On 14 May 2020, the European Commission decided to refer Cyprus, the Netherlands and Portugal to the Court of Justice for not having upgraded the connection between their respective national registers on road transport undertakings to the new version of the European Registers of Road Transport Undertakings (ERRU) by 30 January 2019, as required by Commission Implementing Regulation 2016/480.

ERRU follows up on the Member States’ obligation, under Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, to take all necessary measures to ensure that the national electronic registers are interconnected and accessible throughout the Union. In force since 1 January 2013, ERRU is an essential instrument to ensure enforcement of the European legislation, inasmuch as it allows the exchange of information between Member States on road transport undertakings established within the Union, which in turn ensures an in-depth supervision from the competent authorities.

The implementation of the new version of ERRU requires Member States to adapt their systems at national level by completing the connection and performing preliminary tests in accordance with the instructions of the Commission. Since Cyprus, Portugal and the Netherlands failed to comply with their obligations, in July 2019 the Commission sent them a letter of formal notice, followed by the reason opinion of November 2019. However, given that the Member States concerned did not act within the next two months, the Commission decided to refer them to the Court of Justice.

Marco Stillo