Cyprus was on the receiving end of a total of seven letters of formal notice from the European Commission on Friday over the country’s non-compliance with European Union law across a range of subjects.

A letter of formal notice is the first in a five-step procedure the commission employs to deal with non-compliance, with member states which do not comply taken as a last resort to the European Court of Justice and issued fines.

The first letter was sent regarding the directive on reporting on projected emissions of certain air pollutants, with Cyprus one of nine member states to receive a letter after failing to transpose the directive into its national legal system.

The commission said the directive “ensures that member states’ reports on projected emissions of certain air pollutants to the commission and the European environment agency are in line with similar reports provided for in the United Nations economic commission for Europe convention on long-range transboundary air pollution”.

As such, it said, compiling reports which adhere to this directive allows the commission to verify whether member states are on track with their emission reduction obligations.

The second letter was sent only to Cyprus and called on the island to “fully transpose” the directive on the restriction of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

The commission said the directive restricts the use of substances, such as cadmium, “to protect human health and the environment, and enables the environmentally sound recovery and treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment”.

However, the commission said, Cyprus has not notified the commission of any measures regarding the transposition of the directive into its national legal system. As such, the Cypriot government has been given two months to respond, lest the commission send a “reasoned opinion”.

The third letter was sent regarding the directive relating to the legal definitions of micro businesses, small businesses, medium-sized businesses, and large businesses.

The directive and the definitions were adjusted for inflation in 2023, and Cyprus is one of five member states which is yet to update its definition in its national legal system.

The fourth letter was sent to a total of 18 member states, and concerns the exchange of information between member states’ law enforcement authorities.

The commission said the directive “aims to strengthen the prevention, detection, and investigation of criminal offences in the EU by ensuring that police officers in one member state have equal access to information available to police officers in another member state”.

“It lays down the organisational and procedural rules on the exchange of information between member states’ law enforcement authorities, including the creation of a single point of contact which will act as a ‘one-stop shop’ for exchanging information with other member states,” it added.

It said that full implementation of the directive will “strengthen the fight against criminal activities with a cross-border dimension, such as organised crime, drug trafficking, terrorism, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking across the EU”.

The fifth letter calls on Cyprus and 10 other member states to notify the commission on measures being taken to transpose provisions over the EU emergency travel document.

The provisions in question would establish a uniform travel document for citizens of EU member states whose passports have been lost, stolen, or destroyed while overseas, so that they can return to their countries of origin or residence.

The sixth letter was sent to 11 member states, calling on them to transpose the EU’s directive on gender balance on the boards of directors of listed companies.

The commission said the directive “aims to improve gender balance on the boards of directors of listed companies in all EU member states”.

“It sets a target for large listed companies in the EU of 40 per cent of the under-represented gender for their non-executive directors and 33 per cent for all management staff,” he said.

The seventh letter was sent to eight member states which have failed to fully transpose the value added tax (VAT) scheme for small businesses, which was issued as a directive in 2020.

The commission said the scheme “allows small business to sell goods and services without charging VAT and eases their VAT compliance obligations”.

Additionally, it said, the directive provides for small businesses operating in a member state which does not levy VAT to exempt their supplies from VAT.