If you know that by not doing something you will be punished, why don't you do it? The question, 'simple', could be asked by any father or mother to their child. But it is also extrapolable to the higher instances: with a much more polished formulation, the European Union could perfectly ask the Government of Spain: “Why don't you transpose the directives, if you are aware that I can sanction you?”
The question would make perfect sense, since Spain is at the bottom of the EU in one of the indicators that measures to what extent member states incorporate community legislation into their national legal systems on time. The Country Report Spain 2026 states that this country has a 2.6% of directives pending transposition, compared to the European target of 1% and a community average of 1.1%. The average delay reaches 16.1 months, while the average of the continental entity stands at 9.7 months.
The report also counts 48 pending infringement procedures related to this area and an average duration of 55.8 months, compared to the 44.5 months of the European average. In addition, 1.4% of the directives appear to be incorrectly transposed, above the 1.1% of the community average. In the comparative table included in the report, Spain occupies the last place in the EU-27 in several of these indicators.
But what does it mean exactly that a directive has not been transposed? What deadline do states have to do so? And, above all, if non-compliance can end up before the Court of Justice of the European Union, why do delays continue to accumulate?
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What is a European directive and why does it need national law
A directive is one of the legislative instruments of the European Union. Unlike a regulation, which is directly applicable in member states, it establishes objectives and obligations that each country must incorporate into its own legal system through the necessary national rules.
This process is known as transposition of directives. The state must approve laws, royal decrees, or other provisions that allow the content required by the European norm to be transferred to national law and subsequently communicate those measures to the European Commission.
The transposition does not necessarily mean copying the approved text in Brussels literally. The States have, within the limits established by each directive, leeway to decide the form and legal instruments with which they achieve the set objectives. What they cannot do is fail to incorporate it or approve national legislation that does not adequately meet European requirements.
What deadline do countries have to transpose a directive
Each directive sets its own transposition deadline, which appears in the text of the norm. Generally, it is usually around two years. Therefore, there is no single period that applies to all European norms.
On the established date in each case, the State should have completed the process. If it has not communicated the national transposition measures or these do not correctly incorporate the required obligations, the Commission can intervene.
What happens when a country does not meet the deadline
Failure to meet the deadline does not automatically result in a fine the next day. The European Commission can initiate an infringement procedure, which normally follows several stages before reaching the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
The first step is usually a letter of formal notice, through which the Commission asks the affected State to explain its situation and provide a response. If it considers that the problem continues, it can issue a reasoned opinion, a formal request for the country to comply with its obligations within the established deadline.
If the State still does not resolve the situation, the Commission can decide to take the case to the CJEU. Most procedures are resolved before reaching this judicial phase.
So, why are there delays?
The cause of the delay is variable: a State may not have approved any national measure, have only transposed part of the directive, or have approved legislation that the Commission considers incorrect or insufficient.
The transposition process is complex, as it requires adapting national legislation and, in certain cases, coordinating regulatory changes that affect different administrations and areas of competence. The Country Report Spain 2026 does not attribute the Spanish figures to a single cause.
The European procedure is designed to give the State the opportunity to correct the non-compliance at various stages, and many cases are closed before the Court issues a ruling.
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The consequence is that between the expiration of the deadline set to transpose a directive and a possible economic sanction, there may be a prolonged administrative and judicial process. This does not mean that non-compliance is without consequences, but rather that the European system prioritizes first the correction of the infringement and reserves judicial intervention and economic sanctions for cases that are not resolved during the procedure.
Meanwhile, the delay in the incorporation of a directive can generate uncertainty about the applicable rules and prevent citizens and businesses from fully enjoying the effects provided by European legislation. The European Commission warns that delays in transposition affect the functioning of the internal market, precisely one of the areas in which Spain presents its worst results according to the figures collected in the Country Report Spain 2026.