On 11 December 2025 the European Commission sent Italy a reasoned opinion relating to infringement procedure Infr(2020)2318, the second formal stage provided for under EU law. The decision follows an assessment of the measures taken in recent months to apply EU Directive 2019/520, which governs the European electronic toll service and the interoperability of payment contracts on toll infrastructures across the Union. Under the directive, as recalled in the Commission’s official communications, users must be able to travel through different national systems with a single contract and a single on-board unit.
The procedure launched in 2020 initially concerned Italy as a whole, but developments in the national electronic tolling market have progressively narrowed the focus. With the entry of new operators alongside Telepass and the upgrading of the mainland motorway network, Brussels had acknowledged substantial progress. Outstanding issues remained, however, as highlighted in the supplementary letter of formal notice of 7 May 2025, in the technical shortcomings affecting the tolled Sicilian sections managed by the Consorzio per le Autostrade Siciliane. At that stage the Commission had already identified Sicily as the only area where interoperability was still not guaranteed.
The reasoned opinion confirms that local infrastructure does not allow EETS service providers to operate on the Sicilian routes. According to the account set out in the European communications, the necessary technological upgrades are missing to ensure that detection and payment systems can communicate with the devices used by operators active in the rest of Italy and Europe. As a result, motorists and freight operators travelling to the island cannot use their EETS equipment and are forced to rely on separate contracts or manual payments. For freight flows and logistics operators, this discontinuity affects route planning and operating costs, as it breaks the system-wide continuity that the directive is intended to ensure.
In the opinion the Commission notes that, despite the months that have passed since the May letter, the measures needed to secure full interoperability have not been completed. Italy now has two months to submit a response demonstrating that the Sicilian sections have been brought into compliance, or a binding timetable confirming the rapid completion of the works. Failing a satisfactory reply, the Commission may refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union, potentially opening the contentious phase. In the event of a judgment against Italy, as the Commission itself recalls in the procedural documents, the member state may be required to pay a lump sum and a daily penalty until full compliance is achieved.
