Skip to main content
European Commission logo
en
European Commission

Financial Stability, Financial Services & Capital Markets Union 2023

2023 Annual Report on monitoring the application of EU law - Infringement cases by policy

Infringement cases open at year-end 2019 - 2023

[notranslate]infringement_cases_open_at_year_end_2019_2023[/notranslate]

By clicking on the multi-level chart, you can consult, for 2023, the number of infringement cases open at the year-end per policy sector and per type of infringement.

Compliance promotion activities in 2023

Guidelines on how to implement EU law

The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), including the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), ensure consistent and appropriate financial supervision throughout the EU. The Commission provides active support to these authorities by issuing responses to questions raised by these authorities. In 2023, the Commission provided 51 responses to questions received by the ESAs:

The Commission issued the following guidance in 2023 in relation to the implementation of EU restrictive measures:

  • FAQs sanctions (Russia/Belarus): Frequently asked questions concerning sanctions adopted following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine and Belarus’ involvement in it.
  • Global Advisory (Russia): Guidance issued by the multilateral Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force, setting out certain typologies of Russian sanctions evasion tactics and recommendations on how to mitigate the risk of exposure to continued evasion, with focus on financial sanctions.
  • FAQs sanctions (Syria): Humanitarian exemption in the EU Syria sanctions regime following the February 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.
  • Factsheet on accessing EU financial services as a non-profit organisation.
  • Guidance on the handling of goods which were brought into the EU in good faith before the sanctions entered into force, have not been released for free circulation and remain blocked in the Member States’ customs offices.
  • Guidance on due diligence (Russia): Guidance setting out general advice on risk assessment, best practices for conducting due diligence on business partners, transactions and goods, as well as a list of circumvention red flags, with focus on export-related sanctions.
  • List of common high priority items (Russia): List of prohibited dual-use goods and advanced technology items used in Russian military systems found on the battlefield in Ukraine or critical to the development, production or use of those systems.
  • Guidance note (maritime oil industry): Price Cap Coalition advisory for the maritime oil industry.
  • List of economically critical goods (Russia): List of mainly industrial goods subject to EU sanctions, for which anomalous trade flows via certain third countries to Russia have been detected.
  • Guidance on firewalls (Russia): Guidance supporting the implementation and recognition of firewalls (frameworks removing the control of designated persons) in the area of trade in agricultural and food products.

The Commission issued following guidelines on how to implement and apply EU legal instruments in 2023: 

  • FAQs on Disclosure Delegated Act (December 2023) - Draft Commission notice on the interpretation and implementation of certain legal provisions of the Disclosures Delegated Act under Article 8 of the EU taxonomy Regulation (EU) 2020/852 on the reporting of taxonomy-eligible and taxonomy-aligned economic activities and assets (approved in principle).
  • FAQ on Taxonomy Regulation (June 2023) - Commission notice on the interpretation and implementation of certain legal provisions of the EU Taxonomy Regulation (EU) 2020/852 and links to the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFRD - Regulation (EU) 2019/2088.
  • Recommendation on transition finance - Commission Recommendation on facilitating finance for the transition to a sustainable economy.
  • EU Taxonomy Navigator - the Commission created an educational and user-friendly website that offers a series of online tools to help users better understand the EU Taxonomy in a simple and practical manner, ultimately facilitating its implementation and supporting companies in their reporting obligations.

Meetings with Member States

The Commission assisted Member States through workshops in the transposition process of the following Directives: 

The Commission also uses the below platforms to promote the good implementation of EU law through different forums: 

  • Expert Group of the European Securities Committee - chaired by the Commission. A consultative entity to provide advice and expertise, in the area of the securities law, to the Commission;
  • Expert Group on Banking, Payments and Insurance – chaired by the Commission. A consultative entity composed of Member States experts that assists the Commission in relation to the implementation of existing Union legislation, programmes and policies, preparation of delegated acts, legislative proposals, and policy initiatives;
  • ESMA’s Standing Committees – composed of representatives of National Competent Authorities (NCAs) and European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) staff and the Commission as participator;
  • Expert Group on Union restrictive measures and extra-territoriality – chaired by the Commission. The expert group assist the Commission in relation to the implementation of existing Union legislation, programmes, and policies, in the preparation of delegated acts, legislative proposals and policy initiatives and provides expertise to the Commission when preparing implementing measures.
  • Expert Group on Sustainable Finance - chaired by the Commission. This expert group assist the Commission in relation to the implementation of existing Union legislation, programmes and policies, in the preparation of delegated acts and in the preparation of legislative proposals and policy initiatives.

Follow-up given to petitions

In 2023, the Commission handled 12 petitions related to alleged breaches of EU law in financial services. Most petitions concerned the areas of insurance and retail investors protection.
The Commission assessed and decided not to pursue investigations concerning the following petitions alleging a breach of EU law, for the reasons indicated below: 

  • Petition 0642/18 concerning the transposition of Directive (EU) 2015/849 (the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive - 4AMLD) in Romania, allegedly imposing on non-governmental organisations excessive reporting duties about their donors, supporters or “real beneficiaries” of their services and activities. The Commission has not identified any lack of compliance.
  • Petition 1416/13 concerning a car insurance refusal by a German insurer with a licence plate of another Member State during a temporary stay in the Member State of the insurer, possibly in breach of Directive 2009/103/EC (Motor Insurance Directive – MID). Following evaluation of MID, including a public consultation, no such issues were identified.
  • Petition 0775/22 concerning lack of enforcement of Regulation (EU) 909/2014 (Central Securities Depositories Regulation - CSDR) by not imposing penalties on market participants, who fail to deliver shares, margin calls, and mandatory buy-in rules. The proposal is subject to deliberations in the European Parliament and the Council, and therefore no further action by the Commission is deemed necessary at this stage.
  • Petition 0820/22 requesting the Commission to hold Cyprus accountable for failing to ensure adequate consumer protection. The petitioner refers to fraudulent practices when commercial bank is selling bonds to investors and requests setting up a fund to compensate losses occurred (legal basis: Directives 2014/65/EU and 97/9/EC). The Commission services concluded that the national authorities had sanctioned the commercial bank for the breach of national laws transposing several EU Directives. Also, the case did not fall under the scope of the safeguards for investors laid down in the Investor-Compensation Schemes Directive (Directive 97/9/EC).
  • Petition 0542/20 concerning the allegedly bad application of the anti-money laundering rules by the Spanish public authorities, in cases where employees identifying and verifying customers and their sources of funds (due diligence process) are being subject to reprisal afterwards. The Commission services concluded that the petition referred to an individual case, which must be dealt with by the relevant national courts or administrative bodies.
  • Petition 1031/22 concerning a legal protection insurance contract, which was terminated by the German insurer because the petitioner moved to another Member State. The conditions for terminating an insurance policy are governed by national civil or contract laws and the terms of the insurance contracts. The petition did not contain sufficient elements allowing to conclude that the national law was in violation of free movement and residence rights or a breach of Union law.
  • Petition 0051/23 concerning the refusal to access the confidential section of documentation regarding an entry in the national register of the bank, which was subject to restructuring in Poland. The petitioner claimed the breach of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and Directive 2014/59/EU. No evidence was found for a systemic breach of Union law regarding resolution and recovery of credit institutions, read in light of the Charter.
  • Petition 0208/23 alleges tax evasion and potential money laundering through the transfer of non-performing loans, largely guaranteed by Greece, to private investors in Ireland under a specialised tax regime. EU Directives (Directives 2008/48/EC, 2014/17/EU and 2021/2167/EU) ensure fair treatment of borrowers and stipulate that creditor rights’ transfer should not compromise consumer protection. No breach of EU law was identified.

The Commission has pursued investigations on issues raised in the following petitions:

  • Petition 0856/18 concerning allegedly non-compliant national law with EU law, in particular, Directive 2009/18 (Solvency II), depriving insurance companies in Greece of the right to carry out the activity referred to as ‘road assistance’ and allowing undertakings not authorised to operate as insurance companies to carry out such activities. Greece adopted a national measure, which clarified that insurance undertakings were not excluded from provision of roadside assistance.
  • Three petitions (0502/2016 – 0503/2016 – 0506/16) about allegedly fraudulent investment activities by an investment firm in Cyprus, which did not execute requested withdrawals of the clients’ funds, and which did not comply with the EU transparency requirements. The petitions also claimed lack of adequate national supervision of the allegedly fraudulent investment firm. The Commission and the European Supervisory Authority (ESA) received numerous complaints on the same subject matter. Following contacts with the Cypriot national supervisor and the relevant ESA, an EU Pilot dialogue and a subsequent infringement proceeding, national legislation was amended concerning the implementation of the transparency requirements.

Important preliminary rulings

  • Beobank - C-351/21;
  • BG [individual person] (Octroi de prêts sans autorisation) - C-427/22;
  • Xella Magyarország - C-106/22;
  • Nemzeti Adó- és Vámhivatal Fellebbviteli Igazgatósága - C-279/22;
  • PrivatBank and Others - C-78/21;
  • KBC Verzekeringen - C-286/22;
  • AR and Others (Action directe contre l’assureur) - C-618/21;
  • Lineas – Concessões de Transportes SGPS, S.A. - C-207/22 (Joined Cases C-207/22, C-267/22, C-290/22);
  • Cofidis - C-340/22.

Outlook for 2024

In 2024, the Commission will:

  • continue the conformity assessment for the Directive 2014/92/EU Payments Account Directive (PAD), Directive 2014/17/EU Mortgage Credit Directive (MCD) and Directive (EU) 2015/2366 Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2);
  • monitor the application and, where relevant, implementation of the following Regulations: Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR – Regulation (EU) 909/2014), Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR – Regulation (EU) 2015/2365) and the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR – Regulation (EU) 648/2012. It will also continue its support to Member States by continuing to reply to Q&As related to the mentioned Regulations;
  • finalise the transposition checks and continue monitoring the application of the Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2021/1270 (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) sustainability Directive) and Directive (EU) 2019/1160 with regard to cross-border distribution of collective investment undertakings;
  • continue to support the Member States in their transposition of Directive 2022/2426 (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive - CSRD) and will start the completeness assessment of the Directive once the transposition deadline has passed. The Commission also intends to adopt a public Q&A on the CSRD in 2024;
  • continue conformity assessments for 5th Capital Requirements Directive (CRDV – Directive 2019/878), Investment Firms Directive (IFD – Directive 2019/2034) and Covered Bonds Directive (CBD – Directive 2019/2162) and the Commission services plan to organise transposition workshops for 6th Capital Requirement Directive (CRDVI);
  • continue conformity assessments for Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive II (BRRD II – Directive 2019/879) and will commence completeness and conformity assessments of the Daisy Chain Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2022/2036) and of the Daisy Chain Directive (based on the Commission proposal - COM/2023/224 final), assuming the transposition deadline of that Directive will fall before end 2024, insofar as they amend Directive 2014/59/EU. The Commission plans to organise transposition workshops for Insurance Recovery and Resolution Directive (IRRD) (Commission proposal – COM/2021/582);
  • focus on ensuring the correct and effective application of the EU anti-money laundering legal framework once transposition has been deemed complete;
  • organise transposition workshops in relation to the Directives amending the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD – Directive 2011/61/EU) and the Undertakings For Collective Investment In Transferable Securities Directive (UCITSD – Directive 2009/65/EC). The Commission will also organise an implementation workshop on the application of the revised European Long-Term Investment Funds (ELTIF - Regulation (EU) 2023/606) in the course of 2024;
  • continue monitoring of implementation of restrictive measures (sanctions) adopted under the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) framework;
  • organise transposition workshops for the Solvency II Directive (Directive 2009/138/EC) in the light of new implementing and delegated acts;
  • continue collecting questions on the interpretation or the application of the sustainable finance framework and will publish, where necessary, further FAQs. The Commission will also continue its regular structured policy development and outreach with the Member States Expert Group and the Platform on Sustainable Finance, a Commission group of external experts tasked with advising the Commission on the development of the sustainable finance framework;
  • continue developing the Beneficial Ownership Registers Interconnection System (‘BORIS’) project to connect the national central registers holding beneficial ownership information. The purpose is to ensure that there is a central access point to all the information on beneficial owners in EU as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.