Italia’s EU infringements have been at their highest for four years: 80 cases open
There haven’t been this many outstanding issues with Brussels since 2022. The environment and employment are the most frequently raised issues
Key points
EU infringements have been at an all-time high for four years, with the environment and employment topping the list of the most contentious issues. This is according to a report by the Chamber of Deputies’ Service for Relations with the European Union, published just recently, which states that, as of 24 July, there were 80 proceedings open against Italy (61 for breaches of EU law and 19 for failure to transpose directives within the prescribed time limits). Meanwhile, the government is working to pass the draft bill containing the 2026 European Delegation Act, which will include a series of adjustments to bring Italian legislation into line with EU rules.
At their highest since 2022
To find such a high number of ‘outstanding cases’ with Brussels, one has to go back to the end of 2022, when there were 82 infringement proceedings against Italia. The number then fell over the following three years, settling at 69, 64 and 69 cases respectively. Until this year, when the figure rose again to 80. Of these, the majority (67) are still at the pre-litigation stage, compared with the 13 that have already reached a judgement or beyond.
A European comparison
At present, the European Commission has opened a total of 1,899 infringement proceedings against us. Depending on how one chooses to interpret the ranking, Italia is 20th out of 27 if one proceeds in ascending order starting with the exemplary Denmark and its 36 pending cases, as the Montecitorio dossier does, or seventh – tied with Bulgaria – if one proceeds from top to bottom in a ranking led by Spain with 117 cases pending with Brussels, ahead of Poland (109), Hungary (99), Belgium (98), Portugal (96) and Greece (86).
Environment, employment and energy are the sectors most
If we look at the most controversial issues among the proceedings brought against our country, the environment clearly tops the list with 27 cases, followed by labour with nine, ahead of a small group of eight comprising energy, mobility/transport and financial stability. At European level, however, the top three are the environment (355 open proceedings), justice (336) and energy (239).
