European Commission issues 3 infringement decisions against Estonia in July

TALLINN - The European Commission adopted an infringement package on Wednesday, taking action against member states that are failing to meet their obligations under EU law, with three of the decisions concerning Estonia.

The European Commission decided to open infringement procedures by sending letters of formal notice to Germany and Estonia for failing to correctly transpose the Single-Use Plastic Directive, the aim of which is to prevent and reduce the impact of certain plastic products on the environment and on human health, as well as to promote the transition to a circular economy.

In Estonia, conformity checks have revealed that the extended producer responsibility schemes do not fully cover all required single-use plastic products thus limiting the directive's scope.

Furthermore, Estonia does not comprehensively define the roles and responsibilities for reporting systems. The framework in Estonia also appears to lack adequate measures to inform consumers about reusable alternatives, reuse systems, and waste management options.

The also Commission decided to send letters of formal notice to Bulgaria, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Austria, Slovakia and Finland, for breaching the Methane Regulation by failing to appoint, and notify to the Commission, a competent authority responsible for monitoring and enforcing the application of the rules.

The EU Methane Regulation tackles methane emissions in the crude oil, natural gas and coal sectors. It aims to improve measurement and reporting of methane emissions in the EU, to foster their abatement, and to increase transparency in the EU and globally.

It also incentivizes the EU's international partners to measure, report and reduce their methane emissions. Member states had to notify to the Commission the names and contact details of their competent authorities by Feb. 5, 2025. Estonia has still not fulfilled this obligation.

Additionally, the European Commission decided to send a reasoned opinion to Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia, Spain, Italy, Austria, Poland and Sweden for failing to fully transpose the Daisy Chains II Directive.

Member states had to transpose it into national law by Nov. 13, 2024. The Daisy Chains II Directive amends the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive with the aim of introducing proportionality in the application of the debt buffer to be held by banks and investment firms in order to be able to absorb losses and be recapitalized in resolution (so-called 'minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities' or 'MREL').

Full implementation of the legislation is key to improve the resolvability of banks and to avoid level playing field issues between different banking group structures.

The states now have two months to respond and take the necessary measures. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer the cases to the Court of Justice of the European Union with a request to impose financial sanctions.