The EU has formally launched infringement proceedings against 26 out of its 27 Member States for failing to transpose the Renewable Energy Directive III (RED III) by the 21 May 2025 deadline. Only Denmark has fully completed transposition and thus avoided legal action.
Front‑Runners: Denmark – Alone at the finish line
- Denmark is the only country to have fully transposed RED III by the mid‑2024 permitting deadline and the main May 2025 RFNBO-target deadlines.
- Countries such as Czechia, Romania, and Finland also report partial or advanced progress on binding quotas for hydrogen and transport fuels, but are not yet confirmed as fully compliant.
Mid‑Gate: Partial Implementers
- Eleven Member States have submitted partial transposition measures, covering some hydrogen (RFNBO) quotas and permitting reforms.
- Among them, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, and Poland, many of the EU’s largest economies, have at least begun consultations and drafts, but remain legally insufficient.
Laggards: Delayed or Minimal Action
- The remaining Member States have taken little substantive action. They received letters of formal notice, and now face reasoned opinions soon unless they respond within two months.
- Countries such as Bulgaria, Cyprus, Slovakia, Sweden, Portugal, etc., fall here, with little recorded progress on RFNBO quotas or renewables acceleration area mapping.
Hydrogen & SAF commitments: ambitions versus reality
RED III mandates:
- Industry hydrogen: 42% of all hydrogen used to be produced from renewable hydrogen (RFNBO) by 2030, rising to 60% by 2035 (Article 22a).
- Transport: At least 1% of total transport energy must be RFNBOs by 2030; advanced biofuels + RFNBO combined target of 5.5%.
Only countries with fully or partially transposed RED III (Denmark, Czechia, Romania, Finland) have submitted national quotas aligned with these obligations to date.
Germany is drafting national implementing rules, including proposed penalties of about €17,000 per tonne for suppliers under‑delivering SAF obligations under the FuelEU and RED regime—a strong signal of enforcement ambition.
Member State Responses: what to expect
Responding to formal notices
- Within two months, states must provide full transposition measures, or face reasoned opinions.
- Countries receiving those opinions may eventually be referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union, risking financial sanctions.
Domestic political positioning
- Governments will likely ramp up stakeholder consultations, accelerate permitting‑law packages, and fast‑track drafting of RFNBO quota setting.
- Partially compliant nations may request phased or sectoral carve‑outs to minimise economic disruption—though the Commission has stated emphatically that ambitions will not be watered down.
Industry engagement
- Regulatory uncertainty has already delayed long‑term hydrogen contracts and investments. Once national laws are confirmed, industry may feel more secure and advance project development.
Implications ahead: competitive pressures and investment trajectories
Renewable energy permitting
- Delays block the designation of Renewables Acceleration Areas and single‑contact points, slowing renewables and hydrogen facility rollout.
- Member States lagging will lose out on centralised EU support and investment flows.
RFNBO demand & industrial competitiveness
- Countries that delay adoption risk missing the 2030 RFNBO quotas in industry (42%) and transport (1%).
- This could lead to imported green hydrogen dependency, sanction risk, and higher compliance costs for domestic industries.
SAF uptake and penalties
- As seen in Germany’s draft, non‑compliant fuel suppliers could face steep per‑tonne penalties, likely to be the approach across compliant states.
- This sharpens market dynamics for e‑SAF producers, pushing earlier investment into production capacity.
Cross‑border distortions
- Inconsistent implementation across Member States may lead to fragmented hydrogen markets, reduced cross‑border joint projects, and regulatory arbitrage.
Grouping Summary
|
Group
|
Countries
|
Status & Risk
|
|---|---|---|
| Fully compliant | Denmark | No infringement notice; leading on hydrogen and permitting |
| Partial implementers | Czechia, Romania, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, others | Drafting RFNBO and permitting laws; risk of reasoned opinion if delayed |
| Laggards | Bulgaria, Cyprus, Slovakia, Sweden, Portugal, etc. | Formal infringement notice; slow or no transposition; high legal risk |
Compliance
RED III represents a critical piece of EU climate law, embedding binding targets for renewables, RFNBOs (including green hydrogen), and SAFs across transport and industry. Yet as of May 21, 2025, only Denmark has fully implemented it; most others remain either partially or wholly non‑compliant and face formal EU infringement.
Member States will likely scramble to legislate hydrogen/quota targets and streamline permitting in the coming months—driven by legal pressure, investor concerns, and internal policy shifts. The consequences of further delay will become tangible: financial penalties, slower green energy deployment, fragmented hydrogen markets, and fewer SAF investments.
In contrast, countries that move swiftly to implement RED III stand to benefit from regulatory clarity, early industry uptake, attractor status for investors in the hydrogen and SAF space, and richer alignment with the EU’s 2030 decarbonisation ambitions.
The post Europe’s RED III Rolling Deadlock and Infringement: Where each country stands first appeared on Haush.