Brussels, Dhu-AlHijjah 09, 1436, September 23, 2015, SPA -- The European Commission cracked down on 19 EU countries Wednesday for incorrectly implementing asylum rules, launching punitive actions that could eventually lead to fines, dpa reported. "Our common European asylum system can only function if everyone plays by the rules," commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said in a statement. "Today's 40 infringement proceedings are meant to ensure that member states actually implement and apply what they had previously agreed to do - and agreed to do rapidly and fully," he added. The only countries to escape unscathed were Britain, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovakia. Britain, Denmark and Ireland have negotiated special exemptions that do not require them to implement all EU rules. --SPA 15:45 LOCAL TIME 12:45 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w