The European Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to the Spanish Executive to pressure it to complete the incorporation into national legislation of Community provisions on the protection of workers against the risks arising from exposure to asbestos. If Spain does not adapt its legislation, Brussels will take the case to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) and request the imposition of a financial penalty.
This step represents the second phase of an infringement procedure that the Community Executive also maintains open against Cyprus, the Netherlands, Poland, and Slovakia, for not having communicated in time the measures that guarantee the full transposition of the directive. The general deadline to do so expired in December 2021, although certain provisions have a margin until 2029.
The Community services emphasize in a note that asbestos is a high-risk carcinogenic substance, responsible for approximately 75% of occupational cancer cases in the European Union.
In this context, the European directive sets specific requirements aimed at strengthening the protection of employees against this dangerous material.
Among the elements that should already be included in national laws is the reduction of the maximum occupational exposure limit for asbestos to one-tenth of the previous level (from 0.1 to 0.01 fibers per cubic centimeter), taking into account the most recent scientific and technological advances.
The procedure was initiated in January 2026, when the Commission sent letters of formal notice to about ten Member States. Since then, four of them have adopted the necessary measures to correct the non-compliance, but another six, including Spain, continue to not fully comply with the demands made by Brussels.
After the reasoned opinion is sent, a period of two months opens for the affected governments to adopt the "necessary measures" and, "if they do not do so, the Commission could choose to refer the matters to the Court of Justice of the European Union and request that financial sanctions be imposed on them."