The European Commission launched new energy-related enforcement actions against five Member States, including court referrals involving EU emissions trading rules, it said Thursday.
The June infringement package includes three energy-related reasoned opinions, an additional reasoned opinion, and one referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Commission said.
The Commission sent reasoned opinions to Hungary and Romania for failing to fully incorporate the recast Energy Efficiency Directive into national law by the required deadline, it said.
The revised directive, adopted in 2023 to replace Directive 2012/27/EU, introduced stronger energy-saving requirements and required Member States to notify the Commission of transposition measures by Oct. 11, 2025, the Commission said.
The Commission said Hungary and Romania have not yet notified any transposition measures and now have two months to respond, after which it may refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union and seek financial sanctions.
The Commission also issued a reasoned opinion to Romania for failing to submit an updated assessment on the potential use of high-efficiency cogeneration and efficient district heating systems.
Romania remains the only Member State that has not provided the assessment required by Dec. 31, 2020, despite receiving a formal notice in January 2023, the Commission said.
The assessments help Member States identify opportunities to improve heating and cooling efficiency, expand the use of renewable energy, and reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, the Commission said.
The Commission sent an additional reasoned opinion to Cyprus for failing to fully transpose provisions of the revised Renewable Energy Directive aimed at accelerating permitting procedures for renewable energy projects.
The directive entered into force in November 2023 and required Member States to implement the relevant permitting provisions by July 1, 2024, the Commission said.
The Commission said Cyprus previously received a reasoned opinion in February 2025 and now has two months to address remaining gaps or risk referral to the Court of Justice and financial sanctions.
The revised Renewable Energy Directive seeks to speed renewable energy deployment by simplifying permitting procedures, setting approval deadlines, and supporting grid infrastructure needed to connect new capacity, the Commission said.
Separately, the Commission referred Spain to the Court of Justice for failing to transpose amendments to the EU Emissions Trading System Directive by the Dec. 31, 2023, deadline.
The Commission also referred Spain and Poland to the Court of Justice for failing to implement revised emissions trading rules covering the aviation sector, it said.
The revised emissions trading framework extends the system to maritime transport, tightens emissions-reduction requirements, updates free-allocation rules, and strengthens the Innovation Fund and Modernization Fund, the Commission said.
The Commission said Spain has yet to communicate measures covering the ETS revision and parts of the aviation rules, while Poland has not notified measures implementing the revised aviation provisions, prompting requests for financial sanctions.