The Commission takes legal action against Greece: Under the microscope is the definition of “passive bribery”, but also hospital supplies – 2024-04-29 16:30:51

The Commission is initiating legal proceedings against Greece for three different issues that arose in April, as can be seen from the monthly Bundle of Violations that was issued.

The issues concern the way “passive bribery” is described in national legislation, Greece’s “inadequate” efforts to pay their suppliers, and compliance with rules regarding European airspace.

According to the document, the Commission initiates the procedures for the following three cases:

• Commission decides to refer Greece to the Court of Justice of the EU for not properly applying EU rules on late payments
• The Commission calls on Greece and Cyprus with a reasoned opinion to correctly transpose the rules to combat fraud against the EU’s financial interests
• The Commission calls on Greece, among other countries, to comply with EU rules on the Single European Sky and airspace management

It is noted that the European Commission, in its regular set of decisions on infringement cases, initiates legal proceedings against member states that do not comply with their obligations under EU law. These decisions, which cover different sectors and different EU policy fields, aim to ensure that EU law is properly implemented for the benefit of citizens and businesses.

Specifically, Greece’s violations concern:

1. The Commission decides to refer GREECE to the Court of Justice of the EU due to improper application of EU rules on late payments

Today the European Commission decided today to refer Greece [INFR(2023)2027] to the Court of Justice of the European Union, because it does not correctly apply the rules of the Late Payments Directive (Directive 2011/7/EU).

The Commission is referring Greece to the Court of Justice of the EU due to the incorrect practices of Greek public hospitals regarding payments to their suppliers. These hospitals do not comply with the obligation to pay their debts promptly when suppliers agree to waive their rights to interest, in violation of established case law. Late payments negatively impact businesses by reducing their liquidity, preventing their growth, hampering their resilience and potentially derailing their drive to become greener and more digital. In today’s economic environment, businesses—and especially SMEs—rely on regular payments to keep them running and making investments. The Late Payments Directive obliges public authorities to pay their invoices within 30 days (or 60 days for health authorities). The Commission considers that the efforts made so far by the Greek authorities are insufficient and, for this reason, refers Greece to the Court of Justice of the European Union

2. The Commission calls on GREECE and CYPRUS to correctly transpose the rules on combating fraud against the EU’s financial interests

Today the European Commission decided to send a reasoned opinion to Greece [INFR(2021)2236] and Cyprus [INFR(2021)2265], because they did not correctly transpose into their national law the directive on combating, through criminal law, fraud against the financial interests of the Union (the FDI Directive). These rules, on the one hand, increase the level of protection of the EU budget by harmonizing the definitions, sanctions and limitation periods of criminal offenses affecting the financial interests of the Union and, on the other hand, lay the foundations for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). The Commission first sent a letter of warning to Greece in December 2021 and to Cyprus in February 2022. After analyzing their responses, the Commission considered that Greece has not correctly transposed into its national law the provisions of the Directive that provide a definition of of “passive bribery” and “public official”. In addition, the Commission considered that certain provisions notified by Greece provide for rules that limit the effectiveness and deterrence of sanctions provided for criminal offenses falling within the scope of the Directive. The Commission also concluded that Cyprus has not fully transposed into national law certain provisions on the definition and liability of legal persons, as well as on Cyprus’ jurisdiction over the offense of money laundering, as required from the directive. For this reason, the Commission decided to send a reasoned opinion to Greece and Cyprus, which now have two months to respond and correct the deficiencies pointed out by the Commission. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer cases to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

3. The Commission calls on BELGIUM, GERMANY, GREECE, FRANCE, LUXEMBOURG and the NETHERLANDS to comply with EU rules on the Single European Sky and airspace management

The European Commission has decided to initiate infringement proceedings by sending a letter of warning to Belgium [INFR(2024)2019]Germany [INFR(2024)2021]France [INFR(2024)2020]Luxembourg [INFR(2024)2022] and the Netherlands [INFR(2024)2023], because they did not correctly apply certain legal provisions provided for in the Single European Sky performance mechanism and charging system for air navigation services established in Regulation (EC) No 549/2004 and Regulation (EC) no. 550/2004. The Commission found an absence of appropriate financial arrangements for air navigation services in some cross-border areas, an inappropriate or unjustified allocation of costs between en-route air navigation services and terminal air navigation services, as well as insufficient financial incentives for service providers. This absence affects not only the revenue of air navigation service providers but also the fees paid by airspace users such as customers. The Commission also decided to initiate infringement proceedings by sending a letter of warning to Greece [INFR(2024)2014], because it did not implement the necessary measures to ensure performance-based navigation (PBN) procedures at Greek airports, as required by Commission Implementing Regulations (EU) 2018/1048 and 2018/1139, nor did it complete the corrective action plan agreed with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Optimizing air traffic service routes and instrument approach procedures and providing air traffic/air navigation management services (ATM/ANS) using performance-based navigation (PBN) can bring benefits in terms of safety, capacity, environment and economic efficiency. For this reason, the Commission is sending a letter of formal notice to Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, which now have two months to respond and correct the shortcomings highlighted by the Commission. The Commission, if it does not receive a satisfactory answer, may decide to send a reasoned opinion.

See also: Burglary at the Ministry of Internal Affairs: The questions are multiplying – Investigations and the Prosecution of Electronic Crime

Michel-Gate: “Non-statutory traffic” and security gaps admitted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs – In the beginning the conclusion

SYRIZA on the Asimakopoulou scandal: “The government is exposed and accountable after the ministry’s admission that it committed illegal acts”

Asimakopoulou scandal: Michelle puts Kerameos and the Ministry of Internal Affairs “in the frame”