Under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’), where the Commission refers a Member State to the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘the Court’) for failing to fulfil an obligation under the Treaties, it may propose to the Court to impose financial sanctions on that Member State in two situations:

In both cases, the sanction imposed by the Court may be composed of a lump sum payment, as a consequence of the continuation of the infringement until the delivery of its judgment or full compliance, if reached earlier, and a daily penalty payment, to prompt the Member State concerned to bring the infringement to an end as soon as possible after the delivery of the judgment. The Commission proposes the amounts for the financial sanctions to the Court, but it is for the Court, in the exercise of its discretion (2), to determine the amounts that it considers appropriate to the circumstances and proportionate both to the breach that has been established and to the capacity to pay of the Member State concerned.

The principles and method used by the Commission to calculate the financial sanctions it proposes to the Court were established in its Communication ‘Financial sanctions in infringement proceedings’  (3) (hereafter the ‘2023 Communication’). Following developments in case-law from the Court (4), the Commission revised the method to calculate Member States’ capacity to pay or n factor in 2025 (5) (hereafter the ‘2025 Communication’).

In the 2025 Communication, the Commission establishes that the Member States’ capacity to pay or n factor should rely solely on Member States’ GDP, replacing the relevant section of the 2023 Communication.

Both the 2023 and 2025 Communications state in their Annex that the data is to be reviewed and updated by the Commission on a yearly basis, in the light of variations in inflation and Member States’ GDPs, based on official data published by Eurostat

This Communication therefore updates the Annex to the 2025 Communication with the latest macroeconomic data.

This update is based on developments in the inflation and GDP of each Member State. The relevant statistics relating to the rate of inflation and GDP are those established two years prior to the update (‘t-2 rule’), i.e. 2024.

The updated n factors, minimum lump sums and flat-rate amounts are set out in Annex to this Communication.

The Commission will apply the updated figures to decisions it takes to bring a case before the Court of Justice under Article 260 TFEU as from the publication of this Communication in the Official Journal.

(1)  Or where the Member State has not taken the necessary measures to comply with a judgment finding an infringement of a State aid decision under Article 108(2) TFEU.

(2)  This discretion is limited in the case of Article 260(3) TFEU cases, where the Court cannot go beyond the amount specified by the Commission.

(3)  Communication from the Commission ‘Financial sanctions in infringement proceedings’ (OJ C 2, 4.1.2023, p. 1).

(4)  Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 25 April 2024, Commission v Poland (C-147/23 EU:C:2024:346).

(5)  Communication from the Commission ‘Modification of the calculation method for financial sanctions proposed. by the Commission in infringement proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union’ (OJ C, C/2025/1481, 5.3.2025).