The Directive was due to be implemented throughout the EU by 31st October 2003, but only seven member states, including the UK, have so far notified the Commission that 'transposition measures' have been put in place.
Letters of formal notice, the first stage of infringement proceedings, were sent to Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Finland and Sweden in December last year.
In the case of Sweden, the notice concerned only the part of the Directive that relates to unsolicited communications as the rest was covered by its transposition measures, which were notified on time. The spam notification has now been made, and so Sweden escapes further action.
The Commission announced yesterday that it had sent Reasoned Opinions to the remaining eight states. This represents the second stage in the infringement proceedings and the Member States have two months to respond.
If the States have not complied with the notification requirements within that time they face a referral to the European Court of Justice.
Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen said:
"We are determined to keep up the pressure on those Member States that have yet to implement the legislation they signed up in 2002. This Directive is vital to ensure that privacy and data protection are assured in an on-line world. It shows effective action can be taken and enforced at a national level in the fight against spam. These rules set common conditions across the Union, so users know what to expect and industry and Member States know what they must do."
