The European Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to Greece under the infringement procedure of Article 258 TFEU for failure to adequately transpose the provisions of Directive 2011/7/EU on late payments into national law.
Each Member State of the European Union must fully apply EU law. The body responsible for identifying possible violations of EU law is the European Commission. Where a Member State does not apply EU law and breaches its obligations under the EU Treaties, the European Commission may open a formal infringement procedure under Articles 258 and 260 TFEU (see details on the infringement procedure here).
The procedure that the European Commission has initiated against Greece in this case concerns the provisions of Directive 2011/7/EU on late payments. Late payments have a negative effect on businesses, as they reduce their liquidity, prevent them from growing, hamper their resilience, in particular in the current economic context, and their capacity to become more green and digital. The Late Payment Directive obliges public authorities to pay their invoices within 30 days (or 60 days for public hospitals) and public authorities should set a good example in the fight against bad payment culture in the business environment. According to the Commission, between 2010 and 2020, Greece adopted a rule providing for the immediate payment of long-term debts of public hospitals to their private suppliers, provided that these suppliers waive their rights to interest, damages and remedies.
According to the Commission, the regulation in question is in breach of EU rules as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU, in particular in its judgement in Case C-555/14. Greece now has two months to respond to the Commission’s arguments. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer the Member State in question to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The application of EU law is an obligation of the Member States of the European Union. If infringements of EU law are identified, the European Commission may take a series of actions against the Member State concerned to ensure the correct and full application of EU law by opening infringement proceedings under Articles 258 and 260 TFEU.
In this case, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion due to the incorrect application of the EU rules on late payments.
Greece has two months to respond to the Commission’s arguments. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer the Member State concerned to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
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