BRUSSELS, May 15 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Thursday it was taking the Netherlands to court for failing to implement new EU rules to speed up insurance claims when cars from different member states are involved.
The new rules are designed to make it easier for citizens of one of the 15 member state to claim insurance benefits in accidents involving vehicles registered and insured in another EU state.
But the Netherlands has failed to meet the deadline of July 2002 to implement the new rules, the Commission said.
Until the rules are properly applied throughout the EU, drivers will continue to face "serious difficulties in claiming compensation quickly", the Commission said in a statement.
The Commission has already launched similar legal action against France, Luxembourg, Italy, Ireland and Portugal.
Infringement procedures take on average about two years to settle in the European Court of Justice, ECJ statistics showed.