Justice and Consumers

The above chart shows the number of infringement cases open at year-end for the period 2017-2021. By clicking on the multi-level chart you can consult, for 2021, the number of infringement cases open at the year-end per policy sector and per type of infringement.

Outlook

In 2022, the Commission will continue important monitoring and enforcement work in the area of justice and consumers.

The Commission will:

monitor the implementation in the Member States of the Directive on the fight against fraud to the Union’s financial interests by means of criminal law (Directive (EU) 2017/1371) and of the Framework Decision on the exchange of information extracted from the criminal record between Member States (Framework decision 2009/315/JHA) in conjunction with Council Decision on the functioning of the European Criminal Records Information System (Decision 2009/316/JHA), as well as the correct application of the Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO, Regulation (EU) 2017/1939);
continue with infringement proceedings on the Framework Decision on the European arrest warrant (Framework decision 2002/584/JHA);
monitor the transposition of the Directive on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (‘Whistleblower Directive’, Directive (EU) 2019/1937) into national law;

in the area of fighting racism and xenophobia, continue to monitor the implementation of the Framework Decision (Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA);
in the area of procedural rights of suspects and accused persons, continue to ensure full implementation of all six procedural rights directives;
with regard to the Directive on legal aid (Directive (EU) 2016/1919), publish its implementation report;
in the area of victims’ rights, its efforts to ensure full implementation of the EU rules. The Commission will also publish its report on the application of the Regulation on mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters (Regulation (EU) 606/2013);
in the area of consumer protection, launch a call of evidence for the purpose of the reports on the application of the Consumer Protection Regulation (Article 40, Regulation (EU) 2017/2394), of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Directive (Article 26, Directive 2013/11/EU) and of the Online Dispute Regulation (ODR) (Article 21, Regulation (EU) 524/2013). This call includes studies on the effectiveness of this legislation, notably in the view of the lesson of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report may be accompanied by a legislative proposal;
based on a report on the application of the Package Travel Directive (Directive (EU) 2015/2302) adopted in 2021, continue its review of this Directive, including an evaluation of the effectiveness of the current rules, in particular in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, and an impact assessment for a possible proposal to amend the Directive;
in the area of product safety, continue the work with the co-legislator on the adoption of the new Regulation on general product safety. Coordinated Activities on the Safety of Products (CASP) will continue focusing on categories of products particularly relevant for market surveillance authorities, including childcare articles, electronic cigarettes, travel adaptors, electronic toys and other toys from non-EU web shops, as well as horizontal topics such as crisis management and online market surveillance. CASP discussions will result in thematic guidance documents. A further CASP project focusing on the risk assessment aspects of child appealing, including food imitating products, is taking place;
assist victims of discrimination in accordance with the EU Equality Directives, the Commission will propose new legislation to strengthen the role and independence of equality bodies and to raise victims’ awareness;
continue making the implementation of data protection legislation a priority, in particular by assessing the compliance of national legislation with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and the Data Protection Law Enforcement Directive (LED, Directive (EU) 2016/680), pursuing or launching infringement procedures where necessary;
pursue regular exchanges with national authorities and stakeholders. It will also continue contributing actively to the work of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB);
prepare the first Commission report on the application of Data Protection Law Enforcement Directive, and the first Commission report on the application of the Regulation on Data Protection for EU Institutions and Bodies (EUDPR), the “GDPR” for EU institutions and bodies;
continue to monitor the Member States implementation of Part Two of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) and Northern Ireland (Withdrawal Agreement) with regard to residence rights of UK nationals and their family members and will take steps as appropriate;
review its 2009 Guidance for better transposition and application of Directive on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States (COM(2009) 313 final), with the aim to facilitate the application of the current free movement acquis across the EU and to improve the legal certainty for all interested parties. With this review, the Commission intends to integrate the relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the EU and to provide for clarifications on specific issues. In line with its Communication on LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025 (COM/2020/698), the reviewed guidance will take into account the diversity of families and help all members (including children) of all families – including rainbow families – exercise their right to free movement. Lastly, based on the lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, the updated Guidance will also address the application of restrictive measures on free movement due to public health concerns;
monitor the implementation of the 2021 Regulation on strengthening the security of identity cards of EU citizens and of residence documents issued to EU citizens and their family members (Regulation (EU) 2019/1157).

Important preliminary rulings

XI v. Caisse pour l’avenir des enfants, C-129/20
K and others v. Tesco Stores Ltd, C-624/19
Ivan Gavanozov, C-852/19
PI, C-648/20PPU and VA v Prosecutor of the regional prosecutor’s office (Ruse, Bulgaria), C-206/20
Governor of Cloverhill Prison and Others, C-479/21 PPU
Braathens Regional Aviation, C-30/19
Kuoni Travel Ltd, C-578/19
Peek & Cloppenburg, C-371/20
Dexia Nederland, Joined Cases C-229/19 and C-289/19
BNP Paribas Personal Finance SA, C-609/19 and Joined Cases C-776/19 to C-782/19
Facebook Ireland and Others, C-645/19
Latvijas Republikas Saeima (Penalty points), C-439/19
Prokuratuur, C-746/18
WS v Bundesrepublik Deutschland, C-505/19
M.I.C.M., C-597/19
Stolichna obshtina, rayon „Pancharevo“, C-490/20
A (Border crossing in a pleasure boat), C-35/20
A (Public health care) C-535/19
A.B. and Others (Nomination des juges à la Cour suprême - Recours) C-824/18
W. Ż. () and des affaires publiques de la Cour suprême - nomination) C-487/19

Important Court of Justice rulings against Member States

Commission v Spain, C-658/19
Commission v Poland, C-791/19