EC calls on Greece to comply with F-gas regs
11th July 2026
EUROPE: The European Commission has opened an infringement procedure against Greece for failing to comply with the F-gas regulations requiring mutual recognition of engineers’ F-gas certificates.
Article 10(10) of the EU F-gas regulation 2024/573 provides for the mutual recognition across the EU of training attestations and certificates issued by member states.
The European Commission argues that the transition away from F-gases towards climate-friendly alternatives requires a sufficient number of appropriately trained and certified technicians across the EU. Effective mutual recognition of certificates issued nationally is therefore seen as essential to achieve this.
In Greece, currently, F-gas technicians holding certificates issued by another EU country cannot access work as refrigeration technicians solely on the basis of those certificates. Instead, they are required to undergo additional assessment procedures under national legislation before being allowed to pursue the relevant activities.
The Commission is therefore sending a letter of formal notice to Greece, which now has two months to respond and address the shortcomings identified by the Commission. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.
A letter of formal notice is the first official step in a legal investigation against a member state. Greece now has two months to respond and address the shortcomings identified by the commission. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion, which details exactly why the commission believes the EU legislation is being breached, and demands corrective measures within a specified period.
