The European Commission has decided to sue Spain before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for failing to incorporate into its legal system the recent changes in capital buffer regulations required of European banks, despite Member States having until November 2024 to complete this adaptation.
In particular, Spain has not incorporated into its legislation certain elements of the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities provided for in the revision of the Directive on sub-groups of companies, which establishes that these buffers be set on a consolidated basis for a broader spectrum of entities and introduces differentiated treatment for those entities expected to be subject to liquidation through ordinary insolvency proceedings in case of bankruptcy.
According to Brussels, to date all Member States, with the sole exception of Spain, have already communicated the transposition of these rules. In the Spanish case, the non-compliance persists despite the fact that the Community services sent the national authorities a letter of formal notice in January 2025, which formalized the start of the infringement procedure.
In July 2025, Brussels activated the second phase of the infringement procedure by sending a reasoned opinion, granting a new period for dialogue and correction of the detected deficiencies. However, the lack of progress in the discussions has now led the Commission to refer the matter to the CJEU and to request the imposition of a financial penalty on Spain for maintaining this non-compliance.