Cyprus has received a warning letter from the EU over its failure to correctly transpose rules on the safety to the environment of offshore oil and gas operations.

It’s been eight years since the rules should have become part of national legislation.

The European Commission said it had decided to open an infringement procedure by sending a letter of formal notice to Cyprus for failing to correctly transpose certain provisions of the EU Offshore Safety Directive.

The deadline to transpose the directive into national law was July 19, 2015.

“This directive put in place rules to help prevent accidents at offshore energy installations and to respond promptly and efficiently should such accidents occur,” the Commission said.

“Member States must ensure that companies to which they grant a licence for exploration or production have the necessary technical and financial means, and that they keep resources available to put them into operation when necessary.”

It said an independent authority needs to be in place to ensure that safety requirements are respected, as well as an adequate system to handle compensation claims in case of accident.

The Commission said companies are fully liable for environmental damages caused to protected species and natural habitats.

The Commission added it had supported Cyprus in transposing and implementing the EU rules, “but it found that a number of provisions were not correctly transposed”.

Cyprus now has two months to address the shortcomings identified by the Commission. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to send a reasoned opinion.

In addition, the Commission called on Cyprus and other countries to better protect their marine waters. The other countries are Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, and Malta.

The Commission has opened infringement procedure by sending a letter of formal notice for failure to comply with the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

The directive aims to protect the EU’s seas and oceans and ensure that their resources are managed sustainably.

Under the directive, member states were required to review and update their ‘monitoring programmes’ by October 15, 2020 and their ‘programmes of measures’ by March 31, 2022.

The member states concerned failed to submit reports on the review of their programmes of measures to the Commission by the required deadlines. Bulgaria and Malta also failed to send reports on the review of their monitoring programmes.

The nine countries now have two months to respond and address the shortcomings raised. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.