The European Commission (EC) decided to refer Portugal to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) for failing to respect its obligations as a flag state. The EC issued two separate referrals to the CJEU concerning flag state requirements on one hand (Article 8(1) of Directive 2009/21/EC), and monitoring and reporting activities of its recognised organisations on the other hand (Directive 2009/15/EC). The EC had already requested Portugal to comply with these Directives in September 2016 (flag state requirements) and July 2016 (monitoring and reporting). More information is available in this press release.