Filenews 20 July 2022
A package of infringement decisions due to non-notification by member states – including Cyprus – of the measures taken to transpose EU directives into national law was approved by the Commission.
The Commission sends a letter of formal notice to Member States that have not notified national measures transposing directives whose transposition deadline has recently expired.
In this regard, 26 Member States have not yet notified measures to fully transpose three directives in the areas of employment and social rights, taxation and customs union, financial services and capital markets union.
Member States now have two months to reply to letters of formal notice and to complete the transposition of the directives into national law. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.
European Accessibility Act
The European Accessibility Act requires that certain products and services, such as public transport, banking services and online shops, be accessible to people with disabilities, who are almost 87 million European citizens. Accessibility is a prerequisite for participation in society on an equal basis with others. Businesses selling products and services covered by the Directive must ensure that they comply with a set of common EU accessibility requirements by 28 June 2025.
Cyprus and the following Member States have not transposed the European Accessibility Act into national law by the deadline of 28 June 2022: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.
Basic information for investors
Each UCITS must provide 'key investor information' in line with EU rules. On 1 January 2023, UCITS will be required to provide the key information document for packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (the EDP for PRIIP). This document summarises and explains the key elements of each investment product – in particular costs, risks and potential returns – so that retail investors can better understand the product they are buying and compare it with other products.
Directive 2021/2261 amending Directive 2009/65/EC, the so-called UCITS Directive, aims to prevent retail investors from receiving two different pre-contractual disclosure documents for the same UCITS. In particular, as of 1 January 2023, the UCITS Directive will put an end to the obligation for retail investment funds to publish 'key investor information documents' of UCITS in order to avoid double pre-contractual disclosures.
The Commission is sending letters of formal notice to Cyprus, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Finland and Sweden, as they have not transposed the Directive into national law by the deadline of 30 June 2022.
