Spain is ordered to pay a penalty payment

The Commission asked the Court of Justice to declare that Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Directive on the protection of personal data

The Commission considers that that Member State failed to adopt national measures transposing the Directive and to notify those measures. It, therefore, asked the Court to impose on Spain, pursuant to the provisions of Article 260(3) TFEU, first, a penalty payment of € 89 548.20 for each day of delay as from the date of delivery of the judgment in the present case and, second, the payment of a lump sum of approximatively € 15 500 000.

On 20 July 2018, since the Commission had not received from Spain any information on the measures transposing the Directive by the expiry of the deadline laid down (6 May 2018), the Commission had sent a letter of formal notice to Spain requesting it to notify those measures. That letter having had no effect, the Commission sent Spain a reasoned opinion on 25 January 2019, inviting it to adopt the necessary measures within a two-month period

Spain does not dispute that it has failed to fulfil its obligations to adopt and notify the measures transposing the Directive and accepts that the very exceptional institutional circumstances which, in its view, delayed the activities of the national government and parliament for the purpose of the adoption of the required transposition measures.

By today’s judgment, the Court declares that Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations

The Court considers that the infringement thus established falls within the scope of Article 260(3) TFEU since no transposition measure within the meaning of that provision has been notified to the Commission by the expiry of that period.

As regards the financial penalties requested by the Commission, the Court points out, in the first place, that the imposition of a penalty payment is, in principle, justified only if the failure persists up to the time of the Court’s examination of the facts

In the light of the seriousness and duration of the infringement, the Court orders Spain to pay the Commission a lump sum in the amount of € 15 000 000 and, should the infringement established have persisted up to the date of delivery of its judgment, as from that date and until the infringement established has been brought to an end, a daily penalty payment of € 89 000.

The present judgment is the first in which the Court imposes, pursuant to Article 260(3) TFEU, the two types of financial penalties concurrently.