Infringement Procedure How EU law is enforced

As of: 06/09/2021 4:21 p.m.

In order to enforce the law of the European Union in the EU states, there is the infringement procedure. It can lead to heavy fines. By Christoph Kehlbach, ARD legal editors The law of the European Union is to be implemented in the EU member states. There is a formal procedure to enforce this: the infringement procedure. In extreme cases, the European Court of Justice can impose very considerable penalties as a means of pressure.

Reason: breach of obligation under the EU treaties

As a rule, infringement proceedings are initiated by the EU Commission. And then when it comes to the conclusion that a member state of the European Union is not complying with EU law. This is where the EU Commission’s designation as the “guardian of the EU treaties” comes from. Specifically, it can mean that the respective state does not transpose an EU directive into national law. Such directives regulate, for example, EU-wide consumer protection. All member states are obliged to implement them. Or that a state enacts laws that run counter to an obligation under the EU treaties. For example, because they impermissibly restrict the free movement of goods and services. The commission then first contacts the state directly. If that doesn’t help, she can ultimately bring the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

As a rule, the EU Commission initiates infringement proceedings. Image: picture alliance / dpa / XinHua It is also possible that it is not the Commission but another EU country that initiates infringement proceedings. However, he must first contact the Commission. Only if this remains inactive can this state take legal action directly at the ECJ. That happens very rarely. A prominent example of such an exceptional case was the dispute over the car toll planned by the federal government for cars that are not registered in Germany: Austria saw this as discrimination and became active after the EU Commission had not acted. Ultimately, this is how the toll came before the ECJ. This overturned her in a spectacular decision in the summer of 2019 : The court came to the judgment that the toll discriminates against citizens and companies from other EU countries and thus restricts the freedom of goods and services.

Three-step process

In the vast majority of cases, however, it is the commission itself that takes action on its own initiative. The “normal” procedure is clearly regulated: If the EU Commission sees a violation, it demands one first step write to the state concerned to comment. The country must then respond within a specified period. Usually this period is two months. Now it is at least conceivable that Brussels will be persuaded by this response letter, i.e. that it will understand that there is no violation of EU law. Then the process ends at this point. However, if the Commission comes to the conclusion after an answer that there is indeed a violation of EU law, then it gives in one second step issued an official statement. In this, the Commission justifies its view and calls on the state to ensure that the situation that is contrary to EU law is ended. Within a further period (again it is usually two months) the state must then provide information about what it has done for this purpose. If the state does not meet its duty within this period, or does so insufficiently, the commission may in a third step bring the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The judges in Luxembourg then give a judgment on the matter. Such a judgment against Germany there was, for example, the beginning of June 2021 : It was about the years Exceeding limit values ​​for nitrogen dioxide . If the ECJ is right to the Commission, i.e. if, as in this case, there has been a violation of the EU treaties, the state concerned must then take action to remedy this situation. Or prove that the illegal situation has already been eliminated.

In infringement proceedings, the European Court of Justice decides whether EU law has been violated – and can ultimately even impose high fines. Image: picture alliance / dpa

Financial sanctions possible after judgment

If a state still does not meet its obligations after such a ruling by the ECJ, the EU Commission can appeal to the ECJ again. This second court case is about financial sanctions. At the proposal of the Commission, the ECJ can then set a regular penalty payment against the state, or levy a lump sum – or combine both. The longer a state allows a violation of the EU treaties to persist, the more expensive it becomes. For example, due to data protection violations, lump-sum payments in the double-digit million range do occur – often combined with a daily penalty rate of tens of thousands of euros. Such penalties are always only the very last step.

Particularly delicate situation

The infringement procedure regarding the ECB judgment from Karlsruhe is particularly tricky: Because this is not simply a matter of Germany failing to transpose an EU legal norm into national law or failing to achieve certain benchmarks. Rather, the subject of the specific infringement proceedings is for the first time a judgment by the highest German court. To be more precise: A judgment in which the Federal Constitutional Court found that the European Central Bank (ECB) and also the ECJ have exceeded their competences . Ultimately, if the proceedings are not terminated beforehand, a curious situation could arise: the ECJ could decide whether a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, which certifies that the ECJ has made a massive error, violates EU law.

Apple is expanding Facetime On the way to the digital campfire

Status: 08.06.2021 7:46 p.m.

Apple renews its Facetime app. The group is not only reacting to competition from providers such as Zoom, but is also opening up to Windows and Android devices. From Marcus Schuler, ARD studio Los Angeles Apple is slowly opening up to Android and Windows devices with its video chat service Facetime. It’s almost a small revolution – at least by Apple standards. Software boss Craig Federighi sold the news as follows: “Not only Apple devices can do something with the Facetime link. Users with Android or Windows can also open it directly in their browser and take part in the chat.” So far, Apple has struggled when it came to opening up core functionalities on its iPhone or desktop computers. But the popularity of video chat services like Zoom has exploded in the Corona crisis. Apple reacts precisely to this development and has given its Facetime app a fundamental facelift.

Competition for Zoom

From there, you can send links to friends with Android phones or Windows computers in order to meet with them in the Facetime chat. Marc Gurman, an analyst at the Bloomberg business service, says Apple is primarily competing with Zoom. Among other things, with scheduling and improved sound and picture quality. The new Facetime app is supposed to deliver a bit of a digital campfire. With the help of the app, you will be able to listen to music and watch videos together in the future without interrupting the chat. It should be possible to watch programs together with friends. Ambient noises should be better suppressed in the chat app. There will also be a portrait mode that blurs the background.

More control and more data protection as an issue

The second big innovation on Apple’s smartphones concerns the notification functions. They give users more control over how and when they want to be disturbed or undisturbed. “There are new features with which you can adapt the notifications to different activities. For example, while you are working or want to be undisturbed,” says analyst Gurman. Data protection and privacy have been playing an increasingly important role at Apple for the past three years. The Californian company is trying to sharpen its profile in order to differentiate itself more strongly from its competitor Google and its Android system. So-called tracking pixels are now blocked in the Group’s mail app. Advertisers and marketing people are likely to be annoyed with Apple again. You can no longer check whether and where an e-mail has been opened.

Information technology and business operations-new opportunities in the post-epidemic era

With the increase in investment in artificial intelligence, the demand for data analysts and technical application talents with financial background has risen sharply. The “FinTech Development Plan (2019-2021)” proposes to thoroughly grasp the characteristics of the development of the new generation of artificial intelligence, and steadily promote the deep integration of artificial intelligence technology and financial services. Undoubtedly, expanding the application scenarios of artificial intelligence technology will be one of the areas that the financial field will focus on in the next few years.

Image source: The HKBU School of Business (The HKBU School of Business)

All the vocabulary related to information technology—artificial intelligence, data, technology, financial technology, etc.—may give people the impression of “good prospects for the professional field of information technology”, but at the same time ignore an important essence Reason: The reason why the demand for the above-mentioned talents will increase is that the company needs to continue to develop and grow its business. In other words, information technology majors and business operations and other economic management majors complement each other and complement each other. In the actual operation and management of enterprises, information technology professionals should have business knowledge and understanding of business operations. At the same time, corporate executives should improve their information technology to understand how to promote business development.

Affected by the new crown epidemic, in order to avoid physical contact, many activities from business meetings to personal shopping have been moved online. If companies cannot directly interact with customers and cannot read their facial expressions, how can they understand users in order to adjust products and strategies? In fact, professionals can solve this problem by reading data reports. The new crown epidemic also poses a challenge to the “non-contact” and precise service capabilities of the financial industry, and it also provides an unprecedented opportunity for the development of financial technology. Data reading also helps bridge the gap between modern data and different business functions (such as sales and marketing), and provides historical analysis for data-driven decision-making. As data analysis is increasingly used in e-commerce and other activities, the market’s demand for talents who can interpret data and transform it into business actions has also skyrocketed.

In addition, the use of technology in people’s daily life scenes has become more popular, which also brings people closer together than ever. Whether it’s communicating with friends and family, booking services and products, or just planning commute routes to avoid traffic congestion and maintain social distancing, all this data has accelerated the development of smart cities around the world, while also helping people build smarter and smarter cities. Sustainable cities. Therefore, the market needs more professionals with effective data analysis skills to conduct predictive analysis and provide solutions before problems arise.

At present, some business schools have successively provided related courses in data analysis or artificial intelligence. On the one hand, the company’s business and technology have reached a good balance; on the other hand, the development of new technologies has also well met the new demands of the market and the world.

Image source: The HKBU School of Business (The HKBU School of Business)

The Hong Kong Baptist University School of Business (The HKBU School of Business) has triple accreditation from three major accreditation agencies-International Association for the Promotion of International Business Schools (AACSB), European Accreditation Organization (EQUIS) and Association of Masters of Business Administration (AMBA), worldwide Only 1% of business schools have this triple certification at the same time. The school offers two highly sought-after postgraduate courses, namely the Master of Data Analysis and Business Economics (MScDABE) and the Master of Finance (MScFIN), which have been awarded by world-renowned technology giants and financial authorities such as Tencent, Deloitte, BNP Paribas support.

The Master of Data Analysis and Business Economics is career-oriented. The curriculum focuses on the value of economic principles in the current development of data science and the necessary programming skills to solve practical business problems. This major enables graduates to fill the talent gap in smart city development. Graduates can work as project managers, data analysts or data strategists in the fields of product and website design and risk management in any commercial company or public institution.

The industry advisory committee of the Master of Finance program is highly representative, which is responsible for evaluating and designing courses and providing recommendations. The committee is composed of some of the world’s largest and most prestigious companies, including Alipay, UBS, Ant Financial, etc., to ensure that the course content can meet the current and future needs of the financial technology industry. The curriculum covers financial computing, financial data machine learning, blockchain and cryptocurrency, network security and privacy, algorithmic trading and other topics.

Welcome to contact the Business School of Hong Kong Baptist University to learn more about artificial intelligence + financial technology and business.