The European Commission has said it will begin taking legal action against the 26 member states that have failed to transpose various EU directives into their national laws, including the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III).

The Commission has sent letters of formal notice to the non-compliant member states, granting them two months to respond and complete the necessary transposition. If these countries fail to act within this period, the commission could issue a stronger warning, known as a reasoned opinion.

H2 View understands that only Denmark has fully transposed RED III, while several others have made partial progress, including Germany.

“The new rules aim to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in all sectors of the economy,” the Commission said.

“They set important horizontal and cross-cutting measures to promote the deployment of renewables, such as the strengthening of guarantees of origin, facilitating energy system integration through the promotion of electrification and renewable hydrogen, and safeguards to ensure a more sustainable bioenergy production.

“The Commission is urging [member states] to take immediate action to bring their laws in line with EU requirements.”

RED III was adopted by the bloc in 2023 and EU countries were required to transpose the directive by May 21, 2025, except for some provisions related to permitting, which were already due by July 1, 2024.

The directive sets EU targets for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs), requiring 42% of hydrogen used in industry to come from renewable sources by 2030 and 60% by 2035, with a 1% RFNBO share in transport.

Germany made significant progress towards transposing RED III last month by drafting a new law aimed at strengthening its greenhouse gas reduction targets for fuels, aligning with the EU’s RED III and ReFuelEU initiatives.

The proposed legislation raises the country’s GHG reduction quota for transport fuels to 53% by 2040, equivalent to over 77% renewable energy use in the sector.

Germany is expected to fully implement its law in 2026, in contrast to other member states, which are lagging in progress.

Several countries could face challenges that may delay or complicate the transposition process.

The recent collapse of the Dutch government could slow down or stall the conversion of the directive into law, while smaller countries, such as Slovakia or Estonia, could struggle to meet the technical and financial aspects.