The European Commission has taken further action against Cyprus, escalating to the stage just before a potential legal showdown at the Court of Justice. This move comes as Cyprus has yet to align its professional regulations with the EU's proportionality test requirements. This latest action by the Commission is part of its October series of decisions addressing member states who are not meeting their EU law obligations.

Cyprus, along with seven other nations, has been given a two-month ultimatum to correctly implement the required EU guidelines. This comes after these states failed to do so, even after receiving formal notices from the Commission since 2021.

The official press release from the Commission, falling under the category of internal market, industry, entrepreneurship, and SMEs, has named Cyprus, Bulgaria, Czechia, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Slovakia. These countries have not correctly implemented the rules established in the Proportionality Test Directive (Directive(EU) 2018/958).

Interestingly, five other countries - Austria, France, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovenia - have successfully addressed the issues that were previously pointed out in the formal notices they received.

The core of the Proportionality Test Directive is to ensure that any new or updated national regulations affecting professionals undergo a comprehensive proportionality analysis. This analysis must be evidence-based and conducted prior to the regulations being adopted. The Directive serves as a pivotal measure to prevent national rules that are unduly restrictive. Historically, proactive prevention has been more successful than subsequent corrective measures.

However, the effectiveness of this Directive hinges on its correct and comprehensive implementation by all Member States. The Commission's recent move underscores its concern that the aforementioned countries haven't properly adopted the proportionality test mandates. Specifically, issues have been noted where certain rules, especially those originating from national parliaments or professional groups, have been exempted from the proportionality assessment.

The Commission had previously alerted these countries with formal notices in December 2021, July 2022, and supplemental notices in February 2023. If the nations fail to appropriately implement the Directive within the given two-month window, they risk being taken to the Court of Justice of the European Union.