Action brought on 18 September 2023 – European Commission v Republic of Estonia
(Case C-577/23)
Language of the case: Estonian
Parties
Applicant: European Commission (represented by: A. Keidel and K. Toomus)
Defendant: Republic of Estonia
Form of order sought
The European Commission claims that the Court should:
declare that the Republic of Estonia has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 34 of Directive (EU) 2019/1 1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with that directive, or in any event by failing to notify them to the Commission;
order the Republic of Estonia to pay the Commission a lump sum of EUR 600 per day from 5 February 2021 until the date on which the infringement by that Member State is brought to an end or, should the infringement continue, until the date of delivery of the judgment in the present case, but in any event a minimum amount of EUR 168 000;
in the event that the failure to fulfil the Member State’s obligations referred to in [the first indent] continues until the date of delivery of the judgment in the present case, order the Republic of Estonia to pay the Commission a penalty payment in the amount of EUR 5 220 per day from the date of delivery of the judgment in the present case until the date on which the obligations under Directive (EU) 2019/1 are fulfilled;
order the Republic of Estonia to pay the costs.
Pleas in law and main arguments
According to the Commission, Directive (EU) 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 sets out minimum rules under which national competition authorities must have guarantees of independence, resources, and enforcement and fining powers which are broadly comparable with those enjoyed by the Commission under Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 1 and which are necessary in order to be able to effectively apply Articles 101 and 102 TFEU so that competition in the internal market is not distorted and so that consumers and undertakings are not put at a disadvantage by national laws and measures which prevent national competition authorities from being effective enforcers. Article 34(1) of Directive (EU) 2019/1 provides that that directive is to be transposed into national law by 4 February 2021 at the latest and that Member States are to immediately inform the Commission thereof.
The Commission submits that the Republic of Estonia has not fulfilled that obligation. It states that, on 18 March 2021, it therefore sent a letter of formal notice to the Republic of Estonia. The Republic of Estonia allegedly replied to that letter of formal notice by letters of 15 June 2021 and of 12 December 2021, explaining that the delay in the transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/1 was due to the fact that such transposition requires a comprehensive reform of Estonia’s existing procedural law and the decriminalisation of the prohibition on cooperation between undertakings. The Commission maintains that, on 29 September 2022, it sent a reasoned opinion to the Republic of Estonia, to which the latter replied by letter of 29 November 2022 in which it acknowledged that it did not transpose Directive (EU) 2019/1 within the prescribed period and reiterated the abovementioned reasons for the delay in transposing that directive, referring to the need for a fundamental reform of Estonian procedural law.
The Commission submits that, since Directive (EU) 2019/1 was adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure, the case falls within the scope of Article 260(3) TFEU. It argues that the Republic of Estonia has failed to fulfil its obligation under Article 34 of Directive (EU) 2019/1 to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with that directive by 4 February 2021 and to immediately inform the Commission thereof. It maintains that, consequently, the conditions for the application of Article 260(3) TFEU are satisfied.
The Commission therefore claims that the Republic of Estonia should be ordered to pay a lump sum and a penalty payment pursuant to Article 260(3) TFEU and that those sanctions should be set in accordance with the Commission Communication on financial sanctions in infringement proceedings. 1
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1 Directive (EU) 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market (OJ 2019 L 11, p. 3).
1 OJ 2003 L 1, p. 1.
1 OJ 2023 C 2, p. 1.