Spain faces high EU directive transposition deficit

Spain has concluded its legislative term with the highest number of untransposed EU directives in the European Union. According to European Commission data, the transposition deficit stands at 5.5%, more than double the EU average.

This legislative paralysis is attributed to bottlenecks within the Spanish Congress, exacerbated by early elections that disrupted the processing of laws already past their deadlines. The European Commission has already referred several files against Spain to the Court of Justice of the EU, following previous steps in the infringement procedure.

While the accumulated fines for these infractions currently exceed 15 million euros, the financial impact has not yet prompted significant changes to the parliamentary agenda. The situation highlights a growing gap in regulatory reliability compared to other member states, such as Italy, which currently shows fewer delays in incorporating EU directives.