I propose to take Questions Nos. 369 and 372 together.
Of the four Directives overdue for transposition by the official EU Commission deadlines, it is expected that three will be implemented by 31 December 2006 as follows:
1. Council Directive 2001/86/EC supplementing the Statute for a European Company with regard to the involvement of employees
Transposition Deadline: 8 October 2004
2. Directive 2003/72/EC supplementing the Statute for a European Cooperative Society with regard to the involvement of employees
Transposition Deadline: 18 August 2006
3. Directive 2003/58/EC of 15 July 2003 amending Council Directive 68/151/EEC (First Company Law Directive), as regards the disclosure requirements in respect of certain types of companies
Transposition Deadline: 31 October 2006
It is expected that the fourth overdue Directive (Directive 2004/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning technical harmonisation creating an internal market for measuring instruments), which was due to be officially transposed on 30 April 2006, will be implemented in early 2007.
Six Directives are due to be transposed by my Department in the first half of 2007 as follows:
1. Directive 2006/2/EC of 6 January 2006 amending, for the purposes of its adaptation to technical progress, Annexe II to Directive 96/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on certain methods for quantitative analysis of binary textile fibre mixtures.
Transposition Deadline: 6 January 2007
2. Directive 2006/3/EC of 9 January 2006 amending, for the purposes of their adaptation to technical progress, Annexes I and II to Directive 96/74/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on textile names.
Transposition Deadline: 9 January 2007
3. Directive 2004/108/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to electromagnetic compatibility and repealing Directive 89/336/EEC.
Transposition Deadline: 20 January 2007
4. Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on minimum transparency requirements for listed companies.
Transposition Deadline: 20 January 2007
5. Directive 2006/8/EC of 23 January amending for the purposes of their adaptation to technical progress, Annexes II, III and V to Directive 1999/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous preparations.
Transposition Deadline: 1 March 2007
6. Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business -to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No. 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Unfair Commercial Practices Directive)
Transposition Deadline: 12 June 2007.
The following Directives are due for transposition during the latter half of 2007 to 2010:
1. Directive 2006/89/EC of 3 November 2006 adapting for the sixth time to technical progress Council Directive 94/55/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States with regard to the transport of dangerous goods by road
Transposition Deadline: 1 July 2007
2. Directive 2006/15/EC of 7 February 2006 establishing a second list of indicative occupational exposure limit values in implementation of Council Directive 98/24/EC and amending Directives 91/322/EEC and 2000/39/EC.
Transposition Deadline: 9 August 2007
3. Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for Energy-Using Products and amending Council Directive 92/42/EEC and Directives 96/57/EC and 2000/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.
Transposition Deadline: 11 August 2007
4. Directive 2005/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2005 on cross-border mergers of limited liability companies.
Transposition Deadline: 15 December 2007
5. Directive 2004/40/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (electromagnetic fields) (18th individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC).
Transposition Deadline: 29 April 2008
6. Directive 2006/42/EC of the EP and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on Machinery, and amending Directive 95/16/EC
Transposition Deadline: 29 June 2008
7. Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on statutory audits of annual and consolidated accounts, amending Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC and repealing Council Directive 84/253/EEC.
Transposition Deadline: 6 June 2008
8. Directive 2006/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 amending Council Directives 78/660/EEC on the annual accounts of certain types of companies, 83/349/EEC on consolidated accounts, 86/635/EEC on the annual accounts and consolidated accounts of banks and other financial institutions and 91/674/EEC on the annual accounts and consolidated accounts of insurance undertakings
Transposition Deadline: 5 September 2008
9. Directive 2006/25/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the minimum Health and Safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to risks arising from physical agents (artificial optical radiation) (19th individual Directive within the meaning of article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC).
Transposition Deadline: 27 April 2010.
In relation to Council Directive 2001/86/EC, the Commission issued a Letter of Formal Notice on 15 December 2004 and a Reasoned Opinion on 18 October 2005. The Commission issued proceedings on 27 July 2006 under Article 226 of the EC Treaty for failure to transpose this Directive into Irish law. In that regard, draft Regulations were sent to the Attorney General's Office for settling on 28 September 2006. As indicated earlier, it is intended to have the Regulations completed by the end of December 2006.
In relation to Council Directive 2003/72/EC, on the 16 October 2006 the Commission invited the Irish Government, under Article 226 of the Treaty, to submit within two months its observations on its failure to transpose this Directive. This Directive is linked with transposition of Directive 2001/86/EC. It is anticipated that Regulations to give effect to this Directive will be finalised and transmitted to the Attorney General's Office for settling by the end of November 2006.
Due to the collective efforts of my officials over the past few months in addressing transposition issues, my Department has successfully transposed 18 Directives (and partially transposed one Directive) since January of this year. As stated earlier, in addition to Directive 2001/86/EC, it is intended that Directives 2003/58/EC and 2003/72/EC will be transposed during the current Dáil session. It is my intention to continue to make transposition of EU Directives an ongoing priority in my Department.
