The EU Methane Emissions Regulation (EU-MER) sets out strong principles on penalties for non-compliance, but these must be transposed into national law by each Member State.

This paper examines the penalty provisions in the draft Czech implementing law submitted on 11 November 2025 by the Minister for the Environment to the Prime Minister. It briefly considers the draft's legislative status in light of the political situation following the 3–4 October general election, assesses its compliance with the EU-MER, and compares it with good practice in Denmark and with Italy's draft law.

The paper finds that Czechia, like several other Member States, is in breach of Article 33 EU-MER, having missed the 5 August 2025 deadline for adopting penalty rules. If adopted in its current form, the draft would broadly meet EU-MER requirements, but with important gaps:

• it does not empower competent authorities to confiscate profits gained through infringements or to impose periodic penalty payments;
• it sets no minimum level for fines;
• maximum fines are fixed as absolute amounts rather than linked to turnover, and are not sufficiently dissuasive in some cases.