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Commission decides to refer Greece, Malta and Portugal to the Court of Justice of the European Union to ensure transposition of the reinforced rules to promote renewable energy
Today, the European Commission decided to refer Greece, Malta and Portugal to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to transpose into national legislation the EU's recent rules to promote renewable energy, which were introduced by Directive (EU) 2023/2413 amending Directive (EU) 2018/2001 on the promotion of energy from renewable sources.
The new rules aim to accelerate the development of renewable energy and the roll-out of homegrown clean energy across the EU in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen energy independence and lower energy prices. It seeks to deploy renewable energy in all sectors of the economy, not only in the power sector, but also and especially in those sectors where progress is more difficult like heating and cooling, buildings, transport and industry, where new or strengthened targets have been set. They introduce horizontal and cross-cutting measures to promote the deployment of renewables, such as the strengthening of guarantees of origin, facilitating energy system integration through the promotion of electrification and renewable hydrogen, and safeguards to ensure a more sustainable bioenergy production. The promotion of renewable energy is crucial for Europe's competitiveness and path to climate neutrality and a key element of the Affordable Energy Action Plan as well as the REPowerEU plan.
Greece, Malta and Portugal were required to transpose most of the new provisions of the Directive by 21 May 2025, promoting the development of renewables in all sectors (electricity, heating and cooling, transport, buildings and industry). The Commission sent these three Member States a letter of formal notice in July 2025 for not having notified any transposition measures. In December 2025, after assessing their replies, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Greece and Portugal for not having notified any transposition measures, and to Malta for not having notified a correlation table or explanatory document specifying where each provision of the Directive has been transposed. Failure to notify transposition measures or to provide sufficiently clear and precise information on how the Directive has been transposed can be pursued and fined under Article 260(3) TFEU since it is considered that, in such a situation, no transposition has taken place.
To date, more than a year after the transposition deadline expired, Greece and Portugal have not yet notified any transposition measures, and Malta has not yet notified any correlation table or explanatory document specifying where they have transposed each provision of the Directive. Therefore, the Commission is referring these Member States to the Court of Justice of the European Union and requesting the Court to impose financial sanctions.
Background
Directive (EU) 2023/2413 amended Directive (EU) 2018/2001 in order to increase the use of renewable energy in the Union as a means to decarbonise the energy sector, reduce energy prices and increase energy independence, especially after Russia's war of aggression towards Ukraine. Directive (EU) 2023/2413 entered into force in November 2023 and has one general transposition deadline (21 May 2025) and a specific transposition deadline for some provisions related to the permitting procedures for renewable energy projects (1 July 2024). The provisions covered by the general transposition deadline set an EU level binding target for 2030 of at least 42.5% renewable energy and include measures to promote cooperation between Member States and increase renewable energy in buildings, industry, heating and cooling and transport. They also include measures to accelerate permitting procedures for renewable energy installations in certain areas and facilitate the integration of renewable energy into the electricity system thanks to the contribution of electric vehicles. In addition, they seek to increase the use of renewable hydrogen in those sectors where electrification is not fully possible and strengthen criteria to ensure the sustainability of bioenergy.
As guardian of the Treaties, the Commission must ensure the full and correct transposition of EU law into national legislation. When it comes to the enforcement of Directive (EU) 2023/2413, the Commission has so far initiated infringement procedures against 26 Member States for failure to notify complete transposition measures of the Directive by the deadline of 21 May 2025.
For more information
Infringement decisions database and infringements map and graphs
Infringement procedure Greece (INFR(2025)0214), Malta (INFR(2025)0233), Portugal (INFR(2025)0241)