VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - As part of its monthly package of infringement decisions, the European Commission Thursday decided to refer Spain and Ireland to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The Commission is taking Spain to the Court of Justice over poor waste management in the regions of Andalusia, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Castile-La Mancha, Castile and León and Murcia. Despite earlier warnings from the Commission, Spain has failed to take measures to close, seal and ecologically restore 61 illegal landfills, as laid down by EU waste legislation.
The European Commission is referring Ireland to the Court because the car tax applied to rented and leased vehicles is not in line with EU rules. Ireland is infringing EU law by levying the full amount of car tax, even though the amount levied in excess is refunded at a later stage, once the vehicle is registered in another country.
In addition, the Commission is sending 15 reasoned opinions to a total of 13 Member States: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Romania, as well as 8 letters of formal notice to Ireland, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain, Germany and France.
The Commission requested Lithuania to transpose provisions of EU directives on quality and safety standards for medical procedures involving reproductive cells
The Commission requested Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania and Spain to communicate all the national measures taken to ensure full implementation of the Directive on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography.
The Commission requested Austria to comply with EU rules on unfair commercial practices,
Germany was urged to comply with EU rules on pilot licensing.
Commission requested Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands to complete the implementation of their common airspace.
The Commission is also closing 59 cases where the issues with the Member States concerned have been solved without the Commission needing to pursue the procedure further.
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