European Commission takes Slovakia to court over customs system failures

The European Commission announced on Oct. 1 that it had referred Slovakia to the Court of Justice of the European Union over its failure to introduce an electronic temporary-storage system for air transport. Slovakia also faces two further proceedings concerning national building-renovation plans and recognition of professional qualifications.¹²

Customs system reaches court

The electronic system is intended to hold information about goods from outside the European Union and allow customs authorities to monitor them while they are in temporary storage. Member states were required to build and operate the system under the Union Customs Code and an EU regulation adopted in 2013.¹²

Slovakia did not introduce the system within the required period. The Commission had issued a formal notice and a reasoned opinion, but Slovakia still did not fulfil the obligation, prompting the Commission to send the case to the EU court.¹²

The court referral is the one active lawsuit among the three economic-related matters facing Slovakia. The other two remain proceedings in which the Commission has given Slovakia time to take corrective action before potentially escalating the cases.¹²

Building-renovation plan overdue

Slovakia is also among nine member states that had not submitted draft national building-renovation plans by Dec. 31, 2025. The plans are required under the EU directive on the energy performance of buildings and are intended to guide the transformation of the building stock by 2050.¹²

The Commission has called on the nine countries to provide their draft plans within two months. Besides Slovakia, the affected states identified in the dossier are Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Italy. If the plans are not submitted within that period, the Commission may take the countries to court.¹²

Professional qualifications remain unresolved

A third case concerns Slovakia’s implementation of EU rules on professional qualifications. In 2024, the EU court found that the country had failed to meet several obligations under the directive governing recognition of such qualifications. Slovakia has not fully resolved the recognition of professional traineeships completed abroad, while required procedures and guidance remain incomplete for some occupations.¹²

The Commission has asked Slovakia to comply with the court’s decision and has allowed two months for the necessary measures. If Slovakia does not provide a satisfactory response, the Commission may return the matter to the Court of Justice and request financial penalties.¹²