According to the newly published figures, on average only 1.0% of Internal Market Directives for which the implementation deadline has passed are not currently written into national law, down from 1.2% in December 2007.

This means that Member States are already in line with the new 1.0% target agreed by Heads of State, which is to be achieved by 2009 at the latest.

Eighteen Member States are either at or below the new target, while Bulgaria is the first Member State to achieve a deficit of 0%. Ten Member States achieved their best result so far.

The overall trend is also positive as regards correct application of Internal Market rules: 15 Member States have managed to reduce the number of infringement proceedings against them.

However, the overall number of these proceedings remains relatively high, and it takes too long to resolve them, the EC suggested.

Mr McCreevy welcomed the news warmly, stating that:

"I am delighted that Member States have reached the new 1% target well ahead of the deadline set by the European Council. This is a remarkable feat and deserves special praise. I hope that this very positive trend will continue in future Scoreboards."

"However, timely implementation by itself is not enough: the Single Market also needs to function well in practice. In future we will be putting increasing focus on the proper implementation of Single Market laws at national level, and on stepping up cooperation with Member States in this area."

He further observed that:

"Last time I emphasised the need for all Member States to keep up the good efforts to meet the 1% target by 2009 as agreed by European Heads of State and Government in March 2007. But for once reality has surpassed my expectations: only one year later and well ahead of schedule, the agreed target of 1% has been met. This is a remarkable achievement and deserves special praise."

"At that time, I said that those Member States lagging behind in the last Scoreboard, would feel encouraged by the overall positive results, and do their utmost to move closer to the agreed target of 1.0%. In particular, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg managed the steepest progress: the Czech Republic, ahead of their presidency turn next year, improved by 0.9% and Luxembourg by one whole percent. This is very encouraging and the good practice that lie behind these figures should be maintained. In total, 10 Member States have achieved their best result so far: Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia, Greece, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, Romania and Slovakia.

"However, some Member States such as Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and Poland reversed their positive trend. They need to redouble their efforts to get back on the right track. Moreover, I would strongly encourage those Member States who have not yet reached the 1% target to make a serious effort to do so in the course of 2008."

"As we all know, a timely transposition of EU directives is important, but does not ensure in itself that the law is applied on the ground."

"To see more clearly on how the Single Market works in the Member States, we will from now on put more of a spotlight on whether EU law is applied properly in each of them. We will provide more information on Member States' track-record in applying EU law. We will also more closely scrutinize those sectors where problems with the correct application of EU law appear to be the most acute," he added, going on to conclude:

"Policy-making and rules are not an end in itself, but serve the goal of improving the livelihood of our citizens and businesses. This goal will only be achieved if citizens and businesses can exercise their rights under EU law: efficiently and effectively at home and abroad. The Internal Market Scoreboard is one among many tools to support this goal."

It has proven to be an efficient one as regards timely transposition. My hope is that it will play an equally important role in ensuring proper application of the rules on the ground."