EU law: Commission steps up enforcement of EU law for the benefit of citizens, consumers and businesses

The Commission will set out today how it will step up its efforts on the application, implementation and enforcement of EU law for the benefit of all citizens, consumers and businesses. Common European rules matter in our daily lives – whether they increase food safety, improve air quality or make it easier and cheaper for SMEs to bid for public contracts. Often, when issues come to the fore – think of car emission testing, water pollution or illegal landfills – the problem is not the lack of EU rules but rather the lack of their effective application by Member States. That is why we need a robust and efficient enforcement system with the following components: (a) making sure that Member States live up to their responsibility to respect and enforce the rules they themselves had jointly put in place; (b) focusing the Commission’s enforcement on those cases where it makes a substantial difference, and stepping up financial sanctions for Member States when they fail to transpose directives on time; (c) raising citizens’ and businesses’ awareness of their rights.