Court Ruling: Iceland Failed To Implement Five EU Directives - Include equal access of genders to products and services and eco-design of energy products

Include equal access of genders to products and services and eco-design of energy products

On Wednesday, the EFTA court ruled against the Icelandic state in five separate cases, all concerning Iceland’s “failure to fulfil its obligations” in implementing EU regulation.

One case concerned “regulation on textile fibre names and related labelling and marking of the fibre composition of textile products”.

Another verdict concerned regulation on the safety of toys, more precisely: “products designed or intended for use in play by children under 14 years of age”.

The third case was about Iceland’s failure to implement “the principle of equal treatment between men and women in the access to and supply of goods and services”. The act involved aims, according to the court files, “to create a framework for combating discrimination based on sex in access to and supply of goods and services, with a view to putting into effect the principle of equal treatment between men and women.”

The fourth case centred on regulation on eco-design requirements for energy-related products, which Iceland has also failed to implement.

The fifth case was about a directive on combating late payments in commercial transaction. According to court documents the directive is intended to “ensure the proper functioning of the internal market” by establishing “rules on payment schedules, compensation for recovery costs, unfair commercial terms and practices and recovery procedures for unchallenged claims.”

In all cases, Iceland was ordered to bear the costs of the proceedings, which remain unspecified in the verdicts.

About the EFTA Court

EFTA (The European Free Trade Association), established in 1960, now consists of four European countries: Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Three of these, all but Switzerland, are part of the European Union’s internal market through the Agreement on a European Economic Area (EEA). Consequently they, including Iceland, are subject to various European laws. The EEA agreement obliges the countries to accept the legislation involved, without any direct participation in composing it. The EFTA court consists of three judges and six ad-hoc judges, nominated by the member countries and appointed by their governments. The court oversees the implementation of EU law and regulation in the three EEA-states.