EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 155/45

(Case C-154/23)

(2023/C 155/58)

Language of the case: Estonian

Parties

Applicant: European Commission (represented by: J. Baquero Cruz and L. Maran, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Republic of Estonia

Form of order sought

The Commission claims that the Court should:

(1)declare that, by failing to adopt all laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Directive (EU) 2019/1937 (1) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law and by failing to communicate those provisions to the Commission, the Republic of Estonia has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 26(1) and (3) of that directive;

(2)order the Republic of Estonia to pay the Commission a lump sum, corresponding to the higher of the following two sums: (i) a daily rate of EUR 600 multiplied by the number of days between the date following that of the expiry of the period for transposition laid down in that directive and the date on which the infringement is remedied or, in the event that it is not remedied, the date of delivery of the judgment in the present proceedings; (ii) a minimum lump sum of EUR 168 000;

(3)if the failure established under paragraph 1 continues until the date of delivery of the judgment in the present proceedings, order the Republic of Estonia to pay the Commission penalty payments of EUR 2 340 per day from the date of delivery of the judgment in the present proceedings until the Republic of Estonia has fulfilled its obligations under the Directive;

(4)order the Republic of Estonia to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law lays down an effective system for the protection of persons who work in a private or public organisation or who are in contact with those organisations and who notify an infringement of EU law in certain areas.

Pursuant to Article 26(1) of that directive, Member States were to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the Directive by 17 December 2021. Under Article 26(3) of that directive, Member States were also obliged to communicate to the Commission forthwith the text of the provisions adopted.

As the Commission had not received from Estonia any communication of the adoption of the provisions necessary to comply with the Directive, it sent a letter of formal notice to Estonia on 27 January 2022. As the Republic of Estonia had not notified the transposition of the Directive, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Estonia by letter of 15 July 2022, requesting it to take the necessary measures to comply with the Directive within two months of the reasoned opinion being sent.

The Republic of Estonia has still not adopted the measures necessary to transpose the Directive in full or notified those measures to the Commission.

(1) OJ 2019 L 305, p. 17.