Will the deadline be extended?

Climate plan: No penalties for Austria for the time being

Climate and Infrastructure Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens): "No infringement proceedings are at the stage of an appeal to the ECJ."

(Bild: stock.adobe.com, APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH, Krone KREATIV)

Today, Sunday, June 30, marks the end of the deadline for submitting the National Climate and Energy Plan (NECP) to Brussels. It had already become known on Friday that Austria would not be able to meet the deadline. The EU Commission has been asked by Austria to extend the deadline until after the summer; according to the Ministry of the Environment, a response has not yet been received.

However, a spokesperson said on Sunday that no fines are currently expected as part of infringement proceedings.

"At the very beginning of a process"
With the expiry of the deadline, we are at the very beginning of a process that could only lead to said payments if the EU Commission were to file a corresponding complaint with the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

53 infringement proceedings pending
A total of 53 infringement proceedings are currently pending against Austria, as Minister for European Affairs Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP) recently announced in response to a parliamentary question from the SPÖ - and according to the EU Commission, countries such as the Czech Republic (54), the Netherlands (52), Cyprus (56) and France (56) have a similar number of proceedings pending.

Climate and Infrastructure Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) emphasized at the time in her response to the question that no infringement proceedings relating to her department were in the process of being brought before the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The threat of a conviction
If a conviction is actually handed down, the ECJ can impose two types of financial sanctions: the minimum lump sum, which amounts to more than two million euros. The penalty payment amounts to 2196 to 131,784 euros per day. The daily penalty payment is intended to encourage a Member State to put an end to a breach of contract. Unlike the lump sum, the penalty payment is only imposed if the infringement is still ongoing on the day the judgment is handed down.