The European Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to the Spanish Government to demand that it complete the incorporation into national legislation of Community rules that strengthen the protection of employees against the risks arising from asbestos exposure. If Spain does not adapt its legal framework, Brussels is prepared to take the case to the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) and request the imposition of a financial penalty on the country.
This step represents the second phase of an infringement procedure that the Community executive also has open against Cyprus, the Netherlands, Poland, and Slovakia, for not having yet communicated the necessary measures to fully transpose European regulations within the set deadline, which concluded in December 2021, although certain provisions may apply until 2029.
As the Community services emphasize in an official note, asbestos is a high-risk carcinogenic substance, to which approximately 75% of occupational cancers in the European Union are attributed.
In this context, the Community directive on the protection of workers sets specific requirements to strengthen the safety of employees against this dangerous material.
Among the obligations that should have already been incorporated into national laws is the reduction of the maximum occupational exposure limit to asbestos to one-tenth of the previous level (from 0.1 to 0.01 fibers per cubic centimeter), based on the latest scientific and technological advances.
The procedure was initiated in January 2026, when Brussels sent letters of formal notice to about ten Member States. Since then, four of them have taken measures to correct the non-compliance, while the other six, including Spain, continue to not fully comply with the modifications required by the Commission.
Following this new warning, a period of two months is opened for the authorities to adopt the "necessary measures" and, "if they fail to do so, the Commission may choose to refer the matters to the Court of Justice of the European Union and request that financial penalties be imposed on them."