In May 2025, Italy once again came under the European Commission’s spotlight for not fully implementing Directive (EU) 2019/520, which established the European Electronic Toll Service, known as Eets. This legislative framework is designed to enable toll payments across all road networks in the European Union through a single contract and a single on-board device, regardless of the country travelled. It is a crucial measure aimed at ensuring uninterrupted mobility and making life easier for those who travel or transport goods along Europe’s corridors.
The infringement procedure against Italy had formally begun as early as 2020, but the Commission has now issued a new letter of formal notice, narrowing the problem to Sicily. While the situation in other parts of the country has seen some progress, with the initiation and conclusion of negotiations between infrastructure operators and Eets providers, no electronic tolling system compliant with the directive exists on the island. Brussels notes that this shortcoming poses a real barrier to interoperability and compliance with European rules, forcing drivers to enter into multiple contracts, use different devices and engage with various operators in order to travel across Italian territory.
The Eets directive, in force since 2019 and required to be transposed by October 2021, aims precisely to overcome such fragmentation. It stipulates that users should be able to travel freely throughout the Union via a harmonised system based on technologies such as automatic number plate recognition (Anpr), satellite localisation (Gnss), or microwave technology (Dsrc at 5.8 GHz). Each registered provider must ensure coverage of the so-called “Eets domains” within two years and comply with common technical standards valid across Europe. The legislative text also provides for cross-border information exchange between member states to identify vehicles and owners who have failed to pay tolls, allowing the recovery of unpaid fees beyond national borders.
Italy, however, remains among the countries with ongoing infringement procedures for failing to transpose several EU directives on transport and mobility. In this specific case, if Rome does not provide a satisfactory response to the Commission within two months, the procedure could escalate to a reasoned opinion and eventually a referral to the EU Court of Justice.
