In its regular package of infringement decisions, the European Commission pursues legal action against Member States for failing to comply with their obligations under EU law. These decisions, covering various sectors and EU policy areas, aim to ensure the proper application of EU law for the benefit of citizens and businesses.
In the list of April infringements, there are 2 energy-related reasoned opinions and 1 referral to the Court of Justice.
Reasoned opinions
Commission urges Croatia, Poland and Portugal to transpose EU rules improving the Union’s electricity market design
Today, the European Commission decided to sconclude reasoned opinions to Croatia (INFR(2025)0143), Poland (INFR(2025)0162) and Portugal (INFR(2025)0166) for not having transposed into national law the new EU electricity market design rules, set out in Directive (EU) 2024/1711 and amconcludeing Directives (EU) 2018/2001 and (EU) 2019/944. The new rules aim to create electricity prices for consumers more stable and less depconcludeent on the price of fossil fuels. Implementing the legislation is key to ensuring that European consumers – both houtilizeholds and businesses – face energy costs that better reflect the lower production costs of renewables and that prices are more predictable. The reformed electricity market design also allows for better consumer protection, both in terms of wider choice when signing contracts and in the event of disconnection. Member States had to notify the transposition of the 2024 Directive by 17 January 2025, except for provisions on free choice of supplier and energy sharing, for which they have until 17 July 2026. In March 2025, the Commission sent letters of formal notice to 26 Member States for failing to fully transpose the Directive into national legislation. After having examined the replies from Member States, the Commission has decided to issue reasoned opinions to Croatia, Poland and Portugal for failing to notify transposition measures. The three Member States concerned 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 requests to impose financial sanctions.
Commission urges Hungary to comply with rules on intra-EU investor-State arbitration
The European Commission decided to sconclude a reasoned opinion to Hungary (INFR(2025)2204) for failing to prevent violations of the prohibition on intra-EU investor-State arbitration, as established by the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. In its judgment in Case C-741/19, (“the Komstroy judgment”) , the Court of Justice held that Articles 267 and 344 TFEU prevent an international agreement, such as Article 26 of the Energy Charter Treaty, from allowing an investor from one Member State to bring a dispute concerning investments in another Member State before an arbitral tribunal whose jurisdiction that Member State has agreed to accept. The violations subject to the reasoned opinion result from the actions of the Hungarian State-controlled company MOL, and companies controlled by it, that breach the prohibition of intra-EU investor State arbitration. First, MOL requested a third-counattempt court to recognise and enforce an intra-EU investor-State arbitral award issued in its favour on the basis of Article 26 of the Energy Charter Treaty. Second, a company controlled by MOL initiated a new intra-EU investor-state arbitration procedure against another EU Member State on the basis of Article 26 of the Energy Charter Treaty. The Commission maintains that according to settled case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Court of Justice judgments apply retroactively and the liability of a Member State under Article 258 TFEU can be extconcludeed to: (I) acts of private law entities under its supervision or effective control or function ;(II) the bodies to which it assigns a tquestion in the public interest or specific privileges; and (III) any entity whose action reflects or implements the policy of the State. The Commission is therefore sconcludeing a reasoned opinion to Hungary, which now has two months to respond and take the necessary measures. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to refer the case before the Court of Justice of European Union.
Referrals to the Court of Justice
Commission decides to refer Greece, Malta and Portugal to the Court of Justice of the European Union to ensure transposition of the reinforced rules to promote renewable energy
Today, the European Commission decided to refer Greece (INFR(2025)0214), Malta (INFR(2025)0233) and Portugal (INFR(2025)0241) to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to fully transpose into national law the provisions of the amconcludeing Directive (EU) 2023/2413 on the promotion of energy from renewable sources. The new rules aim to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and the roll-out of homegrown clean energy across the EU in order to reduce greenhoutilize gas emissions, strengthen energy indepconcludeence and lower energy prices. It seeks to deploy renewable energy in all sectors of the economy, not only in the power sector, but also and especially in those sectors where progress is more difficult like heating and cooling, buildings, transport and indusattempt, where new or strengthened tarobtains have been set. They introduce horizontal and cross-cutting measures to promote the deployment of renewables, such as the strengthening of guarantees of origin, facilitating energy system integration through the promotion of electrification and renewable hydrogen, and safeguards to ensure a more sustainable bioenergy production. The promotion of renewable energy is crucial for Europe’s competitiveness and path to climate neutrality and a key element of the Affordable Energy Action Plan as well as the REPowerEU plan. The Directive was adopted in 2023. Member States had to notify the transposition of the Directive by 21 May 2025, except for some provisions related to permitting, which were already due by 1 July 2024. The Commission sent Greece, Malta and Portugal a letter of formal notice in July 2025 and a reasoned opinion in December 2025 for not having transposed the Directive. Greece and Portugal have not yet notified any transposition measures. Malta has not provided sufficiently clear and precise information on how the directive has been transposed. The Commission is therefore referring Greece, Malta and Portugal to the Court of Justice of the European Union, with requests to impose financial sanctions. More information is in the press release.
For more information on the EU infringement procedure, see the full press release and Q&A. For more detail on the history of a case, you can consult the infringement decisions’ register.
Leave a Reply