CRITICISED by the European Commission for its failure to comply with the F-gas regulations, Italy is now being taken to court for failure to fully comply with another piece of environmental legislation - the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive.
Under what is known in Brussels as directive 2002/91/EC, member states must establish a method for calculating the energy performance of all types of buildings. They must also ensure the certification of those buildings and requires the regular inspection of boilers and air conditioning systems.

The Commission is now referring Italy to the EU's Court of Justice for failing to establish provisions for energy performance certificates and failing to implement air conditioning inspections.

According to the EC, an infringement procedure was opened in 2006 against Italy due to the incomplete and incorrect transposition of the directive. Despite several letters of formal notice and reasoned opinions to the Italian authorities, the legislation is still not in compliance with the directive.