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REPORT (2025/2016(INI))

On monitoring the application of European Union law in 2023, 2024 and 2025

A-10-2026-0037

Committee on Legal Affairs · Rapporteur: Dainius Žalimas

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Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

The report assesses the monitoring, implementation and enforcement of EU law in 2023, 2024 and 2025, based on Commission reports. It regrets the lack of a 2024 annual report and calls for regular, transparent reporting. It urges the Commission to use infringement procedures more consistently, publish transparent criteria for prioritising cases, and improve transparency and data on enforcement. It stresses that simplification must not become deregulation, calls for impact assessments on all legislative acts, and highlights sector-specific implementation concerns in environment, energy, agriculture, media and other fields.

Committee position. The Committee on Legal Affairs proposes a resolution that calls on the Commission to improve monitoring, enforcement and transparency, and stresses that simplification must not undermine EU law's objectives.

Key points

  1. Regrets that the Commission did not publish an annual report on monitoring the application of EU law for 2024, breaking a practice since 1983; stresses the need for annual, transparent reporting.
  2. Calls on the Commission to ensure that future overview reports provide a critical assessment of systemic challenges, not just achievements, and to publish the methodology used.
  3. Urges the Commission to make full use of infringement procedures, including before the CJEU, and to adopt and publish transparent, objective criteria for prioritising cases.
  4. Calls for consistent initiation of infringement procedures for non-compliance with CJEU rulings, including requests for lump sums or penalty payments.
  5. Urges the Commission to ensure appropriate follow-up to complaints from citizens and organisations, and to strengthen the European Ombudsman and OLAF.
  6. Calls for effective use of the pre-litigation phase and for a time limit to the pre-infringement dialogue (EU Pilot) to ensure prompt resolution.
  7. Encourages structured cooperation and early-warning mechanisms, and urges Member States to adhere to transposition deadlines and notify the Commission of obstacles.
  8. Notes the limitations of the Europa implementation platform and calls for improvements to provide transparent, analytical information on enforcement and transposition.
  9. Stresses that simplification must not be conflated with deregulation; calls for impact assessments and stakeholder consultations for simplification efforts.
  10. Calls for a single, coherent Digital Rulebook merging digital legislation, and for codifying minimum standards for administrative procedures.
  11. Highlights sector-specific concerns: environmental non-implementation costs, energy transposition delays, agricultural subsidy misuse, and media freedom implementation.

Who is affected

  • Member States: must transpose and implement EU law on time, engage in implementation dialogues, and strengthen administrative capacity.
  • European Commission: must publish annual reports, use infringement procedures consistently, and improve transparency and data on enforcement.
  • Citizens and businesses: benefit from better enforcement and transparency, and can use complaint procedures.
  • European creators: need protection from coercive buy-out practices under foreign laws.

Figures and deadlines

  • Closed infringement cases fell from 1 030 in 2023 to 535 in 2024; open cases rose from 1 461 to 1 493.
  • In 2025, 345 cases were closed and 1 559 active (January–July).
  • Average transposition delay for Single Market directives is 11.9 months.
  • In 2023, 59 of 130 Ordinary Legislative Procedures lacked impact assessments; in 2024, 26 of 31.
  • Cost of non-implementation of EU environmental law is EUR 180 billion per year; closing the gap would require EUR 122 billion per year.
  • As of 2 April 2025, 309 infringement proceedings were ongoing in environmental legislation.
  • CAP represents 31 % of total EU expenditure for 2021-2027.

Legal basis: Articles 2 and 3 TEU