EU Pilot

The EU Pilot project has been operating since April 2008 with the aim of providing quicker and fuller answers to questions, and solutions to problems arising in the application of EU laws – particularly those raised by citizens or businesses – requiring confirmation of the factual or legal position in a Member State.

It is designed with a view to improve communication and problem-solving between the Commission services and Member State authorities on issues concerning the application of EU law or the conformity of the law in a Member State with EU law at an early stage before an infringement procedure is launched under Article 258 TFEU. Wherever there might be recourse to the infringement proceeding, EU Pilot is used as a general rule before the first step of an infringement procedure under Article 258 TFEU is taken by the Commission.
Today EU Pilot is operating in 25 Member States. Malta and Luxembourg are making necessary internal arrangements and are expected to start using the system soon.

Under EU Pilot your enquiry or complaint will be examined by the responsible service in the Commission and forwarded to the Member State authority concerned with any questions or indications identified by the Commission service. You will be informed in writing that this method is being used to treat your correspondence. A general 20 week deadline has been set for responses to be provided (10 weeks for the Member State authorities and 10 weeks for the Commission services). The Commission service will inform you of its evaluation.

The rules on personal data confidentiality are maintained - in contacts with national authorities, we will only divulge your identity if you have specifically authorised us to do so. The effective management of individual issues can depend on the disclosure of facts specific to the individual case, in which case you will be informed.

Here is the latest evaluation of the EU Pilot project by the European Commission (adopted on 21.12.2011):

Annex:

Here is the evaluation of the EU Pilot project's first year of operation.
Report by the European Commission.