Brussels, July 24, 2025 (Lusa) - The European Commission on Thursday demanded that Portugal update its rules on the transport of dangerous goods by road, rail and inland waterways to ensure greater safety, after the country failed to meet the deadline for transposition.

According to information released today, the EU executive has decided to initiate infringement proceedings by sending formal letters of notification to Portugal and eight other European Union (EU) countries, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Finland, Malta, Poland and Slovenia, to communicate fully the measures transposing the directive updating legislation on the transport of dangerous goods by land.

EU countries had until 30 June to incorporate the provisions of the directive into their legislation and, as these nine must still do so, they must complete this task within two months, or Brussels will proceed with a reasoned opinion.

The directive modernises EU regulations on the inland transport of dangerous goods to reflect the latest scientific and technical developments, covering international and national operations.

The legislation applies to all transport operations, both national and international, that operators carry out within the EU and aims to ensure a high and uniform level of safety.

ANE/ADB // ADB.

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