2 August 2022
In its 2 August 2022 session, the Chamber of Deputies definitively approved the draft-law on the delegation to the Government for transposition of European directives and implementation of other European Union legal acts – a.k.a. European Delegation Law 2021.
"With this measure, we can cut infringements and improve current legislation. Europe is our destiny community" Undersecretary for European Affairs, Vincenzo Amendola, commented. "My personal thanks go to all the members of the European Affairs Committee and to the Parliament for their resolved and committed work in the interest of Italy and Europe."
The measure consists of 21 articles laying down provisions on the transposition of 14 European directives and adaptation of national legislation to 21 European regulations and 1 recommendation.
The European Delegation Law focuses on very heterogeneous sectors and key relevance topics. For instance, it includes Directives (EU) 2019/2161 and 2020/1828, which introduce provisions to further strengthen consumer protection, and Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 on crowdfunding, a type of collective financing that offers small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and, in particular, start-ups and scale-ups, alternative access to financing for promoting innovative entrepreneurship in the EU.
An important role is also played by Directive (EU) 2021/338, which is part of a package of measures designed to tackle the COVID-19 crisis a.k.a. the Capital Markets Recovery Package, aimed at supporting recovery by introducing targeted and limited changes to existing EU financial services legislation. The objective is to remove unnecessary red tape and introduce calibrated measures deemed effective in mitigating economic difficulties.
In the area of justice, the measure promotes the adaptation to Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 in order to establish the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), which enhances coordination and cooperation between national authorities in charge of investigating and prosecuting serious crimes when they affect two or more Member States or require prosecution on a common basis. Furthermore, following the transposition of Regulation (EU) 2018/1805 on mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders, each Member State shall recognise and enforce in its territory the orders issued by another Member State within the framework of criminal proceedings. Eventually, it is worth recalling Regulation (EU) 2021/784 on addressing the online dissemination of terrorist contents.
Great impact for the business world stems from Directive (EU) 2019/2121, which dictates a comprehensive regulation of cross-border conversions, mergers and divisions, resolving some application doubts previously related to the lack of a comprehensive framework on the subject.
Relevant contributions from a social point of view stem from Directive (EU) 2020/1057 for posting drivers in the road transport sector, and Regulations No. 1071/2009 (occupation of road transport operator), No. 1072/2009 (access to the international road haulage market) and No. 1073/2009 (access to the international market for coach and bus services).
In the field of human and animal health, it is worth mentioning the Regulations on organic production and labelling of organic products (2018/848), fertilising products (2019/1009), medicated feed (2019/4), veterinary medicinal products (2019/6), protection of animals at the time of slaughter or killing (1099/2009), and the Directive on the quality of water intended for human consumption (2020/2184).