Brussels - Italy, Spain and Greece are the worst countries in the European Union for breaking the bloc's laws on creating a single market, with Poland catching up fast, a study published by the European Commission in Brussels on Thursday showed.

Italy is currently facing legal action - known as "infringement proceedings" - from the commission in no fewer than 112 cases, the highest figure in the bloc, the EU executive's report said. Spain was second with 103 cases.

Greece came in third, with 91 cases, closely followed by Germany, with 90.

And Poland, which only joined the EU in 2004, already faces 65 sets of proceedings, more than any other EU newcomer by a factor of
50 per cent, the commission said.

Of the EU's longer-standing members, Denmark and Luxembourg have the cleanest records, facing 29 and 30 infringement cases respectively.

Of the 10 countries which joined the bloc in 2004, Cyprus was the best performer, with 14 cases recorded.

Romania and Bulgaria, which joined the EU in 2007 and have been forced to accept special monitoring because of fears over the level of corruption in both countries, are already into double digits in the number of cases they face, with 13 and 20 respectively.

On average, each EU member state faces 49 infringement cases, and "these cases take too long to resolve," the commission report said.

The commission is tasked with enforcing the EU's rules, and can take member states to the European Court if it believes that they are breaking them. (dpa)