parliamentary amendments, undergo a prior proportionality assessment. In addition, Greece does not ensure continuous monitoring of adopted rules, as the Greek authorities have not transposed with sufficient clarity the criterion of systematic or regular proportionality review over time.
In December 2021, the Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Greece, followed by an additional letter of formal notice in February 2023 and a reasoned opinion in October 2023. Despite the ongoing dialogue with the Greek authorities, the issues have still not been fully addressed, leading the Commission to decide to refer Greece to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The Directive applies to all legislative, regulatory, or administrative provisions restricting access to a regulated profession or its pursuit, or one of its modes of pursuit.
The Proportionality Test Directive lays down the rules for proportionality tests to be carried out before introducing new regulations on professions within the scope of the Professional Qualifications Directive or amending existing regulations.
Greece fails to Transpose Directive for worker protection from cancer-linked risks – Charges for the maintenance and development of Europe’s road infrastructure network
Greece was among 11 EU member states that failed to transpose a directive broadening the scope of the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive to include reprotoxic substances, establish workplace exposure limits for acrylonitrile and nickel compounds and lower the limits for benzene.
Greece, along with 15 other EU member-states, also failed to incorporate a directive that sets common rules on distance-based charges (tolls) and time-based user charges (vignettes) for the use of road infrastructure. These rules stipulate that the cost of constructing, operating, and maintaining infrastructure can be recovered through tolls and vignettes. The Directive extended the rules to include passenger cars and small heavy-duty vehicles while it also mandates the internalization of the external costs linked to air pollution and introduced a new system, requiring Member States to impose payments based on the CO2 emissions of heavy-duty vehicles.
